Eskimos’ Gable has his former team in his sights

Edmonton Eskimos running back C.J. Gable will have a date with his former team on Friday night in the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Gable was traded to the Eskimos by the Tiger-Cats in the beginning of October and recorded 367 rushing yards in the final four games of the season along with 99 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He recorded 164 rushing yards and three touchdowns in two playoff games and added 42 yards receiving.

Gable spent five seasons in Hamilton which were plagued by injuries and more so — in the last couple of seasons — by a lack of playing time or little usage during games.

Gable was traded to Edmonton on Oct. 2 in exchange for two players on the Eskimos’ negotiation list. He says he’s trying to treat this game like any other but admits there’s some bad blood towards his old team. So far, Gable says his former teammates haven’t reached out to him to talk trash.

“No one has said anything to me and that’s a good thing. That’s good because they don’t want to get me going,” Gable said on Wednesday. “It’s going to be a good game and it’s going to be fun going against them.

“I still have anger because they traded me but things happen for a reason and I can’t wait to play.”

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Watch below: Some videos from Global News’ coverage of the Edmonton Eskimos in 2018.

1:28 Global News goes ‘All In’ at the Edmonton Eskimos home opener

• Global News goes ‘All In’ at the Edmonton Eskimos home opener
• Eskimos’ offensive lineman finishes university degree
• Edmonton Eskimos wrap up training camp
• Event held to launch Edmonton Eskimos’ 2018 CFL season
• Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly excited for 2018 season
• Edmonton Eskimos prepare for 2018 season

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The Eskimos used their run game more than any other team last season at a rate of almost 36 per cent. Last week, in the Eskimos’ season-opening 33-30 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Gable only recorded 43 yards of offence but touched the ball 14 times. He appreciates the faith head coach Jason Maas and the rest of the offensive coaching staff have in him.

“No matter what happened, they kept giving me the ball and that’s a good thing,” Gable said. “I can see that they trust me because if I was with another team, I probably wouldn’t get the ball after that. They were trying to find a way to give it to me.”

Maas says there is an emphasis on involving Gable in the offence, whether it’s by running with the ball, catching the ball out of the backfield or staying in the backfield as a blocker — Gable remains an integral part of the Eskimos offence.

Listen below: Running back C.J. Gable looks ahead to his first meeting against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats since being traded to Edmonton last October

Roster notes

After missing the first two days of practice this week, kicker Sean Whyte returned to the field on Wednesday after receiving some time off to rest following last week’s game in Winnipeg which is now the longest continuous game in CFL history after three hours worth of lightning delays.

“Oh it was just after eight-and-a-half hours of kicking the other day, it’s a lot on this old kicking body,” Whyte said. “That’s all. I just wasn’t feeling that great either so they just let me recover and get well again.”

Kickoff for the Eskimos’ 2018 regular season home opener against the Tiger-Cats on Friday is at 8 p.m. You can listen to Countdown to Kickoff on 630 CHED following live coverage of the NHL Entry Draft in Dallas and the Oilers announcing their 10th overall pick.

Global Edmonton is producing a 30-minute special all about the fan experience at the Eskimos’ home opener on June 22. Click here to find out how you can be a part of it.