After meetings on Sunday night, which included a heavy install session, the Edmonton Eskimos were back to work on Monday on The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium to kickoff the final week of training camp.
The team played two pre-season games in 11 days. They enjoyed a day-off on Saturday and held a short practice for Fan Day on Sunday.
After a sluggish start to the session, the team enjoyed a strong finish. Eskimos head coach Jason Maas said this week will prove to be a mental grind for the players to go along with the physical.
“They need to understand that everything is a process and we’re evaluating everything that they do, and that includes the finish of camp,” he said. “We are still battling.
“We had a great practice today as far as physicality with the pads on. There’s a lot of learning to do and things they can do to impress us as coaches.”
The Eskimos will hold their final two-a-day session on Tuesday, have a short practice on Wednesday and then hold a mock game on Thursday to end training camp.
Maas said with no game this week, the mock game will be an important evaluation for the coaching staff.
“We got three days to impress before the mock game and then we go through our situational day, which is that game, end camp and pick our team,” Maas said. “It’s down to crunch time but guys just have to finish, that has to be on their mind. Just finish and control what you can control.”
The Eskimos will open up their 2019 regular season and home schedule on Friday, June 14 against the Montreal Alouettes. For a starter, it can be easy for the mind to drift away, but receiver Kenny Stafford said the main focus has to be on finishing camp strong.
“It’s still training camp, so we are not looking too far past that,” Stafford said. “We keep on installing and building as an offence, and keep coming together. This is only Day 10 together as an offence, so we’re still working out the kinks, still figuring out what everybody does well and what their strengths and weaknesses are, and we are just going to build on that.”
Edmonton Eskimos Profile
5 Jovan Santos-Knox LB
6’2″, 223 pounds
Born: July 5, 1994 Waterbury, CT
School: UMass
He was a prized free-agent signing in the off-season and on Monday he took to the field for the first time. Linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox was a partial-participant. He’s been recovering from a broken ankle. Santos-Knox was more than happy to trade colours on Monday.
“This is what I came here to do is play, so I’m excited to get back into the groove of things, mix it up with my brothers and be able to see things on the field and not just the film room.”
Santos-Knox played his first two CFL seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, becoming a full-time starter last season, recording 82 defensive tackles and six quarterback sacks.
Audibles
Listen below: Eskimos receiver Kenny Stafford discusses the importance of the final week of training camp as the team prepares for the mock game on Thursday, which will end camp.
Defensive back Anthony Orange took to the field for the first time as a partial-participant. He was dealing with pre-camp injury. Also back on the field on Monday were running back C.J. Gable, offensive lineman David Bears and defenisve back Jordan Hoover. Receivers Davaris Daniels, Josh Stanby and Torrance Gibson, defensive backs Arjen Colquhoun and Jordan Beaulieu, running backs Shaq Cooper and Martese Jackson and linebacker Christophe Mulumba-Tshimanga all sat out of practice.
Roster notes
Signed:
- International quarterback Troy Williams
Released:
- National defensive back Mikael Charland
- National fullback Alex Dupuis
- National offensive lineman Qadr Spooner
Suspended:
- International defensive back Maurice McKnight
The Eskimos will hold their final two-a-day session on Tuesday morning starting at 8:30 a.m. on The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium.
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