2009 Tiger-Cats Training Camp Thread

Hello, and welcome to the 2009 Tiger-Cats Training Camp Thread...

To all the members who followed and contributed last year Thank You, and Welcome Back!... and to all the new comers thank you for following along and/or helping out!

For all the new members following for the first time, let me fill you in on what will be happening in this thread throughout the entire Tiger-Cats training camp... This thread is for the sole purpose of discussing anything about training camp and giving those fans who can not make it out to watch, information on how our Tiger-Cats are coming together.

My self, and I know from last year, a handful of fans from the message boards attended every training camp practice last season. So what we would do is, when the practices finish for the day we come on here and report what happened during the training camp practice. In doing so we will give our impressions on how the players are shaping up, who is impressing, and who needs to step their game up.

So I hope all you new followers, find this thread helpful and informative...

So without further delay, lets get this topic started!

Alright, now lets kick this thing off by posting all scheduled events and their times...

Please note, Practice times are subject to change without notice. All practices will take place at McMaster University's Ronald V. Joyce Stadium unless otherwise noted.

2009 Tiger-Cats Training Camp Schedule

Wednesday, June 3
ROOKIES REPORT

Thursday, June 4
8:00am – 10:30pm
2:00pm – 4:30pm

Friday, June 5
8:00am – 10:30pm
2:00pm – 4:30pm

Saturday, June 6
VETERANS REPORT

Sunday June 7
8:30am – 12:30pm

Monday June 8
8:30am – 12:45pm

Tuesday June 9
8:30am – 10:05am

Wednesday June 10
8:30am - 12:30pm

Thursday June 11
8:30am - 12:30pm

Friday June 12
8:30am – 10:05am

Saturday June 13
12:30pm – 1:55pm - Controlled (Black and Gold) Scrimmage

Sunday June 14
8:30am - 12:30pm

Monday June 15
8:30am - 12:30pm

Friday June 19
8:30am - 12:45pm

Saturday June 20
8:30am - 12:45pm

Sunday June 21
8:30am – 10:15am

Cant wait to read how the Cats are shaping up this season, this thread is the best use of this forum IMO.

Same here, I’ll check this thread regularly, cant wait. :thup:

I am looking for to check out the Lineman on both Sides of the Ball
Also the WR and Few others
Can't wait for Rookie Camp

I'm going to watch Rottier, Carlson, Doneff, Brown (Darcy), and Boltus.

ya i would say the most interesting guy to keep an eye out for would be darcy brown, see whats the hype about- projected late rounds picked up in the first.... obie really likes this guy he refers him to teh jason clermont but more athletic hopefully he can contribute right away also see if chris bauman continues to develop on last year

Obie said that about few guys and never Panned out that way

He said the exact same thing about Ernie Jackson last year.

He has great combine results but that doesnt make him a good football player, he could possibly turn out to be a bust like Hathaway was, a fullback who was drafted by Ottawa ahead of Clermont because of his 40 time.

exactly, what i am saying is to look out for him in training camp to see if he can actually play and dvevelop to what his potential can be, i am not saying he is actually goign to be a lock down the year for a steady receiver or fullback

I LOVE the smell of field turf in the morning! :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

Time to swap paint and dislodge some boogerage...glad this thread is back for this year!

Oski Wee Wee,

For me, I’ll be eager to hear how Porter, Keith, Hudson, Gagne-Marcoux, Bauman, Guillory, Adams, Floyd, and Barker do in particular. If some of the guys who were banged up last year can rebound (Hudson and Gagne-Marcoux for the OL especially), it will help the team solidify depth-wise for the start of the season. We can’t go 0-4 this time. For the Cats to get into the November dance, they need to get rubber to road before September rolls around.

Oski Wee Wee,

Wish I seen us playing in November…
I could use playing in the East Final But losing a Close
Then having a Huge year in 2010

With CFL training camps set to begin this week, an article by David Naylor, Jeff Blair and Sean Gordon posted on the Globe and Mail has a brief but good synopsis of the teams in the East Division.

In assessing the Ticats, their opinion is that the rookie to watch will be offensive lineman Zac Carlson because he is probably more developed than Simeon Rottier due to his NCAA experience.

[url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/a-look-ahead/article1162261/]http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/f ... le1162261/[/url]

Rookie Camp Roster

Quarter Backs

# - Name

0 - Jason Boltus*

4 - Adam Tafralis*

Running Backs

0 - Guillaume Allard-Cameus

17 - Darcy Brown

0 - DeAndra' Cobb*

Receivers

18 - David Ball*

2 - Airese Currie*

0 - Cassidy Doneff

0 - Aaron Fairooz*

0 - Drisan James*

0 - Marquay McDaniel*

84 - Brandon Myles*

8 - LaShaun Ward*

80 - Jacob Willis*

Offensive Lineman

0 - Daniel Bederman

55 - Zac Carlson

0 - Francis Daneau

61 - Todd Londot*

57 - Dan Oliphant*

65 - Simeon Rottier

Defensive Lineman

92 - Alan Harper*

0 - Scott McCuaig

46 - Mike McFadden*

71 - Garrett McIntyre*

78 - Alex Morrow*

98 - Elton Patterson*

Linebackers

36 - Isaac Brown*

45 - Matt Castelo*

43 - Dennis Haley*

37 - Jacob Patek*

Defensive Backs

24 - Carlton Brown*

3 - Virgil Gray*

11 - Melvin Matlock*

27 - Lamont Reid*

28 - Desman Stephen*

0 - Raymond Wladichuk

22 - Alan Zemaitis*

  • -- denotes import

I'm So excited for camp to open i pick up my season ticket yesterday and cant wait to get down to ron joyce stadium on sunday . This Is My Farvoite time of year

Alright, so I thought I would follow up the rookie roster, by picking 2 players from each position and giving a couple reasons why I will be keeping a close eye on them come Thursday morning...

Quarter Backs

Jason Boltus - Boltus looks like he could be our most promising QB, outside of Porter of course. He is only 22 years of age, and has some decent NCAA Division III accomplishments under his belt. If Jason could land a spot on the practice roster or even better, on the active roster. With Kevin Glenn, Khari Jones, and even Quinton Porter helping him along the way, we could possibly have a future star QB just waiting for his chance to take over the team as his own.

Adam Tafralis - Now I know he is listed on the rookie roster but Adam is really only there to get in some extra reps. He had some game experience late last season, and proved he could move the ball down field, he looks to have great potential. I look for him to set the tone and show these rookies how its done at the pro football level.

Running Backs

Darcy Brown - He will probably be the guy I watch the most in the two practice days, mainly because he was drafted so highly and seemed to come from nowhere in this years draft. Follow that up by Obie saying he is a bigger faster and more athletic version of Jason Clermont is really saying something. If Darcy can prove he can block and run the ball well, we might have an amazing talent at fullback on plays when he comes out of the backfield.

DeAndra' Cobb - DeAndra' will no doubt get a shot at making the team as a return specialist. Cobb looks to have amazing break away speed and good vision when returning kicks in the video's I have watched of him. I think he might be one of the surprises come training camp, look for DeAndra' to contest with the likes of veteran back, Terry Caulley, and 2nd year back Tre Smith for a shot at being Kenton Keith's backup(Thats assuming Kenton has dropped the NFL weight and regained his past CFL form).

Receivers

David Ball - First of all, the main reason I will be following David Ball, is because he reminded me so much of Andy Fantuz when I watched his highlights from his college days. Speaking of his college days Ball holds the NCAA Division I-AA record for career touchdowns (previously held by NFL legend Jerry Rice). I'm looking forward to watching him haul in some crazy catches in training camp and hope he earns a spot on our active roster come July 1st.

Aaron Fairooz - At 6 foot 6 inches, 218 pounds, who ISN'T going to be watching how this kid does! If Fairooz can perform well in camp and earn a spot on the depth chart come game time we could possibly have a twin tower attack with Fairooz and Prechae Rodriguez, what a scary combo that could be. He was a late cut by the bombers last season and even scored a touchdown against us in the pre season. The receiver battle will be the most interesting competition I'll be watching in camp.

Offensive Lineman

Simeon Rottier - Well I think with being the #1 overall pick in the draft, you will attract a lot of the attention in training camp as well as during the season. He has the size to be an excellent lineman in this league for years to come, and he will have two of the leagues top tackles in the CFL to teach him the ropes. I think we all know Rottier will most likely be our Offensive Tackle of the future, but I'm very excited and interested to see how Simeon stacks up against the big boys in training camp.

Zac Carlson - Without a doubt Zac Carlson will be one of the players I'll be excited to see in action. Some "experts" are saying Carlson may have the advantage over Simeon Rottier, coming from a US college program where he has surely faced tougher opponents to make him transition to the CFL a lot easier. If Zac can constantly improve during training camp as well as during the season we could have a very solid Canadian lineman on our hands... Now it's just up to Carlson, in proving to us that he was worth that 2010 1st overall selection we gave for him. I think he will shape up just fine!

Defensive Lineman

Scott McCuaig - Scott could be one of the more promising young Canadian defensive players we have. He finished his CIS career with 27.5 quarterback sacks and 174 sack yards, both Canada West records... He was also Canada West’s nominee for the J.P. Metras Trophy as Outstanding CIS Lineman in 2008... and was named a CIS First-Team All-Canadian in 2008. I'm really looking forward to seeing how McCuaig does in rookie camp against guys like Rottier, Carlson, Bederman, and Daneau(who are all rookie Canadian O-Lineman). Then it will be awesome to see how he does against some of the toughest offensive lineman in the league, in Alexandre Gauthier and Dan Goodspeed.

Alex Morrow - At 6'6" 270lbs, I'm hoping Morrow will be an absolute force on the defensive line. Alex could be that "diamond in the rough" we have been searching for to shore up our defensive front. He just turned 23 and already has a professional football training camp under his belt with the NFL’s New York Giants. I am hoping Alex has a great camp for us and proves to be a solid force at the Defensive Tackle position along side Darrell Adams.

Linebackers

Jacob Patek - Jacob played safety as well as linebacker in college at Hawaii, so he may not be the ideal size for a linebacker, but from the video's I have watched of him he shows great quickness and superb footwork. He reminds me of another smaller but quick and strong linebacker, who is already playing for us by the name of Markeith Knowlton. We can only hope Patek turns out like the 2008 Eastern All-Star linebacker, Knowlton was for us last season.

Matt Castelo - Like Morrow above he also has had a professional training camp but Castelo tried out with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. What was even more interesting is Castelo also just turned 23 and on the same exact day as Morrow... Now I will admit I don't know much about Castelo, but what I can tell you is he tallied some serious numbers in college. Matt finished his collegiate career with 433 tackles (203 solo), 27 tackles for a loss, 5.5 quarterback sacks, six forced fumbles and one interception and started 40 of 43 games he appeared in at San Jose State. He could be an interesting find for Obie if he can crack the final roster or even make the practice roster and get developed over the season. At any rate we at least know the guy can tackle!

Defensive Backs

Raymond Wladichuk - Raymond is the youngest player on the Tiger-Cats roster at 21 years of age. He is a player I would like to watch closely, as I'm interested to see how he adjusts to the CFL speed and how he competes with the other DB's in stopping the speedy receivers Obie brought in this year. Coach Bellefeuille could maybe even try him at safety behind Barker and Beveridge. He could very well turn out to be a great young Canadian depth player for us this season. Oh yeah and his dad is also a big Tiger-Cats fan, so he already gets some brownie points from me. lol

Alan Zemaitis - If he can stay healthy throughout this years training camp I will be looking for big things out of Zemaitis. A lot of fans have voiced their opinion on Zemaitis's potential, some even saying he will take Lawrence Gordon's corner spot. Now I do agree Zemaitis has a lot of potential and could turn out to be a great defensive back in this league. But he must first prove he deserves that corner spot over Gordon before I will agree with fans and appoint him our starting corner. With all that being said Zemaitis will be one of the DB's I will be watching all through training camp. He definitely has the talent to be a starter lets just see if he can perform and stay health now to earn the starting role.

Nice work I am going wait till all players have #

Really neat analysis GBonds88. Very thoughtful. Thanks for your insights. :thup:

Good job! :thup: