D-line hopefuls get chance to shine

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This article was published 12/06/2016 (3402 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — When the Winnipeg Blue Bombers take the field at TD Place Monday for their pre-season finale against the Redblacks, it’ll be without a number of players expected to be leaned on once the season officially begins.

Hardest hit will be the defensive line, a unit that will be missing Keith Shologan and Euclid Cummings, the team’s two starting interior tackles, as well as Jamaal Westerman, the CFL’s No. 2 sack-leader last season.

Their absences are not to create worry, however, as all three, along with DL Jake Thomas, are at home healthy, and presumably, happy despite missing out on a trip to the nation’s capital.

Besides the financial upside, Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said the decision to leave a number of key defensive players in Winnipeg was to give more attention to the players battling for depth spots on the front line, while resting those who’ve already carved out their roles.

“We’ve still got eight or nine D-linemen here to evaluate, to figure out where they all fit, where all those pieces fit and that’s pretty heated competition,” said O’Shea, who along with finding depth is also looking to fill the defensive end position opposite Westerman.

Right now, that battle appears to be between Shayon Green and Adrian Hubbard, though others will surely get looks, too.

The Bombers have also opted to leave behind kicker Justin Medlock, another lock for the home opener against the Montreal Alouettes June 24. It’s likely they want to create some buzz around Sergio Castillo, who made four of five field-goal attempts against Montreal last week, for what could end up being a nice piece of trade bait.

RECEIVER WANTED: Not all the big names are absent by choice for this one, however, including veteran receiver Weston Dressler, who will miss his second consecutive game with an undisclosed injury. It’s believed Dressler will be ready once the season starts; a welcome return given he’s favoured to be one of the team’s leading receivers.

But the absence of Dressler isn’t a necessarily a bad one, at least not at this point. Winnipeg still needs to figure out who its fifth receiver will be — along with Dressler, Darvin Adams, Ryan Smith and Rory Kohlert all figure to be in the team’s starting rotation — and there’s a number of names fighting for that shot.

HOME SWEET HOME: Defensive end Trent Corney, the Bombers’ first pick — 10th overall — in May’s CFL Draft, will get his chance to shine. And he’ll be doing it in front of family and friends.

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For Corney, who played four years with the University of Virginia in the NCAA, the game is somewhat of a homecoming. He grew up in Brockville, Ont., about an hour’s drive from Ottawa and is expected to have a small cheering section for the game.

Fans will also be eager to see what they have in their newest recruit. Corney dazzled when videos surfaced of his incredible athleticism, something many hope translates onto the field.

“He’s going to play a lot,” said O’Shea.

So it looks like they’ll start to get an answer.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

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Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.