Rifles players take aim at CFL opportunity with Bombers
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/05/2019 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Troy Wilson didn’t have to think long before declaring one of his favourite memories of the past two weeks.
The interception, coming off veteran quarterback Bryan Bennett on a passing drill during Tuesday’s workout at Blue Bombers training camp, will be a story likely retold a few times over the next few weeks.
“I hadn’t been getting that many reps and someone got hurt and I got to go in,” recalled Wilson, a 20-year-old safety. “I had a chance to make a play… I know (defensive lineman Tariq) LaChance got his hand on the ball, tipped it up and I was there and made a play. It was pretty cool.”
That sort of play is not an uncommon occurrence at a CFL training camp, but the uniqueness of it comes from the inexperience of the participants.
Wilson is one of three members of the Prairie Football Conference’s Winnipeg Rifles taking part as non-roster players at Winnipeg’s camp, along with linebacker Cole Sneesby, 20, and 19-year-old running back Brandon Urciuoli.
The three Rifles are not only the youngest players in camp, but also some of the most impressionable. Each spring, the Blue Bombers invite a handful of Rifles to attend training camp — it’s an outreach intended to spur the development of the game at the grassroots level.
All three Rifles believe it’s mission accomplished.
“I was pretty shocked to be here and I’m grateful for the opportunity,” said Sneesby, who will begin his fourth season with the Rifles in their regular-season opener against the five-time defending national champion Saskatoon Hilltops on Aug. 18.
“I don’t know what my expectations were exactly, but I think they fit pretty well to what I had been thinking coming in. It’s just great to be with these great players every day, learn lots and be on the field with them.
“It’s definitely been a great experience, being at the next level and having all the guys in the room. I’m learning lots and getting better every day.”
Sneesby, Wilson and Urciuoli started with rookie camp on May 15 and have been with the team since then, participating in film sessions, team meetings and workouts with the established vets.
Tonight, they will dress for Winnipeg’s pre-season opener at IG Field and are likely to see some live action.
Urciuoli, who has been playing football since he was a 10-year-old, is starting his third season of junior football. He’s been blown away by the complexity of the Blue Bombers’ playbook while enjoying the welcoming attitude of pros such as star tailback Andrew Harris.
“What I’ve been learning is how the CFL works,” said Urciuoli, who hails from Murdoch MacKay Collegiate. “How they really run things, especially the Bombers’ offence, which is very different from anything else I’ve learned. A lot more sophisticated with all the motion they do.
“It’s been a great learning experience, opening myself up to something new and different, something that’s more advanced. It’s going to really (help me) understand offence and defence more when I go back to the Rifles.”
Wilson, the son of Rifles head coach Geordie Wilson, believes he’ll be a better player when he returns to the junior ranks.
“I want to take everything I’ve learned back to the Rifles and win a national championship before I’m done,” Wilson said. “I’ve got two years left. After that, we’ll see. I’ll have three years’ eligibility to play (U Sports) ball afterwards. Hopefully, I’ll do that.”
The quality of the competition at a CFL camp has inspired Sneesby to dream big. Does he aspire to be a pro some day?
“I’d like to, for sure, if there’s an opportunity,” said Sneesby, who like Wilson is an Oak Park High School grad. “It opened my eyes to that dream and see how much work I can put in to make it happen.
“Definitely, people like Harris. But there are lots of examples of junior guys that have been able to go to (U Sports) and the next level and make it here as well,” Sneesby said. “Definitely provides a lot of motivation.”
mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @sawa14
