Battle brewing at Bombers camp

As far as training camp battles go, the duel at left guard is one of the biggest — literally and figuratively— for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Tui Eli and Gabe Wallace are shuffling toward the same goal this spring, but look very different while doing it.

Eli has the advantage in experience, entering his fifth year with the club, while Wallace prepares for his second season. Meanwhile, Wallace is much younger and holds the size advantage.

The 29-year-old Eli is listed at 6-3, 287 pounds, while Wallace, 24, checks in at 6-6, 340 pounds. Both are listed as national players.

“They may look different, but they have that same sort of fierceness,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “I think Gabe, in a very positive way, that I would think, is nasty. And Tui has got that toughness — that same nastiness, but it comes maybe from a different place. But I think they both can have that, which we obviously like. It’s just, they’re two different type of characters, but I think they can bring that same type of ferocity.”

They’re battling for the job vacated by Liam Dobson, who signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in free agency during the winter. So far, it looks to be anyone’s game.

“Tui’s been with us a while, and he’s so versatile and he just totally believes it 100 per cent at the core, he’s wired to do whatever he’s asked to do and love that role, which I think is unique in pro sport,” O’Shea added. “At the root of it, they both can be very tough players, even though there’s a size difference.”

Both players will hold significant roles for the Blue and Gold this season, regardless of who emerges as the starter. The loser of the camp battle will become the sixth offensive lineman, referred as the “K” in Winnipeg’s offence, checking into the game for plays that require the extra lineman and being one of the first depth options in the event of an injury.

“The battle, to be honest with you, it’s not really about who gets what spot right now,” Eli said. “It’s more about, for us, just working hard every day. It sounds really, really weird, because you’d think that a group of us guys who are vicious and nasty, we’re all just, ‘We want that spot, I want that spot,’ but this group of guys is different.”

Eli, who has had trouble staying healthy in previous camps, is in his sixth pre-season with Winnipeg and looking to finally lock down a starting job after serving as a rotational player for much of his career. The product of Richmond, B.C., has six starts in his career, including one he made in the Labour Day Classic last summer.

He’s lauded for his versatility, with the ability to play guard, centre and even taking a few snaps at tackle since arriving in the CFL.

“We truly want the best out there, and if one of us has a bad day, we’re open and willing to say, ‘I had a bad day.’ None of us is too big for the job, everyone’s very humble, I find, and that makes it a whole lot less stressful,” Eli added.

“But it’s pretty amazing how we push each other during practice. Pushing Gabe, a big 320-something pound, 6-6, having to push him just in (individual drills), that’s enough for me to get that iron sharpens iron every day, and then we just keep going back and forth every day, pushing each other. It’s never felt like, ‘Who gets what.’ It’s more of a, ‘What can I do? Where would I be best?’”

“It’s a different-looking camp this season, just schedule-wise, but it feels good, it feels like there’s a fire building up.”

As for Wallace, who is still trying to add some versatility to his arsenal, this year’s camp has been a night-and-day difference from the one he went through as a fresh-faced rookie last year.

“More settled. A huge thing, it’s kind of a weird one, but being more comfortable around the group, around the coaches and stuff like that. Being able to take the coaching a lot better than last year — kind of maturing your game and how you take criticism and how you improve on things,” he said. “I think just how you respond to certain things, I think that’s been a huge jump.”

Wallace arrived in Winnipeg after starting for three years at the University of Buffalo, where he mostly aligned at left guard but also played some left tackle. He got some runs in last year’s season opener against Montreal and dressed for the first 11 games of 2024 before suffering a knee injury that knocked him out until the regular-season finale.

“I think it’s great, having that competition going. It’s not even looking at it as competition, it’s just — we’re both getting our opportunities and when we get them we go out and give it our all. I just think it’s really great for the team, too, because it’s going to be us competing as hard as we can, and whoever competes better and competes harder… is going to get that job. It’s just great for the team,” he said.

It’s been tough to tell who’s “winning” the battle through two weeks of camp, as offensive line coach Marty Costello and offensive co-ordinator Jason Hogan mix both players in with the first-team offence. With that, it appears more likely that the eventual starter will need to prove themselves in a game setting, beginning Saturday in the pre-season clash against the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Princess Auto Stadium (3 p.m.).

“Every coach just wants to see them play games against other competition, but players want to see a different colour jersey,” O’Shea said.

“Yeah, you evaluate what they do in practice, and that takes you so far down the path. Even the veteran guys, you still want to see them do it in a game again.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca