Bombers impressed with new talent

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This article was published 22/04/2015 (3808 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers wrapped up their second annual spring mini-training camp Tuesday with mostly rave reviews for the talent they evaluated and the way the camp ran — with one notable exception.

“It was a great three days. I’m sorry to see it end,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said after the club held its fifth and final on-field session.

Bombers GM Kyle Walters said the team will likely invite 20 to 25 of the players who worked out for the Bombers here the last three days to join the club at main training camp in Winnipeg in June. A total of 52 players were on the roster.

While Walters said the Bombers remain committed to holding another spring mini-camp in Florida next year, don’t be surprised if the Bombers find a location other than IMG Academy in the future.

Booking the world-renowned IMG Academy — tennis star Maria Sharapova, among others, worked out here over the years — doesn’t come cheap, but there were issues for the Bombers this year.

For starters, seemingly half the campus is under construction in one form or another and there is fencing detours and construction debris all over the place, not to mention a lot of long and dusty walks from one place to another.

But the thing that really seemed to rile the Bombers this year was the breakfasts the team were provided — or, rather, weren’t provided.

“What disappointed me was the breakfast hall wasn’t opened two mornings in a row,” said Walters. “From our standpoint when you look at the time and energy we put in down here, there was a screw-up down here and it was embarrassing for us to show up at the cafeteria.

“To their credit, the chef and his staff rallied and got everyone fed and out the door.”

While Walters isn’t ruling out a return to IMG next year, he said the club will study their options.

One such option would be Dodgertown, the former spring training facility of the Los Angeles Dodgers in Vero Beach, which both the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos use to hold their mini-camps.

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Walters and O’Shea both believe they’ve found the solution to their linebacker problems.

While both men raved about the linebacking talent they saw here, neither Walters or O’Shea would name any specific names that stood out among the six that were here.

But it says here that Kenny Tate, who the Bombers worked out here last year and invited to main camp before ultimately cutting him, will almost certainly get an invite to Winnipeg again this year.

And so too, in all likelihood, will C.J. Wilson, a 6-1, 226-pound former safety from Western Michigan who the Bombers auditioned as a weak-side linebacker.

“There’s still a lot of learning I need to do, coming from safety and also being new to the game, but I feel like I did pretty well here the last couple days,” Wilson said.

Wilson graduated college way back in 2008 and has been playing semi-pro ball most recently, but he caught the eye of Bombers scouts during a recent free agent day and earned an invite to mini-camp. At 29, he says this is his last best chance to play pro football.

“This is what I want to do and right now my body is still capable of running around out here and getting beat up. But at my age, it gets harder because all the teams want the younger guy.”

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O’Shea said he liked what he saw in the way receiver — and native Winnipegger — Jordan Reaves improved over the three days the former basketball player — and son of Bombers great Willard Reaves — took part in his first pro football training camp.

“We understood going in that it’s going to require some work,” said O’Shea.

“And I think Jordan improved every day.”

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The Bombers brain trust was very impressed with all three running backs they worked out and don’t be surprised if a former Super Bowl winner is among the backs who gets invited to main camp.

Da’Rel Scott, who won a Super Bowl (mostly as a special-teamer) with the New York Giants in 2011, might not be able to duplicate the 4.34 40-yard dash he ran at the 2011 NFL Combine, but he’s still plenty fast enough to play in the CFL, judging by his performance the past three days.

It’s a long way down from winning a Super Bowl to trying to win a job in the CFL, but Scott says he just wants to keep playing after bouncing on and off the Giants roster the past three seasons.

“It’s part of the business and you just have to learn to understand it. It took me awhile but I made the most of my opportunities down there and now I’m on to a new one… You see guys leave the NFL, come to the CFL and be stars. And that’s my goal — to help Winnipeg and do what I’ve got to do to get to that Grey Cup.”

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The Bombers were very high on the play of Johnny Adams, a 5-10 185-pound defensive back out of Michigan State who was among the few players O’Shea singled out for praise this week.

O’Shea loved the way Adams elbowed other players out of the way to get more practice reps for himself and almost certainly earned himself a training camp invitation with his enthusiasm — not to mention four interceptions over the three days.

So about those stolen reps, Johnny?

“I don’t think I was stealing reps per se,” Adams said with a grin. “I just came out here to compete and show what I got and the only way you can do that is to get on the field and show them what you can do.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @PaulWiecek