All Blue starters not set

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This article was published 24/06/2015 (3756 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two-thirds of it looks set at linebacker for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, now just three days away from their 2015 CFL season opener.

It is no surprise Canadian Sam Hurl in the middle and Chris Randle on the strong side are in ready mode for Game 1 Saturday in Saskatchewan.

On the weak side, the question mark may be less so after last Friday’s exhibition game and Tuesday’s first practice of this week at Investors Group Field.

That has shown the Bombers are leaning in the direction of 25-year-old Khalil Bass, who took more first-team reps on Tuesday.

Head coach Mike O’Shea wasn’t tipping his hand on that position battle — rookie Tony Burnett seems to be making an impression, Canadian Graig Newman is a welcome factor this year with better health, and supplemental draft pick Garrett Waggoner is ever-present — nor at running back, where there has also been heavy competition.

“They’re more settled in my mind,” O’Shea said after practice. “We really do set the roster closer to game time, just in case. I just want to dot the Is and cross the Ts and make sure we’re getting out of practice what we need to get out of practice with everybody.”

The story of Bass, a 25-year-old Californian who has been out of football for three years, is one Bomber fans could learn to love.

The former Portland State defender tried out for the Bombers three times before earning an invite to training camp.

Now he may be days away from his first CFL start.

“I’m just hoping for the opportunity,” Bass said Tuesday, mostly mum on the topic. “If it goes that way, fine. If not, well, we haven’t declared anything yet. I’m just hoping for the opportunity.”

Considering how persistent he had to be to get even a look, surviving the final cut-down day on Saturday was a moment of satisfaction.

“I got to excel a little bit,” Bass smiled about the weekend. “I was holding my breath, then I got it and then it was, ‘relax.’ It feels great.”

While many CFL players say training camp feels like it takes forever, Bass is on the other side of that fence.

“After all that time off, it only feels like a few weeks, honestly,” he said. “I’ve been sitting around doing nothing. I’m just getting excited to play, counting down the days.

“(Last Friday’s game) went really well for me, felt comfortable to get back out there. It’s been three years for me off the field, so it just felt good to get out and bang around a little bit.”

Bass wasn’t actually doing nothing since college.

Biding his time and trying to prepare for an opportunity, the dog lover worked at a doggy daycare co-owned by his father, Roxy’s Doggy Daycare in downtown Los Angeles.

“I was just working there in my off time, trying to save some money to do my training and that type of stuff,” Bass said.

Murdoch, his three-year-old rescued Shar-Pei-pointer cross, may have also earned a trip to Winnipeg.

“I hope to get him up here pretty soon,” Bass said.

— — —

Bombers starting quarterback Drew Willy was saying all the right things Tuesday as his team got into its full-on preparations for Game 1 Saturday in Regina.

“We’ll be ready for this game,” Willy said. “We know it’s going to be high emotion and high intensity and we’re looking forward to it.”

Willy said he’s eager to get into the actual offence the team will be running after two exhibition games that didn’t reveal very much.

“I think on offence, another year experience with coach (Marcel) Bellefeuille (offensive co-ordinator) and we were able to kind of do things this year we weren’t able to last year.

“I know on the offensive side of the ball we feel like we’re way ahead of where we were last year. You can work on a game plan instead of trying to just work on concepts that you might not use in a game. Now we know who we’re playing. The coaches have been game-planning for a while I’m sure and it’s good to just get that game plan and look at it. I thought we did some good things out here today. There’s good focus and the team’s ready to go.”

— — —

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The theme throughout training camp has been about improvements and upgrades, and important focus.

Oh yeah, and that the Grey Cup is in Winnipeg this November.

To that bigger picture on Tuesday, O’Shea declared his readiness to do what it takes to give his team a shot at that title game.

“We got a great group of fans,” O’Shea said. “They’re not fickle. They’re not bandwagon fans. We’ve got a really solid group of fans in this city and this province. Not believing I have to, we’re going to go out there and do our job and make sure we pay our fans back for all the support they give us.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca