Stories aplenty as Bombers audition rookies

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This article was published 22/05/2017 (3041 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have done their best to entertain over a long off-season. By the time the Grey Cup was handed out in the final week of November, marking the official end to the Canadian Football League schedule, months of work had already been spent coming up with different ways to keep fans engaged through the winter.

Eager to keep the momentum going from the 2016 season, a year that saw the Blue and Gold finish with an 11-7 record and a playoff berth for the first time since 2011, the Bombers spent the off-season hosting several charitable and non-charitable events throughout the city. To ensure they were reaching the most people possible, they struck partnerships with communities across the province, including a deal with a local airline that has agreed to fly in First Nations youth to games. A new team marketing scheme — #ForTheW — was born and has been shared by coaches and players across social media.

But with the snow long gone and the football season just around the corner, the focus now shifts from the front offices to the field. Rookie camp is set to begin Wednesday, marking the unofficial start to the new season. For three days, the Bombers’ coaching staff will work with about 50 hopefuls before veteran players return for duty Sunday at the main training camp.

For some, rookie camp will mark the end of the road — last year, two players were issued a release before main camp — while others will move on and push for a spot on the 46-man roster or one of 10 spots on the practice team.

Many of the players seen through the first few days will be mostly unfamiliar faces, with much of the rookie camp lineup made up of new players who impressed at last month’s mini-camp, sprinkled in with those who either spent most of the 2016 season on the practice roster or were added later in the year.

Then there are the nine players the Bombers picked in the draft, minus a couple exceptions — including offensive lineman Geoff Gray, who signed as a priority free agent with the Green Bay Packers, and kicker Felix Menard-Briere, who was still without a contract as of Monday. Other notable camp invitees include four players from the Winnipeg Rifles — wide receivers Xander Tachinski and Brendan Naujoks, running back Michael Ritchott and defensive back Andrew Ricard — all of whom are unsigned and are expected to return to junior football after camp.

Matt Nichols, Dan LeFevour and Dominique Davis will be among the more recognizable players, making up half of the quarterback stable set to take part on Wednesday. Two others — Malcolm Bell from North Carolina Central University and Austin Apodaca out of the University of New Mexico — signed with the Bombers in recent weeks, while Andreas Dueck, a native of Winnipeg who after a stellar career with the Vincent Massey Trojans will play at McMaster University in the fall, rounds out the group, brought on as part of a CFL and USports initiative aimed at developing Canadian QBs.

Here are five players to keep an eye on at rookie camp:

Faith Ekakitie

Faith Ekakitie (pronounced “ee-KACK-uh-tee”) was selected first overall by the Bombers in the 2017 CFL Draft. Shortly after, the 24-year-old defensive lineman signed a three-year deal that reportedly could pay him north of $100,000 in his first season. The price tag is high because Ekakitie, who played four seasons at the University of Iowa but was never a regular starter, could earn meaningful playing time right away.

With the exit of Keith Shologan, who was released one year into a two-year commitment from the Bombers and has since signed with the Montreal Alouettes, Ekakitie will push Jake Thomas for the starting role at defensive tackle. At 6-1 and nearly 300 pounds, the native of Brampton, Ont., certainly has the size to excel. But having played most of his football south of the border, Ekakitie will need time to adjust to the CFL game. Rookie camp gives him a three-day head start.

Abubakarr Conteh

He may not be the best player at rookie camp — not by a long shot — but Abubakarr Conteh — or,Abu, as he’s most often called — certainly has the best story. Conteh, 21, lived in Sierra Leone before the civil war there forced him to flee the village he was living in as a three-year-old. He eventually wound up in Ghana, where he was reunited with his mother seven months later. Together, they found a home in Winnipeg, where Conteh was introduced to football while attending Kildonan East Collegiate.

The story has many more layers to it, including a move to the U.S., with stops at the North Dakota State College of Science and then Grambling State in Louisiana, where he eventually was scouted by the Bombers and then drafted with the 23rd-overall pick in May. Conteh is still very raw as a football player but at 6-2 and 205 pounds, he possesses a rare speed that makes one think his potential is high.

Kieren Duncan

The hair — long dreadlocks flowing from his helmet — is the first thing you’ll notice about Kieren Duncan. The second is his blistering speed. Oh, and as a receiver, he also had some pretty good hands.

Duncan, 23, signed with the Bombers near the end of the 2016 season following his release from the Chicago Bears. He impressed the Bombers coaching staff with his versatility but it was his speed that made him a clear standout during mini-camp. With the exit of Quincy McDuffie, who signed with the Dallas Cowboys, Duncan is in line to compete for work returning balls and at receiver. With Kevin Fogg the current front-runner as the team’s No. 1 kick returner, the Bombers are in search of a viable safety net. Duncan played for Division II Colorado State-Pueblo, where, in his senior season, he was ranked sixth in the country in kick-return yardage and also named a third-team all-American.

Roc Carmichael

In 2015, four years after being picked in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft and following stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals, Roc Carmichael sought a life outside of football. It wasn’t until this off-season that the 28-year-old decided to give it another go.

Kenny Stafford, who signed with the Bombers in January, said Carmichael, a veteran of 19 NFL games, was the best defensive back to attend the Bombers’ mini-camp. Not only was Carmichael a quick study of the Canadian rules, he also didn’t seem to lose a step on opposing receivers, even when they got a running head start. The Bombers are strong in the secondary but if last year proved anything, injuries happen and solid depth is a must for continued success on the field.

Austin Apodaca

Despite appearing in just 19 games for the University of Mexico for a Lobos team that leaned heavily on the run, Austin Apodaca had some scouts convinced he could have the best arm leading into the 2017 NFL Draft. Many felt he was more of a late-round pick who likely would have to settle for a free-agent deal — the Denver Broncos showed serious interest — but the 23-year-old went undrafted and unsigned before signing with the Bombers. Apodaca arrives in Winnipeg with the chance to show off that arm, even if his chances of seeing real game action are rare. The quarterback stable is pretty well locked up already, with Nichols the undisputed starter and LeFevour and Davis duking it out for the position as first backup.

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