THE LIST WAS CREATED BY A CONSENSUS RANKING OF PLAYERS BY LONG-TIME EQUIPMENT MANAGER GEORGE HOPKINS, RADIO PLAY-BY-PLAY VOICE MARK STEPHEN, STAMPEDERS HISTORIAN DARYL SLADE, AND WALL-OF-FAMER STAN SCHWARTZ. EACH MEMBER WAS ASKED TO RANK THEIR TOP-5 PLAYERS OF ALL-TIME AND THEN PROVIDE A LIST OF THE REMAINING 70. WITH DIFFERENCES AMONG THE LISTS, MORE THAN 100 PLAYERS RECEIVED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT DURING THIS PROCESS. PLAYERS WERE ADDED TO THE LIST  BY NUMBER OF VOTES. FORTY-THREE PLAYERS RECEIVED FOUR VOTES, 20 PLAYERS HAD THREE VOTES, AND 18 PLAYERS HAD TWO VOTES, MEANING THAT NOT ALL OF THE TWO-VOTE PLAYERS WERE ABLE TO MAKE THE LIST. TO FAIRLY ASSIGN THOSE FINAL SPOTS ON THE LIST, THOSE TWO-VOTE PLAYERS WERE RANKED FIRST BY SEASONS PLAYED, FOLLOWED BY GREY CUPS WON, AND FINALLY BY ALL-CFL TEAM APPEARANCES.

Editors Note: With our 75th Season being delayed one year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we’ve added a bonus member to our Top 75.

Hosts Alanna Nolan and Paul Mawdsley spoke with Tre about a lot of topics from his time in the NFL, to living in Calgary, and Christmas traditions!

What else did they talk about with Tre?

• His return last season
• His leadership in the lockerroom
• What will be different in ’22
• Some rapid fire questions
• and so much more!

Enjoy!

The list was created by a consensus ranking of players by long-time equipment manager George Hopkins, radio play-by-play voice Mark Stephen, Stampeders historian Daryl Slade, and Wall-of-Famer Stan Schwartz. Each member was asked to rank their Top-5 players of All-Time and then provide a list of the remaining 70. With differences among the lists, more than 100 players received acknowledgement during this process. Players were added to the list  by number of votes. Forty-three players received four votes, 20 players had three votes, and 18 players had two votes, meaning that not all of the two-vote players were able to make the list. To fairly assign those final spots on the list, those two-vote players were ranked first by seasons played, followed by Grey Cups won, and finally by All-CFL team appearances.

Throughout the season, we will be unveiling the list 10 players at a time in no specific order, finishing with the Top-5 Stampeders players of All-Time. Stay tuned to see if your favourite players made the list!

Want to see the others who made the Top 75?
Check out The First 10
Check out The Second 10
Check out The Third 10
Check out The Fourth 10
Check out The Fifth 10
Check out The Sixth 10
Check out The Seventh 10

1. WAYNE HARRIS, LB, 1961-1972

Height: 6 feet
Weight: 195 lb.
College: Arkansas
Awards/Recognition: High School All-American, Most Oustanding Player in the Southwest Conference (1960), Outstanding Lineman Award (1965, 1966, 1970, 1971), All-West Conference (1961-1963, 1965, 1966, 1968-1971), All-Canadian (1962, 1964-1968, 1970, 1971), Grey Cup MOP (1971), Grey Cup Champion, Canadian Football Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, Stampeders Wall of Fame

When you think of the Stampeders, often some big name quarterbacks come to mind, but perhaps no one more represents the Red & White than Wayne ‘Thumper’ Harris.

The native of Hampton, Ark., played his high school and collegiate football in state before taking his talents elsewhere for his professional career. Drafted by the Boston Patriots of the American Football League, Harris instead opted to head north for an opportunity with the Stampeders. The quick, yet powerful, middle linebacker would go on to play his entire 12-year career with Calgary and would become one of the most dominating defensive players in CFL history.

An aggressive attacker, Harris would routinely dish out some incredible hits on his opponents. That hard-nosed tackling would result in numerous forced fumbles and 23 fumble recoveries over the course of his career. Speaking of turnovers, Harris would add 28 interceptions from his linebacker position. Because of the era of football in which Harris played, statistics such as quarterback sacks and tackles were not recorded, although it’s well understood that he would be near the tops of those categories amongst the Stampeders all-time ranks.
Despite being on the small side for players at his position, Harris would break the mould and become a generational linebacker. With his combination of speed, aggressiveness, and intelligence, he would confound defences and do things that other players at his position could not. A true sideline-to-sideline player with the ability to knock your block off, Harris was a special player and The Greatest Stampeder of All Time.

2. DOUG FLUTIE, QB, 1992-1995

Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 180 lb.
College: Boston College
Awards/Recognition: Heisman Trophy (1984), Maxwell Award (1984), Walter Camp Award (1984), Davey O’Brien Award (1984), UPI Player of the Year (1984), Sporting News Player of the Year (1984), All-America (1984), Grey Cup champion (1992, 1996, 1997), Grey Cup MOP (1992, 1996, 1997), CFL Most Outsanding Player (1991-1994, 1996, 1997), CFL All-Star (1991-1994, 1996, 1997), NFL Pro Bowl (1998), NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1998), College Football Hall of Fame, Canadian Football Hall of Fame

Maybe the most dynamic quarterback to ever lace ’em up in the CFL, Flutie earned his place in the Top 5 of this list with just four years at the helm for the Red & White.

After a pair of seasons with the BC Lions and coming off of a CFL Most Outstanding Player award, Flutie and the Stampeders made a major splash in free agency when they agreed on a deal to bring the quarterback east of the Rockies.

Flutie would continue his dominance of the CFL over the next three years, winning back-to-back-to-back Most Outstanding Player Awards with the Stampeders and helping lead the team to a Grey Cup victory in 1992. In the 1994 season, Flutie threw 48 touchdowns, which still stands as the most passing touchdowns in a single CFL season. He also holds the record for most yards thrown in a single-season with 6,619 yards in 1991.

Flutie would go on to play two seasons with the Toronto Argonauts in 1996 and 1997, where he would win back-to-back Grey Cups.
Over his eight years in the league, Flutie suited up in 135 games and would compile 41,355 passing yards (9th all-time), 270 passing touchdowns, 4,660 rushing yards, and 10 scores on the ground. Those statistics earned him many accolades, including CFL All-Star nods in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, and 1997. In each of those seasons, he was also recognized as the league’s Most Outstanding Player. He missed out on the award in his rookie season and in 1995, when he was limited to just 12 games due to injury.
One of the greatest to ever play in the CFL, it’s hard not to imagine the things he may have accomplished had he not left in 1998 to play in the NFL for the next eight seasons.

3. JOHN HELTON, DT, 1969-1978

Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 250 lb.
College: Arizona State
Awards/Recognition: CFL West All-Star (1969-1979, 1981, 1982), CFL All-Star (1971-1976, 1978, 1979, 1982), Tom Pate Memorial Award (1979), CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player (1974), CFL Most Outstanding Lineman (1972), Grey Cup Champion (1971), Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1986), Alberta Sports Hall of Fame (1993)

A truly dominating force in the middle of the Stampeders defence, it’s a shame that Helton’s era of CFL football did not track quarterback sacks. He was undoubtedly one of the best-ever defensive tackles to play in this league, but there are so few stats and video records to preserve his memory.

Helton played 10 seasons with the Stampeders before finishing his career with four seasons in Winnipeg. In each of his 10 campaigns with the Red & White, Helton was recognized as a CFL West All-Star. Over his 14 years in the CFL, Helton played in 217 games, missing just seven outings over that stretch.

While we may never know his true tackle or sack totals, we will always remember Helton for his role in helping the Stampeders claim the 1971 Grey Cup over the Toronto Argonauts. He was also memorialized in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and in the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

Nicknamed ‘Biggie’, Helton certainly was that, dominating grown men on the football field and doing the same in Stu Hart’s legendary Stampede Wrestling.

4. BO LEVI MITCHELL, QB, 2012-PRESENT

Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 199 lb.
College: Eastern Washington
Awards/Recognition: Walter Payton Award (2011), Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year (2011), FCS Champion (2010), CFL West All-Star (2015, 2016, 2018), CFL All-Star (2016, 2018), CFL Most Outstanding Player (2016, 2018), Grey Cup Champion (2014, 2018)

Mitchell – otherwise known as ‘The Gunslinger’ – signed on with the Red & White in 2012 but didn’t really get any significant action until the 2013 season. In 2014, he would take the reigns as the team’s starting quarterback, beginning his current seven-year run as the man under centre.

In his first full season, Mitchell led the Stampeders to a 15-3 record, throwing for 3,389 yards and 22 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. Calgary would go on to win the Grey Cup, beating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 20-16 at BC Place and the Stamps signal caller would be named the Grey Cup’s Most Outstanding Player.

Mitchell would continue to produce year-after-year for the Stampeders and he would lead the Red & White to three consecutive Grey Cup appearances from 2016-2018. While the team would fall in 2016 and 2017, Mitchell would get the job done in 2018, winning his second Grey Cup Championship.

In his nine seasons with the Stampeders, Mitchell has suited up for 147 games, throwing for 30,531 yards and 179 touchdowns. He’s added another 746 yards on the ground, with 14 touchdowns. He also set multiple records in his tenure, including being the fastest starting quarterback to win 60 games (72 starts), having the best starting record for a first-time quarterback (12-1), and having the most consecutive wins by a starting quarterback (14).

The record, though, that is most impressive is his career winning percentage of 78.7%, which is the best-ever percentage in CFL history, surpassing Doug Flutie (74.6%), Dave Dickenson (71.7%), and Warren Moon (70.3%).

5. ALLEN PITTS, WR, 1990-2000

Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 200 lb.
College: California State, Fullerton
Awards/Recognition: CFL West All-Star (1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999), CFL All-Star (1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999), Grey Cup Champion (1992, 1998), President’s Ring (1994, 1999), Canadian Football Hall of Fame (2006), Retired jersey number 18

Perhaps the most dominant receiver of his era, Pitts was a consistent deep threat in the Calgary offence and he demonstrated strong hands, rarely dropping a ball.

In 11 seasons with the Red & White, Pitts excelled from start to finish. In 1990, he burst onto the scene with 65 receptions and 1,172 yards with six touchdowns. In all but two seasons he would reach the 1,000 yard mark, even eclipsing the 2,000 yard plateau in 1994.
All told, Pitts would finish his career in 2000 with 966 receptions for 14,891 yards (15.4 yards per reception) and 117 touchdowns. At that time, he was the CFL’s all-time receiving leader, but that title would later be taken by Milt Stegall.

To this day, the incredible wideout still holds many Stampeder records, including most receptions, most receptions in a single season, most touchdowns, most touchdowns in a single season, most career receiving yards, most receiving yards in a single season, most career 100-yard games, and most 100-yard games in a single season. He’s without a doubt the greatest receiver to ever don the Red & White.

Pitts played in five Grey Cup games during his career and was instrumental in winning the 1992 and 1998 Grey Cups.

Twice during his tenure with Calgary, Pitts was named the team’s nominee for Most Outstanding Player. However, in 1991 he would lose out to Doug Flutie, who was with the BC Lions and in 1999 he would be the runner-up to Danny McManus of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

To cap off a phenomenal career, Pitts was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2006. The year prior, he was enshrined on the Stampeders Wall of Fame and the team retired his jersey No. 18.

It’s almost like the night before Christmas.

But it’s even better – CFL playoff football time!

And no one is more amped for Sunday’s West Semi-Final in Regina than Stampeders running back Ka’Deem Carey.

“Man, I’m so excited,” Carey said, through a large grin. “I’ve been getting ready for this game for two weeks. I didn’t get to play Winnipeg, so I’ve been preparing for Saskatchewan for two weeks.

“This will be my first professional playoff game, so I’m more excited than anything. I’m at a loss for words right now I’m so excited. I just can’t wait to show everyone what I can do.

“I had a week off, so my body is really ready to go. I’ve got a lot of fuel in the tank, so let’s go.”

Carey is coming off of an incredible season, running for 869 yards and seven touchdowns, while adding 194 receiving yards. His rushing total placed him second in the league, behind William Stanback of the Montreal Alouettes.

His production, leadership, and attitude earned him recognition as the team’s Most Outstanding Player nominee.

“I just feel really blessed and honoured that the team gave me that award,” acknowledged Carey. “We go to work together each and every day and I’ve got a relationship with every guy on this team and the fact that they look up to me as that player on the team … I haven’t been able to play a game yet with that on my name, so that’s giving me another spark going into the playoffs.”

Calgary is extremely well acquainted with Sunday’s opponent, the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The clubs squared off three times during the regular season, with the Stampeders winning the first two outings, before dropping the last one.

“For me, this is the first time doing it, going against a team four times,” Carey said. “I actually find it fun. Getting to play them four times, you get to know them well, the personnel, the players, how they like to tackle, what they like to do, so it adds an fun wrinkle to it.

“It becomes who’s a better team at the end of the day. It’s been 14 weeks where we’ve been preparing to be the best that we can be. Playoffs are where you can display who is the better team, who’s on a roll, who’s making the right plays, who wants it more, who’s more physical and who’s truly the better team. I’m excited to see that on Sunday and I know what we have in this locker-room so we’re ready to explode right now.”

Carey missed the 2019 playoffs due to injury, so he’s ready to be immersed in CFL playoff football with a trip into the hostile grounds of Mosaic Stadium.

“I know what it’s going to be like, I know what they’re going to bring, I know that environment,” he said. “It’s one of my favourite places to play in. I think it’s building up to be something special on Sunday.

“It doesn’t matter where we play at, but I’m excited that it’s in Sask. It’s a place I love to play in. I feel like I always play well there, too. It’s loud and it’s a real football environment to play in. Not that Calgary isn’t, but the way they block that sound in, the stadium is so loud and it’s all green. You can’t hear Bo and everyone is getting so close in the huddle. You have to trust your partner to do the right things and that’s when this team plays the best, when we have to trust that guy next to us to do the right thing and make that play. Every time we go on the road, we trust each other fully and we’ve shown that all year long.

“When everybody’s clicking – you haven’t seen that, we haven’t seen that – it’s something scary. This is the perfect time to show that and I can’t wait until Sunday.”

Check out a few that we’ve found:

BACK-TO-BACK

The Stampeders haven’t lost in back-to back divisional playoff games since losing in the 2010 West Final to Saskatchewan, followed by a West Semi-Final loss in 2011 to Edmonton. With a loss to Winnipeg in the West Semi-Final in 2019, the Stamps are looking to avoid their first back-to-back losses in a decade.

ALL THE WAY

The last two times Calgary and Saskatchewan played in the West Semi-Final, the winner went on to the Grey Cup (2007, 2012). This remains true for three out of last four times (1997, 2007, 2012 but not 2006) that these teams met in the West Semi Final. If this trend continues, Sunday’s battle comes with major ramifications for either team.

MOVING EAST

With each possible game of the CFL playoffs in 2021, the Stampeders will travel further and further east. They’ll start with a short trip to Regina before a possible West Final match-up in Winnipeg and a future Grey Cup bout in Hamilton.

CGY → REGINA (757.1 km)
CGY → WINNINPEG (1,332.9 km)
CGY → HAMILTON (3,337.4 km)

FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME

With a win on Sunday over the Roughriders, the Stampeders would have a date with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at IG Field scheduled for the following weekend. If Calgary can advance to the West Final, it will be the first time they’ve played a West Final at Winnipeg since November 17, 1965. Back then, the teams played a best of three series to determine who would advance to the Grey Cup. Winnipeg would win the series 2-1, but the Stampeders would outscore them 50-43 thanks to a big 27-9 win in Game 1.

BREAKING THE TIE

In 20 all-time playoff battles between Calgary and Saskatchewan, the two teams are in a deadlock at 10-10. This weekend’s match will break the tie and give the winning team the all-time bragging rights – until the next playoff meeting, that is.

COMPLETING THE CHECKLIST

Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell has started a playoff game against each of the West Division opponents, except for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. That will change this Sunday when he will take the field at Mosaic Stadium, making his first ever playoff start against those guys in green.

His previous results vs. the West Division:
2019 vs. WPG, 35-14 L
2018 vs. WPG, 22-14 W
2017 vs. EDM, 32-28 W
2016 vs. BC, 42-15 W
2015 vs. EDM, 45-31 L
2015 vs. BC, 35-9 W
2014 vs. EDM, 43-18 W

A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

This year’s West Division standings provided a first for CFL history as the top-three in West has never finished in this order; 1) Winnipeg 2) Saskatchewan 3) Calgary. Granted, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers did spend 21 years in the East Division over three separate stints (1987-1994, 1997-2001, 2006-2013). Still, with just five teams in the division, it remains odd that this combination of teams wouldn’t have previously finished atop the division in this particular order.

REMEMBERING OUR FIRST

When the organization officially became the Stampeders in 1945, there was no regular season due to WWII. The West Semi-Final that season was a two-game series between Calgary and Regina, with the team scoring the most total points moving on to the West Final. In their first ever game, the Stampeders beat the Roughriders 3-1 at Taylor Field. Just for good measure, Calgary would blank the Riders 12-0 the following week at home to move on to the West Final.

FOURTH TIMES THE CHARM?

Sunday marks the fourth time the Stamps and Riders will do battle this season. The two teams have not faced off four times in a season since 2013, which marked the end of a four-year stretch in which the teams battled four times (regular season and playoffs). Over those four years, the Calgary held a 10-3 regular season record against Saskatchewan, but just a 1-2 playoff record.

IT’S BEEN A WHILE

Calgary has been in the CFL playoffs each of the past 15 years and yet, they’ve played every West Division team in the playoffs more recently than Saskatchewan (2013). Including Grey Cups, the only team they haven’t met more recently is Montreal (2008).

PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE

Entering Sunday’s game, Calgary’s roster has a combined 106 CFL games worth of playoff experience under their belts. That includes Randy Chevrier (15), Calvin McCarty (13), Rene Paredes (11) and Bo Levi Mitchell (10).

CLIMB THE LADDER

Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell holds the franchise record for touchdown passes in the post-season with 18 and will look to push that number higher this season. He’s also 3rd among all-time Calgary QB’s in passing yards with 1,887. He needs 442 yards to pass Jerry Keeling for second and 943 yards to surpass Eagle Day for first all-time.

It’s how you finish.

And that’s a good thing for this year’s version of the Stampeders.

Things did not begin well for the Red & White, sitting with a 2-5 record at the midway point of the season. And although the games were close and could have gone either way at times, they were losses all the same and put the team in a big hole.

But challenges were expected for this team, as they had the least amount of experience in their lineup in the CFL based on career game (27.7) and start (14.3) averages. They also happened to be the youngest group in the league.

“We knew it would take time. Everything gets better with reps,” said veteran lineman Shawn Lemon. “We had a lot of guys who were new to the CFL, new to the Stampeder way. It takes time. It takes time to learn the system, learn how we do things here and how to go out and execute it against an opponent. We knew it would take time.

“At no point during the season did anyone in the locker-room that ever feel like we couldn’t have won those games that we lost early on. One or two plays made the difference in those games and we’re just happy to be making those one or two plays now.”

As the reps have increased for the youngsters, the Stamps have seen players such as Darnell Sankey, Cody Grace, Bryce Bell, and Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund flourish and become key contributors down the stretch.

While the talent was always there, the veteran Stampeders have made a point of trying to push their younger teammates to new levels in pursuit of a championship.

“I’ve been fortunate enough that the first time I played here, I was one of the young guys,” explained Lemon. “I had guys like Corey Mace to help me and guide me along the way. Those guys showed me how to lead, how to be a leader.

“With every team that has a lot of young guys, the only way that team is going to be able to take the next step is to have those leaders. I took that as a challenge for myself and the older guys, like Jamar Wall, we took that as a challenge. Those young guys are only going to be as good as we lead. We try to lead by example, give them some tips or drop some knowledge here and there, just give them something that can help them improve.”

Well, those words of advice were taken to heart and since the halfway mark of the season, Calgary has posted a league-best 6-1 record.

“It’s a testament to the coaches that we have here,” said Lemon. “They prepare us well for the game, the game plans are extremely detailed and we understand how we want to attack opponents. It’s a testament to those guys bringing the right group of guys into the room that fit the stampeder way.

“I think it’s just coming in and competing, competing at McMahon Stadium against each other. We’re fortunate to go against the best offence in the league as a defence, so we get to go out and compete against those guys in team period. Coaches demand more out of us and as players, we responded. We just need to keep executing and playing fast.”

With a West Semi-Final match-up around the corner – Nov. 28 at Mosaic Stadium in Saskatchewan, to be exact – the Stamps players are more than ready for their fourth battle with Riders this season.

“We have a lot of confidence, we know what we can do. We know that we’re a good road team as well,” Lemon explained. “We’ve won there before, so we’ve just got to come in – Saskatchewan is a good team, but – we just have to focus on the things that we need to focus on. Just stick to what’s gotten us to where we are at now. We were in a hole at 2-5 and the naysayers, the media, folks around the league were counting us out, but as long as we believe on the inside and execute our game plan, we’ll be fine.

“We’re going to come out and compete and play hard and fly around, and be a team that understands what it means to put that Red & White on. We’re going to play as hard as possible and the only way we know how to play; the same way we’ve played the last 7 weeks of the season.

Despite being the visitor in this post-season tussle, Lemon and company aren’t concerned.

“It doesn’t matter,” Lemon quickly asserted. “There’s going to be a 44-man roster on both sides. As long as those 44 are together, it doesn’t matter if this game is played in Chicago, Cancun, Mexico, we’re going to come out and compete regardless. As long as I have my 44 teammates with me, it doesn’t matter.”

But Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is about to receive his membership.

Sitting just 14 yards shy, he should become the 18th player in CFL history to throw for that mark when Calgary visits the Ottawa RedBlacks.

If he achieves the feat Friday, he will match Michael Reilly as the fifth-fastest quarterback to reach the plateau.

• Doug Flutie | 90 starts
• Kent Austin | 98 starts
• Danny McManus | 101 starts
• Ricky Ray | 105 starts
• Michael Reilly | 106 starts

Now, while a quarterback gets the glory for having gained so many yards, it’s his receivers, running backs, full backs – and the occasional linemen – doing plenty of the heavy lifting when it comes to hauling in catches.

With that in mind, we looked back at every player Bo Levi Mitchell has completed a pass with and calculated how many yards they earned with him at the helm. The gunslinger has connected with 66 different pass catchers over nine seasons.

Marquay McDaniel – his top target – a teammate of Mitchell for five years and now a coach with the Stampeders, could tell that his quarterback was something special from the first time he walked into McMahon Stadium.

“I’m not surprised at all that he’s gotten here,” McDaniel said.

“Just from day one, even before he got the start, you know you could see it at practice. He used to sit in front of me and I would see him taking notes preparing as if he was the starter even though he wasn’t at the time. That was the first thing I saw and then when he gets on the field you see that big arm and knowing he’s from Texas, you know people from Texas love football. He’s a complete quarterback, I mean the first year he got in there he won the Grey Cup so yeah you could see it from practice when he wasn’t playing – how big of an arm he had and he was always a student of the game.”

Having been on the receiving end of nearly 300 passes from Bo Levi Mitchell, Marquay McDaniel is uniquely qualified to speak to what separates him from all the other quarterbacks in the CFL.

So, what it is about Mitchell that has enabled him to join the elite 30K Club?

“Like I said, from day one when he got that first start that first year you could kind of see he was making a lot of good decisions to make all the throws. You get a quarterback that can do that and it makes it easier on the receivers,” he explained. “As long as you’re where you’re supposed to be he’ll get you the ball. He’s one of those quarterbacks where he was throwing you balls and as soon as you caught it, it was right on the money. Very accurate, that’s a key word I would use with him because he can definitely hit you and let you get YAC after the catch. His accuracy is huge; I know from being a player with him.

“And another thing, too, is Bo sees things fast; he can see defences and make a decision fast. He gets the ball out quicker than probably any quarterback I’ve seen in this league. It’s just making those quick decisions so I think that’s one thing he does well. He studies the defences, sees things coming and he knows our offence like the back of his hand so once he sees something, like I said he has that arm to make all the throws, so his quick decision making helps him to be good, too.”

Friday night won’t be the first time the two men have been together during a major milestone for Mitchell. McDaniel was on the receiving end of a landmark score in 2017.

“We were just talking about the Tom Brady situation when he had his 600th touchdown and his receiver threw it in the stands, because I did the same thing with Bo,” chuckled McDaniel. “I caught his 100th touchdown and I threw it in the stands because I didn’t know right. So when you look back on stuff like this, and I saw the list last week – the reception list – and I was at the top and I honestly didn’t know I caught like almost 300 balls from Bo. When you’re done playing you look back on stuff like that and kind of sit back and look at all the guys you’ve played with.”

The boy who so nicely returned Bo’s 100th TD ball gets a surprise from his favourite player @_McDaniel16 pic.twitter.com/rVw5oOIqkh

— Calgary Stampeders (@calstampeders) July 23, 2017

McDaniel still sees a lot more football in Bo Levi Mitchell’s future.

And with more football will come more records, more awards, and maybe even a certain post-career distinction.

“Top 10 in yards? Yeah, I think he can get there,” said McDaniel. “Because he began starting in 2014 and this is 2021 with a missed season … I think he can crack the top 10, if he’s at 30 thousand already, in seven years, I mean you would think he has another seven in him, so I definitely think he can break the top ten. I could see him getting in that 60 thousand range easily, depending on how long he plays and hopefully him staying healthy.

“I mean Bo is still so young you know having all these records and still chasing records that he can actually hit, I think he’s definitely putting together a hall-of-fame career. When it’s all said and done, he could be looked at as one of the best to ever play in this league, so to play with a guy like that for so long, you definitely appreciate that once you’re done playing.”

But for defensive back Tre Roberson, it certainly is in Calgary.

“Oh it’s way greener,” he chuckled.

“I just knew it was time to come back. The last two years with the COVID and everything that happened, I was just ready to come back home, ready to come back to what I know and what feels good. I just feel like everything is meant to be and happens for a reason.”

The grass ain’t always greener on the other side. I miss it

— Tre Roberson Sr (@tre5_roberson) October 18, 2021

“I want to play football. I want to play,” he added. “That was one of the reasons why I was ready to come back and it was a no brainer that Calgary was the choice.

Roberson spent the last two seasons in his hometown of Chicago working to earn a roster spot with the Chicago Bears.

Unfortunately for the 6-foot cornerback, he suffered a foot injury that held him out of football for the entirety of the 2020 season. He attended training camp again this year but was waived at the end of camp.

Without a team to play on, Roberson finally decided it was time to scratch that football itch.

“When you’re just sitting here and you know that you’re supposed to be on a team but it’s just some certain circumstances you can’t control, that’s frustrating,” he admitted.

“I wanted to play football and it was time. I didn’t want to wait around anymore, so I’m so excited to be here. I know some guys might say it just to say it, but I mean it. I am legit excited to be here.”

The dynamic DB – an All-Star in 2019 – returns to what is already a loaded secondary for the Stampeders.

And he knows full-well he’s joining a talented group as he’s kept tabs on how they’ve been playing.

“They’re a young group and they’re growing. You can see that in the last couple of weeks,” explained Roberson. “They’re playing with a lot of intensity, they’re flying around and they’re getting the details right. Where I can help is with my knowledge of the game. With my ability to read route concepts and also being able to make plays on the ball.

“I’m just excited to be here. Those guys are flying around and it is exciting to see. I’m not going to be a drop-off, I’m trying to enhance it. Let’s take off and go win this Grey Cup.”

Being two seasons removed from playing CFL football, Roberson doesn’t expect to jump right into the line-up and operate at full capacity – even though his knowledge of the defensive schemes remains intact.

“It’s not going to be smooth sailing at all,” Roberson acknowledged. “Everything takes reps, everything takes practice. The last time I played was training camp and I took a whole year off of football before that because of the foot injury. It’s going to take some time, nobody can just step on the field and be at their best right away. I’m ready to work, learn from those guys and work my tail off. That’s all that I can do and let things happen as they happen.

“It’s pretty much going to be the same defence, I talked to Monson already, so it’s pretty much the same calls. I know what to do.”

Roberson – and his coaches – will need to use that time in practice to find where he fits best. Will he line-up in his familiar spot from 2019? Or will he man a new position this season?

Whatever path lies ahead for him, he’s ready to compete.

“I’ll play wherever they tell me to play. I can play anywhere, I could play quarterback, too,” the former Indiana University quarterback laughed. “ Tell Bo (Levi Mitchell), we’re going to be competing.”

The list was created by a consensus ranking of players by long-time equipment manager George Hopkins, radio play-by-play voice Mark Stephen, Stampeders historian Daryl Slade, and Wall-of-Famer Stan Schwartz. Each member was asked to rank their Top-5 players of All-Time and then provide a list of the remaining 70. With differences among the lists, more than 100 players received acknowledgement during this process. Players were added to the list  by number of votes. Forty-three players received four votes, 20 players had three votes, and 18 players had two votes, meaning that not all of the two-vote players were able to make the list. To fairly assign those final spots on the list, those two-vote players were ranked first by seasons played, followed by Grey Cups won, and finally by All-CFL team appearances.

Throughout the season, we will be unveiling the list 10 players at a time in no specific order, finishing with the Top-5 Stampeders players of All-Time. Stay tuned to see if your favourite players made the list!

Want to see the others who made the Top 75?
Check out The First 10
Check out The Second 10

Fred Childress, OL, 1996-2003

After a pair of seasons with two different defunct CFL expansion franchises (the Shreveport Pirates and the Birmingham Barracudas), Childress joined the Stampeders and would continue on to have a fantastic eight-year career. ‘The Big Chill’ was a six-time CFL All-Star, the CFL’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in 1998, the DeMarco-Becket Memorial Trophy winner in 1997, and a Grey Cup Champion in 1998 and 2001. In 2020, Freddie was inducted in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Jamie Crysdale, OL, 1993-2005

A fourth-round pick by the BC Lions in 1992, Crysdale was later traded to Calgary alongside Rocco Romano for quarterback Danny Barrett. After being cut by the New York Giants in the NFL, Crysdale joined the Stampeders and began an amazing streak of playing in 210 consecutive regular season games. Crysdale, a West All-Star in 1998, was part of two Calgary Grey Cup teams (1998 and 2001) during his 13-year career.

Rocco Romano, OL, 1987, 1992-2000

Despite being a first-round pick by the Stampeders, it took a few years venturing around the CFL for Romano to return to Calgary, where he became a fixture on the team’s offensive line. During his second stretch with the club, Romano was a part of two Grey Cup teams, while winning a pair of DeMarco-Becket Memorial Trophies (outstanding lineman in the West Division). He was also a four-time CFL All-Star during his 14-year CFL career.

Will Johnson, DL, 1989-1996

From the time Will Johnson touched the turf at McMahon to the time he departed, he was a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks. Over eight seasons with the Red and White, Johnson recorded 99 total sacks, which stands as the most sacks in Stampeders history (tied with Charleston Hughes). As part of a fearsome Calgary defence, Johnson was a five-time CFL All-Star, four-time West All-Star, and a two-time Grey Cup champion.

Defensive end Will Johnson, who was a CFL all-star five times, during a game against Ottawa in 1992 (Photo by Scott Grant)

Lloyd Fairbanks, OL, 1975-1982, 1989-1991

In his 17-year CFL career, Fairbanks had two different successful stints with the team. During his first run with the club, the Stampeders 4th-overall draft pick was a two-time CFL All-Star (1979 and 1982) and was also the 1982 DeMarco-Becket Memorial Trophy winner (Outstanding Offensive Lineman).

Charleston Hughes, DL, 2008, 2009-2017

Following a strong rookie campaign in Red and White, Hughes spent the start of 2009 with the Philadelphia Eagles before making his return to Calgary. He immediately became one of the league’s top pass rushers and would finish as the league’s top sack getter twice while suiting up for the Stampeders. With Calgary, he was a six-time West All-Star and a four-time CFL All-Star. Along with the 2013 Norm Fieldgate Trophy as the West’s Outstanding Defensive Player, Hughes also took home the biggest trophy – the Grey Cup – twice (2008 and 2014). His 99 sacks with the Stampeders ties Will Johnson for the most in team history. One of the few active players on this list, Hughes has spent the past three seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and will play 2021 with the Toronto Argonauts.

Charleston Hughes during the 2017 season (Photo by David Moll)

Henry Burris, QB, 1997-1999, 2005-2011

Smilin’ Hankhad a pair of stints with the Stampeders, winning two Grey Cups and earning a Most Outstanding Player award along the way. Despite time away from the CFL with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears, and even the NFL Europe’s Berlin Thunder, Burris still managed to have a career worthy of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He finished his CFL career with 3 Grey Cups, 2 MOPs, 2 All-Stars, 63,227 total passing yards, the single-game record for completions (45) and the single-season record for completions (481).

Jeff Garcia, QB, 1994-1998

While Garcia’s stay in Calgary wasn’t long, boy was it memorable. In his first career home start, which just so happened to be the Labour Day Classic, Gracia set a team record with 546 passing yards and six touchdown passes against Edmonton. Garcia would go on to earn West All-Star nominations from 1995-1998 and in his final game with the Stampeders, he would lead the team to the 1998 Grey Cup Championship, earning Grey Cup MVP honours.

Jon Cornish, RB, 2007-2015

Arguably the greatest Canadian running back of all-time, Cornish was simply outstanding throughout his nine year career in the CFL, hence his CFL Most Outstanding Player award in 2013 and his three CFL Most Outstanding Canadian Awards (2012, 2013, 2014). The talented runner was a three-time CFL All-Star (2012-2014) and a four-time West All-Star (2011-2014). A two-time Grey Cup Champion, Cornish was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2019.

Jon Cornish runs for a touchdown during the 2014 Western Final (Photo by David Moll)

Peter Liske, QB, 1966-1968, 1973-1974

In 1967, he threw for 4,479 yards, a whopping figure for that era, and 40 touchdowns, the latter breaking Tobin Rote’s league record of 38. His incredible 1967 campaign is viewed as one of the first to modernize the CFL as a ‘Passing Game’. After earning a CFL All-Star nod and the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy as the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player Award in ‘67, he turned in another 4,000+ yard season in 1968 before heading south to ply his trade in the AFL and NFL. He would return to the Red & White in 1973, playing two seasons in Calgary before a trade to BC where he played his final CFL season.

And last Saturday was seemingly that time.

The weekend tilt with the visiting Roughriders marked the CFL debuts for receiver Shawn Bane and defensive back Malcom Lee.

That wouldn’t be the only first for Bane, though.

Signed just days before the match-up, the rookie wideout was inserted into the line-up due to injuries to Kamar Jorden and Josh Huff. His impact was felt early on, securing a 32-yard catch for his first CFL grab.

Bo Levi Mitchell would shovel the ball forward to Malik Henry, who would use his speed to get the edge and dive into the endzone for his first touchdown in the league.

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On the ensuing drive, Bane was back at it again.

This time, reeling in a long toss from Mitchell for his first CFL major.

This time it was defensive lineman Yurik Bethune who was credited with a sack after Cody Fajardo had slipped away from a handful of his teammates. You guessed it, that was his first sack in the CFL.

A quarter later, another rookie defensive lineman would accomplish the same feat. Andrew Seinet-Spaulding powered his way up the middle and crushed Fajardo in what was a big play on the Riders final offensive drive.

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The list was created by a consensus ranking of players by long-time equipment manager George Hopkins, radio play-by-play voice Mark Stephen, Stampeders historian Daryl Slade, and Wall-of-Famer Stan Schwartz. Each member was asked to rank their Top-5 players of All-Time and then provide a list of the remaining 70. With differences among the lists, more than 100 players received acknowledgement during this process. Players were added to the list  by number of votes. Forty-three players received four votes, 20 players had three votes, and 18 players had two votes, meaning that not all of the two-vote players were able to make the list. To fairly assign those final spots on the list, those two-vote players were ranked first by seasons played, followed by Grey Cups won, and finally by All-CFL team appearances.

Throughout the season, we will be unveiling the list 10 players at a time in no specific order, finishing with the Top-5 Stampeders players of All-Time. Stay tuned to see if your favourite players made the list!

Check out The First 10 players that we unveiled!

Tom Forzani, REC, 1973-1983

The middle Forzani brother played for his hometown team over the course of 11 seasons, playing in 172 games, racking up 8,285 receiving yards and 62 touchdowns. He was a CFL All-Star selection in 1977 and a West All-Star in ’73, ’74, and ’77. Tom’s number 22 was retired by the Stampeders in 1984.

Mark McLoughlin, K, 1988-2003

The 20th overall selection by the Stampeders in the 1988 CFL Draft, McLoughlin would go on to spend 16 years in Calgary and become the teams’ record holder for most points scored with 2,957 (second in CFL history behind Lui Passaglia at the time of his retirement). A three-time CFL All-Star, a five-time West All-Star, a two-time Tom Pate Memorial Award winner, and a three-time Grey Cup Champion, McLoughlin was a big player on and off the field during his run with the Stampeders. Plus, no one will ever forget his 35-yard game winner over the Tiger-Cats in the 1998 Grey Cup.

Dave Dickenson, QB, 1997-2000, 2008

Dickenson’s legacy in Calgary is still being created, but with his playing days well behind him, we can appreciate what he did while under centre. During his five years in Calgary, Dickenson was a part of two Grey Cup teams (1998 and 2008). Dickenson was a two-time West All-Star (2000, 2003) and earned a CFL All-Star nod in 2000. During his 2000 season, Dave lead the CFL in passing efficiency (114.1) and completion percentage (64.3%).

Vince Danielsen, REC, 1994-2001

In 1984, as part of a Bonus Round at the start of the CFL Draft, the Stampeders used the third overall pick to select a receiver from British Columbia – Vince Danielsen. The 6-foot-4 slotback would play eight seasons in Calgary, suiting up for 135 games and accumulating 468 receptions for 6,068 yards and 33 touchdowns. The Canadian receiver would earn West Division All-Star recognition 1998, as well as the Grey Cup’s Most Outstanding Canadian award. He would win a second Grey Cup with the Stampeders in his final season of 2001 before retiring to open a business in Calgary.

Terry Irvin, DB, 1977-1983

Terry Irvin signed as a free agent with the Stampeders in 1977 and played 7 seasons with the club. Irvin quickly became one of the top defensive backs in the West, with 7 interceptions in both 1978 and 1979, which earned him a pair of West All-Star selections. In his time with Calgary, Irvin had 34 interceptions. With 62 career interceptions in the CFL, Irvin is fourth on the All-Time Interception list  behind Less Browne, Barron Miles and Larry Highbaugh.

Brandon Smith, DB, 2008-2019

A defensive back that fans will have recent memories of, Brandon Smith suited up for the Red and White over 12 seasons from 2008-2019 before hanging up the cleats. The Stamps star halfback played in 172 games, recording 656 tackles, 8 sacks, and 17 interceptions. The Oakland, CA native helped lead the Stampeders to three Grey Cups (2008, 2014, and 2018), while earning a CFL All-Star and CFL West All-Star nod in 2014.

Don Luzzi, DL, 1958-1969

Known for giving his all on every play, Luzzi compiled a phenomenal 12-year career with the Stampeders. He compiled numerous awards throughout his career, winning five West All-Stars (1958, 1960, 1962, 1963 and 1966) and three CFL All-Stars in 1962, 1963 and 1966 (there were no CFL All-Stars until 1962) as a defensive lineman. Luzzi, however, played both ways early in his career and won a pair of West All-Stars in 1958 and 1961 at offensive tackle. Those All-Star honours make Luzzi one of a rare group of players who was named an offensive and a defensive All-Star in the same season (1958).

Ray Odums, DB, 1977-1984

After beginning his career with stops across the prairies, Odums joined the Stampeders and would become a stalwart on the backend. Odums missed just one game over eight seasons with the Red and White, recording 28 interceptions along the way. In his final three seasons, the former University of Alabama cornerback was recognized as a CFL All-Star.

Dmitri Tsoumpas, OL, 2008-2009, 2010-2013

The Stampeders made a trade with Edmonton at the 2008 CFL Draft, moving up to No. 2 overall, securing Dmitri Tsoumpas with the pick. The rookie would immediately earn a starting job as the team’s right tackle and play in each and every game en route to the 2008 Grey Cup championship. His excellent freshman campaign helped him win the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie award. The 6-foot-4 guard would earn CFL West All-Star nods from 2009-2012, while also garnering CFL All-Star props in 2010-2012. Sadly, due to concussion issues, Tsoumpas would hang up his cleats in 2014.

Danny Barrett, QB, 1983-1985, 1989-1991, 1996

After a sub-par beginning to his career at the quarterback position, the Stampeders converted Barrett to receiver in 1985. Barrett would head for Toronto and even the USFL before resurfacing with the Stamps in 1989, where he would revert back to his natural quarterback position and establish himself as the starter for the next three seasons. He was instrumental in helping the 1991 Stampeders squad earn an appearance in the Grey Cup, where he set a CFL record for completions (34) at that time.

A simple mental mistake can have major consequences in the game of football.

Consider this – three of the Stampeders first four games came down to the final play and their trio of losses have come by just a combined 11 points.

“It’s literally been one play, we’ve been one play away from being possibly 4-0,” said stalwart linebacker Jameer Thurman. “It’s the little things and the details that we’re lacking. It’s just one play of the little things and details that could have made a difference in the outcome of all of these games.

“We’ve just got to figure out how to not put ourselves in these situations to keep it so close where it comes down to that.”

Thurman and company are laser focused on that goal.

“I can only speak on defence and special teams because those are the groups that I’m a part of,” he said. “Guys are committed to their assignments, there are not a lot of mistakes going on, it’s just one play here and there. And lapses happen during games, but for us those lapses happen in a critical situation that ends up costing us those games. We just have to strive for perfection. We understand that if we’re going to be in these types of games we have to learn how to finish them and come out on top.”

Receiver Markeith Ambles echoed that statement.

“We just got to look ourselves in the mirror and just tidy it up. See the mistakes and learn from them,” said Ambles.

“I think once we get the little things fixed everybody becomes a little bit more disciplined we’ll come out on top in more of these games. I don’t think we’re worried, we’re a close knit group and everybody’s giving it their all. So once we fix the little things we’ll be right where we need to be.”

As leaders on a young team with many new faces, Thurman and Ambles have made sure to try and share their knowledge on what it takes to win in the CFL.

“I’ve talked to the young guys, I’ve told them the standard we have and they’ve been playing up to that standard, they’ve lived up to it,” Thurman explained. “It’s just little things here and there that are costing us. We get the reps in practice, we communicate on the field, we talk about these things throughout the week. But still, when we go out there it’s executing on those little details that are costing us those games that we have to fix, and we’re going to fix them.

“This is not acceptable, us being 1-3 right now. We are all mad right now because we understand where we should be in the league, so we’re going to get back to the drawing board and we’re going to fix things that we need to. Maybe it might be just going over something in practice that we can do differently, one little thing that might be the difference, or not. But we’re going to try and figure this thing out.”

The Stampeders will host their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Elks, for the annual Labour Day Classic on Sept. 6.

The added intensity and emotion of the tilt could be just what the doctor ordered.

“I think we’re going to come in rejuvenated and refreshed this week,” said Ambles. “It’s going to be a big game, I’m excited. I know it’s going to be fun since its Labour Day, I’m looking forward to it.”

“I know we’re always hungry for Labour Day, but now we’re even hungrier,” added Thurman. “We’re going to be at home again so we can’t keep this going in front of our fans either, because they don’t deserve this. We put too much work in for us to be ending up on the losing end of some of these games. I’m excited, I know the guys are excited and we can’t wait to get back to work.”

The list was created by a consensus ranking of players by long-time equipment manager George Hopkins, radio play-by-play voice Mark Stephen, Stampeders historian Daryl Slade, and Wall-of-Famer Stan Schwartz. Each member was asked to rank their Top-5 players of All-Time and then provide a list of the remaining 70. With differences among the lists, more than 100 players received acknowledgement during this process. Players were added to the list  by number of votes. Forty-three players received four votes, 20 players had three votes, and 18 players had two votes, meaning that not all of the two-vote players were able to make the list. To fairly assign those final spots on the list, those two-vote players were ranked first by seasons played, followed by Grey Cups won, and finally by All-CFL team appearances.

Throughout the season, we will be unveiling the list 10 players at a time in no specific order, finishing with the Top-5 Stampeders players of All-Time. Stay tuned to see if your favourite players made the list!

Let’s begin our All-Time Top 75:

Herm Harrison, REC, 1964-1972

A linebacker converted to tight end, Harrison earned himself the nickname ‘Ham Hands’ for his large hands and even larger catches. Harrison would become a six-time West All-Star and a three-time CFL All-Star. Herm helped lead the Stampeders to the 1971 Grey Cup over the Toronto Argonauts, scoring the only touchdown in a 14-11 victory. For his remarkable pass catching and blocking abilities, Harrison was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and had his number 76 retired by the Stampeders.

Jay McNeil, OL, 1994-2007

A Stampeders lifer, McNeil was drafted by the team in the fourth round (34th-overall) in 1994. The 6-foot-3 guard didn’t play much in his rookie season, but would become a starter shortly thereafter and was a stalwart on a talented Stampeders offensive line. McNeil helped the team reach four Grey Cups during his tenure and would secure two Grey Cup championships in 1998 and 2001. McNeil was fantastic throughout the 2000s, earning six West All-Star nods (2001, 2002, 2004-2007) alongside being a five-time CFL All-Star (2001, 2002, 2005-2007).

PeeWee Smith, REC, 1990-1995

Maybe most notably known for his incredible run into the tunnel after a 67-yard touchdown in the West Final against Edmonton in 1991, Smith had many notable highlights to speak of during his six-year run with the Stampeders. The six-foot-one pass catcher found the endzone 16 times throughout his career, while amassing 3,136 receiving yards on 207 receptions. Not only was he a weapon in the passing game, he was a menace in the return game as well. Smith tallied 4,909 kick return and punt return yards, with five going the distance to the endzone.

Basil Bark, OL, 1970-1977

Bark began his CFL career with the Montreal Alouettes, where he played two seasons as an outside linebacker before being moved to center. After a five-year stint with the Als, Bark was traded to Calgary in a blockbuster deal that would send Terry Evanshen the other way. Along with a pair of West All-Star nods in 1971 and 1973, Bark was also part of the Stampeders 1971 Grey Cup squad that took down the Toronto Argonauts for the team’s second ever championship.

Junior Thurman, DB, 1989-1994

Ulyses Thurman Jr. was a key cog in a stalwart Stamps defence during his time in the CFL. Thurman played in 95 career games with the Red and White, earning an All-CFL nod in both 1991 and 1992, capping off the ’92 season with a Grey Cup win. The defensive back snagged 15 interceptions and made 365 tackles during his seven-year career.

Reggie Lewis, DL, 1977-1981

An NFL draftee to the San Francisco 49ers, Lewis decided to head north instead and play in the CFL with the Stampeders. The defensive lineman spent four-and-a-half seasons in Calgary and was known as an elite pass rusher. Unfortunately for us modern day folks, we can’t measure his impact through the sacks stat as it wasn’t tracked until his final season in the CFL, where he recorded 7.5 split between Calgary and Toronto. Lewis was a three-time West Division All-Star and a three-time CFL All-Star in the same seasons.

Tony Pajaczkowski, OL, 1955-1965

One of the best offensive lineman of his time, Pajaczkowski was a five-time West All-Star for the Stampeders and was the team’s nominee for Outstanding Lineman in 1960. Pajaczkowski also won four CFL All-Stars at offensive guard in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965. Pajaczkowski was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1988.

Bernie Morrison, LB, 1978-1988

A national linebacker, Morrison was a stalwart on the Stamps defence, playing 11 seasons with the team. Morrison won the Presidents’ Ring twice (1985 and 1987) and was named to the Stampeders’ 50-year Dream Team in 1995. He had 17 interceptions for 109 yards, 11 fumble returns and also had 316 defensive tackles in just four years of official record-keeping. Morrison led the team in total tackles three times (1986-88) and also had 13 sacks in his last five seasons.

Keith Spaith, QB, 1948-1954

One of the first stars in Stampeders franchise history, Spaith was deployed in all three phases of the game — on defence, as the quarterback on offence, and as the punter on special teams. Accordingly, he was on the field for every second of the Stamps’ victory over the Ottawa Rough Riders in the 1948 Grey Cup, the franchise’s first championship. He was a CFL All-Star in 1948-49 and was the winner of the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy as best player in the west in 1949. He remains the last QB to lead his team to an undefeated season. Legendary.

Lovell Coleman, RB, 1960-1967

For eight seasons, Lovell Coleman called Calgary home and he was nothing but spectacular while with the Red and White. When he arrived in Cow Town, he was saddled behind future Hall of Famer Earl Lunsford, so he was forced to bide his time in the background. But when he was truly given the opportunity to run free in 1963, he exploded for 1,343 yards and 13 touchdowns. That was the beginning of three straight 1,000+ yards seasons and consecutive CFL All-Star and West All-Star nods. The 1964 CFL MOP and 1968 Grey Cup Champion remains in the Stampeders record books for the most rushing yards in a single game with 238 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on September 15, 1964.

But how do you go about replacing a guy like Rob Maver?

Well, in short, you don’t.

“Rob Maver is a Hall of Famer,” said punter hopeful Ronnie Pfeffer. “There’s a reason why he played so long and so well. I don’t look at it like I’m coming in and trying to replace him and do what he did. You can’t replace him.

“It’s all about coming in here and doing the best you can. We all know how good Rob was at placing the ball when it comes to coffin corners and everything, so our focus is to hit our ball and making it smooth.”

Special Teams Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach Mark Kilam had a front row seat for Maver’s heroics over the years and said the four guys battling for the job have to focus on their game, not mimicking Maver.

“You can’t ask anyone to be anybody else,” said Kilam. “Even when Maver came in, he evolved – dramatically evolved – two or three times with rule changes, punt scheme changes, and with how the game was evolving and that’s what made him an all-star. It was his commitment to his craft and his ability to evolve that made him who he was. I think with these guys, it’s four different guys with four different styles and four different body types.

“We have certain expectations numbers-wise, hang-time wise that we want our punters to achieve, but they still have to be themselves. If they try too hard to do something else, they won’t become the player that they need to be.”

Joining Pfeffer in the chase to earn the job are Keiran Burnham and a pair of Australians, Cody Grace and Gerard Laws.

Of the foursome, Pfeffer is the only candidate with CFL experience.

But does that give him the leg up? (pun intended)

“He knows the rules of the CFL, he’s played for a number of organizations, and he’s worked with some good special team’s coaches in his career,” said Kilam. “He’s really the only pro. Cody Grace is straight out of college, Keiran Burnham is right out of college, and Gerard Laws didn’t play in university or college sports – he played semi-pro, which is essentially men’s league in Australia. It’s no knock on men’s league or college sports, but professional football is professional football. It’s a step up for all of those guys and they’re taking turns finding their stride, but all four guys are trying to work for that consistency in what we’re doing right now.”

Like most position battles throughout the roster, the evaluation process has been made more difficult by the lack of pre-season games.
“You have to try and treat every practice like it’s a game,” Pfeffer said. “But at the end of the day when the lights come on and there are fans out here chanting, it definitely becomes a different game. That’s where my CFL experience helps; you’ve been under the lights and you know the game well. But at the end of the day, it’s about how well you can kick a football. Regardless of whether the lights are on or off, it’s about how consistent you can be with that.”

“You can design situational opportunities, but anybody is lying if they think it’s easier,” Kilam chuckled. “It’s definitely more challenging to evaluate. Some guys only show up in games. They look good in practice but then the lights come on and they really shine. Conversely, some guys can be great practice players but then you put them into the game and they can’t execute whatever his job is. I think it’s a big challenge and anyone saying otherwise is lying. But it’s our job as coaches to try and find and put these guys into as many situations and competitive situations as possible to see how they separate themselves.”

The punters have been thrown into the deep end in the first few days of camp.

It’s time to sink or swim for these four candidates.

“Yeah, we’re pushing hard. We’ve had 42 team punt snaps in three days,” explained Kilam. “We always have a lot more punts early, so we’ll back off a bit, but we’re pushing them hard to see what we’ve got, to see how they handle it, and to see how they fit in. I’m looking forward to watching them push through training camp.”

It’s been 21 months without CFL action.

But the Stamps returned to the field at McMahon Stadium Saturday for the first day of training camp and for young receiver Richie Sindani, it was almost surreal.

“I honestly … sometimes on the field, I thought I was going to wake up from a dream,” he said. “I didn’t think we were going to play.”

Like most people, the pandemic was tough for Sindani but it provided him the opportunity to get into the best shape of his life.
The results of his off-season workouts? Becoming almost unrecognizable on the field.

“This year I don’t know what happened,” Sindani chuckled. “Last year I didn’t do a lot, but this year I got up to 235 at one point. I think that’s the range that Chase Claypool and DK Metcalf – that new prototype of receiver dances around that range, maybe a bit bigger.

“Right before camp I dropped down to right around 220, so compared to 2019 when I was playing at about 204, I’m up a good 16 or more pounds. I still feel really quick and strong; I think I’m still growing into my frame, to be honest.”

 

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Having been so lean, he determined that during the off-season he needed to get stronger to make a difference in all facets of the offence.

“I think having the physique that can be outside and bully DBs on the perimeter and then come into the box and then add that run element is huge,” he said. “At that point, you can do everything on the field and that’s something I wanted to be able to do. I put on weight so I could handle linebackers and defensive ends, and of course perimeter players. That’s something I wanted to do after 2019. I felt like I wasn’t as physical, but that’s what I’ve gotten to now and I can’t wait to put it together on the field.”

That said, Sindani and his teammates were careful during the first day back on-field, easing into the pool, so to speak.

“I think a lot of players during the Covid period struggled to have a consistent training program,” said Sindani. “When you return to the level of play that you need to be at, certain ligaments and joints may not be ready for the twitch that’s required to play.

“Dave and Huff have a good grip on how they want to put our bodies through training camp. You don’t want to lose bodies during this time. I honestly think that they’ve prepared quite well for that. But really what it comes down to is guys taking care of themselves, but keeping health as a priority along with playing well.”

Sindani isn’t the only player who showed up in great shape.

He was noticing guys all over the field, especially on offence, who used the lengthy break to transform their bodies.

“If you had a longer off-season and you recovered from injuries from the past season, you really only had time to get better,” he explained. “Really, I think physically you can tell that certain guys have added muscle or dropped weight and they look good. Now it’s just tapping in mentally because the conditioning only goes so far.

“The guys that I’ve seen that are noticeably different are obviously Bo. I think he’s slimmed down, he looks different, so maybe we’ll see some RAC from him this year. Hergy, he’s a bit bigger this year and a guy like Markeith Ambles are guys I noticed on Day 1.

“There’s a lot of guys in great shape this year.”

In advance of May 4th’s CFL Draft, CFL.ca and 3DownNation have each published two editions of their own. We decided to take a look at the prospects that they’ve predicted will wear the Red & White for the foreseeable future.

CFL.ca Mock Draft 1.0 by Marshall Ferguson

Round 1 – Pick 8
OL, Sage Doxtater

What the analysts are saying:

“The last couple years have been uncharacteristically difficult for the Stamps offensive line health and depth. Unlike many U SPORTS prospects, Sage will have recent reps to be game ready for Calgary as his New Mexico State Aggies recently wrapped up a two game sprint of a spring season to make good on the COVID-ravaged 2020 fall schedule. His feet will need some tidying in the pros to solve balance concerns, but you can’t disagree with a motivated and experienced six-foot-seven, 350-pound frame.”

Round 2 – Pick 11
DB, Benjamin St. Juste

What the analysts are saying:

“When I think about the Stampeders secondary, I think length, size and physicality near the line of scrimmage. St. Juste fits this profile perfectly while offering special teams coordinator Mark Kilam one of the longest wingspans at the 2021 Senior Bowl to work as a punt gunner.”

NOTE: Benjamin St. Juste was drafted by the Washington Football Team with pick 74 in the third round of the NFL Draft.

CFL.ca Mock Draft 2.0 by Marshall Ferguson

Round 1 – Pick 8
OL, Pier-Olivier Lestage

What the analysts are saying:

“The last couple years have been uncharacteristically difficult for the Stamps offensive line health and depth. While Lestage might get an NFL look and has the frame/skills to stick down south, I believe the pick for Calgary here has to be made with Bo Levi Mitchell’s protection in mind and there are few better prepared to do that quickly than Lestage.”

Round 2 – Pick 11
DB, Deane Leonard

What the analysts are saying:

“After a year away from McMahon, Deane Leonard returns to where he spent the majority of his college days as a Dino stand out to solidify Calgary’s Canadian back end. He’s a perfect substitute for the loss of Tunde Adeleke in free agency in 2019.”

John Hodge’s 2021 CFL mock draft 1.0

Round 1 – Pick 8
OL, Logan Bandy

What the analysts are saying:

“The two-time U Sports second-team All-Canadian has room to continue building his frame and moves well on film. Though he’ll likely play guard at the professional level, Bandy has the potential to fill in at tackle in the CFL if called upon.

The Stampeders already have solid depth along the offensive line, but it’s tough to pass on a blue-chip local product like this. If Bandy’s available at No. 8 overall, Calgary should scoop him up.”

Round 2 – Pick 11
LB, Grant McDonald

What the analysts are saying:

“The Stamps don’t have to look far for a potential ratio-breaker at middle linebacker. This six-foot-three, 235-pound tackler was extremely productive through two seasons with the Dinos, making 83 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one interception.”

3DownNation Podcast: live CFL mock draft

Round 1 – Pick 8
OL, Peter Nicastro

What the analysts are saying:

“I think it’s most important, first and foremost, to protect Bo Levi Mitchell. When he’s upright and healthy, that team competes for Grey Cups year in and year out – if they’re not winning them. I’m going to select the kid from the University of Calgary, he’s just across the field, his hometown is Calgary, as well, and the Stamps have shown the willingness to do this in the past – just look at Ryan Sceviour. Put another Calgary boy in there.”

Round 2 – Pick 11
TE, Bruno LaBelle

What the analysts are saying:

“Yes, he signed a free agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals after the NFL Draft, but the value is there. If this dude comes to Canada, I believe he can make a big impact as a physical, willing blocker and a better athlete than most people think.”

There you have it, eight prospects who may find their way to Calgary come draft time on May 4th! Be sure to tune into TSN for the first two hours of the draft, followed by LIVE coverage on CFL.ca.

Stay tuned for more from ‘Geo’ as he will be joining members of the ’92 Grey Cup team for a virtual hangout later this week!

Q: With your experience from watching the game, to working it, winning or losing, what makes the Grey Cup so special?

A: I think honestly, the fact that it is almost – as dumb as it sounds – a Canadian holiday. If you happen to be in the city where it’s taking place, it’s so festive. Even in a big city like Toronto, with so many things going on, they can throw a pretty good Grey Cup party. If you’re watching from home, it’s infectious and you can get wrapped up in it. It’s the one thing that I honestly think can unite the country from coast to coast, because the Grey Cup is distinctly Canadian.

Q: Which city throws the best party?

A: I can’t honestly say how good our parties are, because I’ve been involved in the game. I will admit that for the last one in ’19, I did get down and experience Stamps House for the first time, so I’m a little biased against Calgary because I’ve had so few experiences with it. As much as I hate to admit it, Saskatchewan throws one heck of a party for the Grey Cup.

Q: What’s it like for you working the big game?

A: A lot of extra work that you can’t complain about. Just from a logistics standpoint, to get everything packed up and moved, it’s a nightmare. Getting in, moving everything into the locker-room … if you’re fortunate to be in a locker-room the whole week it’s a bonus, but the last few times we’ve been in one place for a few days and then in another for a day and then you have to move into the stadium, because you rarely practice onsite so the field stays in pristine condition. Basically, it’s a lot more work, but there’s no reason to complain because you’re at the Grey Cup. The moving, the setting up, there’s a lot of challenges to it, but there’s no complaints when you’re competing in the big game.

Q: How fortunate do you feel to have participated in and won so many Grey Cups?

A: I put it in the perspective from the standpoint that I was with the team fro 20 years before I went to my first one. It’s been back loaded in my career that I’ve had a lot of success. I started in ’72 and the first one I went to was in ’91 and we lost that one. I don’t take any of it for granted. Every Grey Cup is different, but they’re all very much appreciated.

Q: Of all the Grey Cups you’ve experienced, which one was your favourite?

A: ’92 for sure because it was my first. That one I’ll always remember for a variety of reasons. But I’ll tell you, winning it in Edmonton in ’18 after they won a couple in our facility was awful, awful close.

Q: You’ve got six rings and it’s probably like picking a favourite child, but which one do you like the most?

A: From the story behind it, probably ’14. Because it was the ‘Year of the Horse’, Johnny Forzani had passed and he ends up on the ring, and I got a tattoo of the Year of the Horse on my calf and (former president) Gord Norrie liked it so much that it made it onto the ring. I think the best storyline written into the ring is from ’14.

Q: Is there one moment from any of the Grey Cup games that stands out the most?

A: I do remember and it came back to me when I re-watched the game with the ’92 guys. The first play of that game, Flutie rolls out and hits Derek Crawford for 37 or 38 yards and I was standing next to Patty Clayton (our physical therapist at the time) and I said to him that we had it in the bag. It was the first play of the game, but we were so focused and we knew that we were there for one reason only. I don’t make bold statements like that at the best of times, let alone after the first play of the game, but I remember that one distinctly.

Q: Any other moments stand out?

A: I remember in ’14 when Brandon Banks ran that punt back and I was standing right at the 20-yard line where he caught it because the bench was so crowded so I had wondered down there. I remember that because I was one of the few people who saw the flag so I knew it was coming back. Everyone was going nuts and I just calmly walked back to the bench. In ’18, that was the first time I ever held the Grey Cup on stage. That was as much as anything because it was in Edmonton and I wanted to do it there. Normally I just go inside and I don’t celebrate on the field, but I had fun with that one. I have good memories from the bad games, too. Each one sticks for a different reason. But like I said, they’re all different, but they’re all good.

Q: Is it weird not having the Grey Cup this year?

A: It’s just been such a strange year. I’ve been doing this on almost 50 years and the fact that I had my birthday off at the end of June for the first time since I was 12 was kind of telling. It’s been a weird year. It’s not so much sadness for me, but more of a numbness that there won’t be a game this year.

Keon Raymond is no exception.

The Calgary Stampeder Alumnus and 2x Grey Cup champion has been pioneering a new football movement here through his Big Time Players 7v7 program, which is a competitive, fun, non-contact game that focuses on player safety and skill development.

“I started it about three years ago,” explained Raymond. “I was watching the spring football, and coming from a football background, I thought it was too much football. Too much tackle football is detrimental, especially at a young age. I looked at this thing they were doing in the States, which was 7-on-7 football, and I liked it. I’ve coached kids from atom, I coached at the high school level, and there’s nothing that’s like this that helps the kids develop at the skill positions.

“I wanted to create something where kids can come out, throw the football around and have fun. It’s the essence of football, man.”

Like all group activities, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed some unique challenges.

However, thanks to the smaller team rosters and the desire to create a safe environment for the kids to continue playing and developing, Keon Raymond found a solution to get the game going again.

“When the whole COVID thing hit, we had just come back from Los Angeles,” he said. “I had taken 15 kids for a 7-on7 tournament in L.A. and we had a great time. We returned home from competing and three days later they closed the border. That ended our travel season.

“With the firm restrictions, we were thinking about how we can help the kids play. I thought it was a prime opportunity when they said we could operate under smaller cohorts.

“With it being a 7-on-7 game, it was a perfect fit. We broke it down to four teams with eight or nine players per team, so it was pretty small weekend cohorts. It allowed us to stay within the numbers and we only needed 13 on the field at one time, so it worked well to allow the kids to keep playing.

“To see things kind of get back to some form of normalcy, especially with the 7-on-7 we’ve been running throughout the summer and fall, it’s been like a breath of fresh air.”

The fast-paced format allows players to focus on critical thinking, adapting and reacting to in-game situations, and racking up touchdowns and interceptions.

“We always want to make sure safety is number one with the program,” Raymond said. “That was one of the biggest reasons why I started it. Making sure kids can play and play in a safe environment. Football always has concussions issues – a kid takes one hit and he misses a couple of weeks, so he’s missing a lot of cognitive things of building the foundation of their skill set. We have the kids wear a soft-shell helmet – it’s not perfect, but it’s added protection when they go jump for a football or something like that.”

Following Canadian football rules on how players are deployed, the game consists of seven defensive players going against six offensive players.

“We keep it to two corners, two half-backs, two safeties and a middle linebacker,” he explained. “They’ll have six players on offence including the quarterback. The quarterback has to find the areas since there’s seven defenders and only five guys running routes. “They line up and the QB has four seconds to throw the ball and if he doesn’t throw the ball during that time, it counts as a sack. It allows the quarterback to learn how to read the defences in a faster sequence, dissect coverage, understand movements, and it accelerates their game mind.”

Big Time Players 7v7 provides the kids with an opportunity to play football during their offseason, participate on the travel team, acquire video highlights of their games, and learn from professional football players such as Colton Hunchak, Shane Richards, and Marquay McDaniel. With an assist from the Stampeders Video Operations Director Ross Folan, the players are able to get properly packaged highlights to use in their recruitment efforts.

“We’re able to put some of their film on to HUDL,” said Raymond, speaking of the online recruiting platform used by the players. “Ross helps us with that and now the kids get to watch themselves every week, something they wouldn’t get a chance to do since there is no high school football right now. With no competition elsewhere, these kids are loving the opportunity to play.”

“I couldn’t imagine in my senior year football being taken away from me. I wouldn’t be here, man.”

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Q: Since our last chat, what have you and your family been up to?

A: During the summer, there was a lot of golf. Since Maddie and the girls have been back, I’ve been training a lot and I’ve actually started training kids now, too. I’ve partnered with ALFA – which is Taylor Altilio’s (Assistant Special Team’s Coordinator) program. ALFA is a lot of weight room training and speed training and we do a lot of skill position and individual training. In conjunction with them, we’re going to run a seven’s program starting in November. That’s been keeping me busy for sure, just trying to create the plan and get as much coaching for these kids since a lot of their football isn’t happening.”

I’ve been spending a lot of time with the family. We just went down to the Calgary corn maze and we let the girls pick out a couple of pumpkins. That place is always awesome. We do a lot of walks and Ele has a name for every park near our house, so she’ll pick which one she wants to go to that day and we’ll go there. It’s been a lot of having fun with the family, being a dad, and navigate just like everyone else is nowadays.”

Q: Has it been a nice silver lining to be able to spend more time with your girls?

A: Oh, for sure. You see such a different reaction from the girls everyday knowing that you’re at home all day and not be at work every day for 10 hours a day. I wish we could be playing football right now, but it’s still a blessing on the family side of things.

Q: As for your health, how has the shoulder rehab been going?

A: It’s been obviously not a blessing for a lot of people, but for my career, it’s been a blessing to be able to have surgery and have an entire season to just train and get as strong as possible. It’s been awesome for me to be able to slow it down and attack any problem areas. It’s not just my shoulder, either. Anything that has been ailing me over the last few years – I’ve been a guy that has played through lots of little things and they compound on top of each other. It’s been a blessing to be able to attack the entire body and heal up everything and strengthen some things that were weak before. I’m excited about it, I’m feeling ready for football next year.”

Q: Is it hard to watch college football or the NFL, wishing you could be playing?

A: It does make you miss it. It’s tough to watch and know that you want to be out there playing and you should be out there playing. But it’s fun to be able to turn into a fan and watch a guy like Alex Singleton make a game-winning interception and fan boy a little bit. Getting to watch former teammates like him, Reggie Begelton, and James Vaughters out there is really cool. That has made Sunday’s more fun to watch. But we make Sunday a big event around here with lots of food, have friends over and hang out and have fun watching football all day.”

Q: Being a competitive guy, how do you replace that need for competition without football?

A: Golf and Fantasy football, those are two big ones for sure. I actually played my wife this past weekend in fantasy football and she beat me when the Saints-Chargers game went to overtime. I had the win locked up, but she had Alvin Kamara and Hunter Henry and when the game went to OT, they racked up a few more points to push her ahead. It was tense in the household for a little bit. Maddie knows how competitive I am and I need to keep that going or I would go stir crazy. I think it helps to do the training I’m doing with the quarterbacks. I’m out there doing the drills with them, competing with them and making all the same throws as them. So, it’s a fun way for me to train and teach them at the same time. This football academy has been a lot of fun and has kept that competitive spirit going.

Q: With so much time to design an offence, what are you expecting from Dave Dickenson when you return to the field?

A: He’s a mastermind. You give this guy this much time to look through things and figure out where we’re not productive and what we’re really, really good at, he’s going to find some great ways to maximize things. It’s exciting for me to know that we’ll come back to wrinkles in the playbook and maybe even different types of playbooks. The running QB thing has become a big thing this past year with Chris Streveler, so there’s the possibility for Montell Cozart and the guys we brought on to be productive and keep the defence guessing.

Q: Have you stayed connected with your teammates throughout the time away from the Stadium?

A: The guys in town – Kamar Jorden, Colton Hunchak, Mike Klukas, Hergy Mayala, I’ve kept in touch with all of the local guys. I’ve been talking to Eric Rogers a little bit and talking about making sure we’re in a position to be attacking the league like we have in the past and about how scary our offence can be with the guys we have at receiver. Definitely trying to keep in touch with everyone and make sure they’re good.

Q: How excited are you at the possibility of playing CFL football in 2021?

A: I’m pumped. I’m hoping we can re-invigorate the CFL and make it bigger and better for 2021. I’m hoping we can find some ways to get everyone excited. I know the fans miss the games, we miss the games. I definitely miss seeing them on Saturdays. I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to it and making some noise next year.

The Cotes have packed up and headed to Denmark, arriving in the capital Copenhagen on Saturday.

“We’re pretty excited for sure,” said former Stampeder Rob Cote. “We’re taking a chance at what we think is a pretty exciting opportunity and adventure.

“I’m proud of my wife Natalie; she got into the Copenhagen Business School MBA program. She’s going to take her Master’s in Business and it’s a year-long program, so we’re hoping and planning to be in Denmark for about a year before returning to Calgary.”

After years of living around the schedule imposed by the football season, this journey is Cote’s way of giving back to his wife for her years of support.

“When I was playing football, it comes first in a lot of areas,” he explained. “Family always comes first, but in terms of scheduling and logistics, my football schedule controlled everything.

“It was the main factor in how we planned our lives. She carted our kids across the country a couple of times to watch us lose a couple of Grey Cups. She was pregnant at the 2014 Grey Cup and couldn’t celebrate with us.

“This is being able to put my money where my mouth is and say I vowed to go along on your adventures as well. This is my chance to go and support her and put her first and put her dreams first.

“It’s an opportunity to return the favour to my wife.”

So, Carpe Diem, right?

“We’re trying to seize the moment,” agreed Cote. “Still, it’s a plan that we’ve had in the works for a long time, probably about a year and a half. She was looking at schools all over the world, some in Canada and a bunch in Europe, and we wanted to take the chance to go and be a family unit.

“We’ve travelled in Europe before and we felt that we had an itch that we wanted to go and scratch in terms of spending time as a family and stepping outside of our comfort zone a bit, so that’s we’re going to go do.”

Cote said this get-up-and-go-together template is one he’s familiar with.

“Calgary is family, this is home for me,” Cote said. “I was born in Calgary, but we lived in the U.S. when I was young – my family took us there for work. We’ve had some conversations in our family about how that shaped our lives and I think this could possibly do the same for our children now.”

Of course, a move like this is not an easy one, regardless of the circumstances.

But during a global pandemic? Not an issue for them, although it has made some things more difficult.

“It’s raised a lot more questions,” explained Cote. “It hasn’t actually affected us too much, other than we would have gone over for a scouting trip to decide what community we wanted to live in and things of that nature. The Covid-19 situation in Denmark is being handled well. They have slightly fewer cases per capita compared to Alberta, so we felt comfortable with what we are going into.

“The biggest challenge is having visitors; we were planning to have guests coming over but that’s going to change because of safety, quarantines, and other factors.”

With Natalie busy with school, Cote will get to spend some quality time being Dad to Miller and Wynn.

“Priority number one is to be the primary caregiver while we’re there,” stated Cote. “We are hoping and planning to get the kids into the public school system there, but we’ll have to wait and see how that plays out.

“First and foremost, I’m going to be with our two young boys. If we’re cruising the city every day and doing daddy home-school, that’s awesome. And if not, then I’ll try to get some work and I’ll be starting a Blog. It all comes down to whether I’m with the kids 24 hours a day or 18 hours a day.”

Stay tuned for information about Rob Cote’s Blog and how to follow along!

In small, socially distanced groups, that is.

The Stampeders were given permission on June 1 by the Alberta government to return to McMahon Stadium for training while adhering to certain safety restrictions.

“It was just great to get back into the building with the guys, I missed them all,” said Strength and Conditioning coordinator Keenan MacDougall.

“Now it’s just getting back into the swing of things, making sure that we’re getting them back to training safely. Sometimes after a big break like this, guys feel like they have to make up for lost time, so they get a little bit over-zealous and come back and do way too much, way too soon and that’s when injuries happen.”

Under Phase 2 of the governments re-launch plan, there are numerous restrictions in place to help maintain the health and safety of all those involved in the workouts.

These include participating in smaller groups, registering with the head trainer to get their health checks, washing hands, and maintaining social distancing, among other things.

“We’re doing temperature checks, signing in and out, and daily questionnaires as far as symptoms for the players,” said MacDougall. “I thought it would be more of an annoyance than it is, but it’s really not a big deal, it only takes 30 seconds per guy on the way in.

“These logistical constraints that we face right now are more that the social distancing prevents us from doing a lot of actual football drills. We can’t even throw a football right now. Those are the biggest limitations for us at the moment, but there’s still plenty we can accomplish. We just have to get creative as far as exercise choices with the equipment that we have available and limit the sharing of equipment.”

Prior to the COVID-19 shutdown, MacDougall and the players had been hard at work preparing for the 2020 season.

Since then, overseeing the training for players all over North America has been his main focus.

“We had a really good crew and we were getting into a nice routine up until things got shut down in mid-March,” explained MacDougall. “Guys have been on their own since then, so we lent out all of the equipment from the Stamps locker- room so that guys could continue training from their homes.
“It’s always tough training remotely. From my end, I can provide a plan for them, but it’s tough to ensure that everyone is training well throughout the process.

“You’ve got to have some trust in the guys to be accountable on their own. I’m in contact with them, but it’s not a daily thing. I’ve seen other coaches do Zoom meetings and have basement workouts, but that wasn’t feasible with our group, so I’ve just had to trust that they’re doing the right thing.”

The decorated defensive tackle out of McGill University finally heard his name get called when the Stampeders made him the 52nd selection in the 2020 CFL Draft.

“I just wanted to get picked,” Seinet-Spaulding acknowledged. “But I was hoping that I would get picked by Calgary.

“I loved the coaching staff and I had nice interviews with them, so that was the one place that I really wanted to go. I didn’t expect to go in the sixth round, but at the end of the day I got picked by Calgary, so I’m very happy.”

The young man from Pierrefonds, Que., celebrated his selection with a small local gathering and a larger virtual gathering.

“I had a bit of family over for the draft and we organized a Zoom meeting so that I could have my friends, coaches, and teammates join in, as well,” Seinet-Spaulding explained.

After hearing his name announced over the CFL.ca online broadcast of the event, his phone rang with a call from his new position coach.

“Coach Mace was the first person to call me after I got the news,” said Seinet-Spaulding. “Then I talked to the defensive coordinator, Brent Monson, and the next day I spoke with head coach Dave Dickenson. He was excited, too, and he was surprised that I was still there in the sixth round and said that they were thrilled to get me, so I’m happy.

“I feel like coach Mace seems is a great coach and we’ve had a few great conversations already so I’m very excited to work with him. He’s willing to work with me and develop me into the best player that I can be. He has faith in me and that’s important.”

The 6-foot, 292-lb. defensive tackle had an illustrious career at McGill, capped off by a senior season that saw him lead the Quebec league in sacks (7) and tackles for loss (13.5) en route to earning team MVP honours, an RSEQ all-star nod, first team all-Canadian recognition, and winning the coveted J.P. Metras Trophy for being the most outstanding down lineman in USports Football.

Some other Stampeders have won the J.P. Metras award in recent years, including was Randy Chevrier (2000), Étienne Légaré (2008), Ben D’Aguilar (2012), and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (2013).

“I had the best season of my university career,” he stated. “I prepared myself well for the year because I knew I was going into the draft and I stayed healthy all season, which really helped.”

While McGill’s co-captain possesses plenty of power, it’s his deception and intelligence that he believes are the keys to his success.

“My quickness is one of my most important skills” Seinet-Spaulding said. “I’m able to cover the entire field with my speed, despite being 290 lbs. I use leverage since I’m not the tallest guy at only 6-foot. My knowledge; I watch a lot of film and I’m able to understand the techniques to beat my opponent one-on-one.”

Seinet-Spaulding is ready to go whenever the team is given the green light to open training camp.

And he’s excited to finally get inside the friendly confines of McMahon Stadium.

“I saw the stadium as we were passing by this summer when I was in Calgary, but I didn’t get to see the inside,” he explained.

“I watched some Youtube videos, game presentations and how the stadium looks with all of the fans – it looks pretty exciting.”

Due to current COVID-19 protocols, teams will be making their selections in isolation, with everything done online or by phone.

“It’s going to be unique,” said Stampeders Director of Player Personnel Brendan Mahoney.

“We’ve had virtual meetings since almost St. Patrick’s Day, so we’ve had a lot of practice with it. The CFL has been very accommodating … we had a test draft today and we got to test out some internal communications and the conference call, so it may come with some hiccups but I think we’re well prepared and we’re confident in our technical staff. Communication is the most important thing but I think with the practice that we’ve had, we’re good to go.

“But it will be interesting to do the draft from my house.”

For the first time in recent memory, the teams were unable to complete a large portion of their scouting process due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of having coaches and scouts descend upon the regional and national combines to watch the top prospects compete in testing and interviews, they were forced to rely solely on virtual meetings with players, virtual ‘pro-day’ videos, and the tape.

For the Calgary management staff, it’s certainly been unusual.

“I wouldn’t say it’s been difficult, it’s been more unique and presented a different set of challenges,” said Mahoney. “Sometimes with people’s internet connection, we’ve gone through the entire gambit of various technological issues, but our staff is pretty well-versed in terms of computers and things like that. Ross Folan, our director of video, does an excellent job in terms of getting us set up and making sure that we have all that we need to get work done and get quality work done as well. Being set up to speak with players, have meetings, watch film together; it’s things like that that have made this transition into the house that much easier. The players and their agents have been good as well, in terms of being made available for interviews and then providing us with any videos that we need in the evaluation process. It’s been challenging, but I wouldn’t say that it’s been totally negative.”

The scouting process, of course, doesn’t begin at the combine, and the team has been hard at work since not long after the 2019 draft.

While everyone in the front office contributes to the process, one man has been heavily involved.

“Dwayne Cameron, our Director of Canadian Scouting, has done a lot of the leg work on these players so we had a really good idea, a good base of knowledge coming in,” Mahoney explained. “And we were able to enhance that with our own evaluation and speaking with the players, which is very important. We’re very happy we got a lot of interviews done this year.

“It’s our work coming to fruition. Dwayne Cameron who took over as our Director of Canadian Scouting from Kyle Carson, he’s had to jump in midway through the process once Kyle left and he’s done a great job of providing the information that everyone needs and making sure no stone is left unturned. The nerves are there until you make your final pick of the draft and then you can take a couple moments to sit back and be proud of the work that you’ve done. The most satisfying thing is seeing what your roster looks like going into training camp – whenever that takes place.”

Through all of their hard work, the team has carefully identified each player and determined their slotting on the draft board.

With a strong understanding of the prospect landscape, the team is excited by the gluttony of talent.

“I would say that there is definitely some high-end talent at the top of the draft, so we’re in a fortunate position to draft number one,” Mahoney said. “I think at almost every position on the field, I could see a team using a first-round draft pick on. Obviously, it’s a unique draft in terms of not having a combine or anything like that, but we’ve done our due diligence to identify the players that we like and slot them where we think they would be fit our team. Overall, it is a talented draft, but there may be a few extra question marks that might not have been there in previous years.

“It is exciting to know that you can take any player that you like.”

Dwayne Cameron, who’s not a stranger to the Stampeders organization, replaces the recently departed JC Sherritt as the team’s Linebackers Coach.

We spent some time chatting with him, as he works with the rest of the coaching and management staff to prepare for the CFL draft and the upcoming season.

Q: Prior to becoming the team’s linebackers coach, how were you connected with the Stampeders organization?

A: I began scouting with the organization in 2016 and my responsibilities, from a CFL Draft perspective, were to provide evaluation on Ontario-based players as I was coaching at the University of Laurier at the time. I had great up-close access to a lot of those players, I recruited a lot of those players – some successfully, some unsuccessfully – but I had known a lot of them since they were in high school. That gave me a unique insight and background into some players that the organization may otherwise not get. I was also doing some NFL pro scouting for the team with Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo. So I would go into their training camps and look at potential players for future reference.

My initial connection with the organization was Brent Monson. We’ve known each other for years, so it’s been fantastic to work with him and then get to know everybody else throughout the organization. I had worked previously in the CFL in 2010-11 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, so when I had the opportunity to come here for four years as a guest coach in training camp, my eyes were really opened as to what an elite CFL organization looks like and operates like. I firmly believe that this is the best organization in the CFL.

It’s been great for me. I’m really big on professional development for my own personal growth and to be exposed to these coaches and to Huff in the GM role, it’s been fantastic for me.

Q: When were you approached about the linebackers coach position?

A: I was just working on the draft and then a few days before Christmas, my phone rang and I saw that Dave Dickenson was calling. I thought maybe he was calling to say Merry Christmas or that kind of thing. That’s when he mentioned that JC was leaving and that’s where the process all started.

Q: When you were offered the job, how was the decision making process?

A: I’ll put it to you this way – saying yes to Dave and having the opportunity to work with everyone in the organization, that was easy. Saying goodbye to Laurier, where I’ve spent 13 of my 15 years of coaching, that was difficult. I’m very loyal, so that part was hard. But saying yes to Dave, saying yes to Huff, knowing I would be able to work with Brent Monson on a full-time basis, I was incredibly excited by that opportunity.

To be honest, without all of my connections here, I’m not sure I would have left Laurier. My four years here afforded me the opportunity to get to know everyone and have trust in where I would be stepping into. That goes back into what I said earlier about them having a first-class organization. Part of it is trust; trusting the situation you’re stepping into and I certainly do 100 percent.

Q: How has the long-distance work due to COVID-19 made your first off-season as a coach?

A: Well it’s certainly different and that’s coupled with the fact that it’s my first year sitting in and being a part of these meetings, so it’s made it doubly difficult. At the same time, because it is my first year, I didn’t know it any other way. So I think it’s presented some challenges; we’ve been able to deal with chaos early and quickly. Going forward, it’s just another opportunity for me to grow from. In terms of how difficult it is, I don’t really find it that bad. There’s enough work to keep you busy, so whether you’re doing it in your office or you’re home office, the work gets done. From a day-to-day standpoint, besides the fact that I can’t walk down the hall to talk to Brent, Huff, Dave, or Brendan, they’re all just a text or a call away.

Q: Without the CFL Combine, is it tougher to evaluate draft prospects?

A: I certainly think the challenge is greater without a scouting combine. The combine doesn’t change your opinion on somebody, but it gives you the opportunity to re-inforce kind of what you’re already thinking and answer some final questions. Of course, we still have the interviews, which we’re conducting over video conferences now, but you don’t get quite the same connection with the person as when you’re in the same room. For some of the players, specifically the guys that were playing in the US, the combine sometimes is the first opportunity to see them face-to-face, so we miss out on that. But the reality is that every team is dealing with the same thing, so it’s not like we’re at some kind of competitive disadvantage.

Q: With virtual interviews still a possibility, how important has that been as you make final assessments on players?

A: At the end of the day, we’re all people and a big part of success is relationships. You get a brief window, but you get a window into who that individual is. You get to ask them some specific questions, sometimes it’s maybe challenging them about something you saw on film or it could just be getting to know a bit more about their background and understanding what’s shaped them into the person that they are. It’s certainly a great piece to have.

Q: How has having the first-overall pick impacted your CFL Draft preparation?

A: Well, it’s different, that’s for sure. Being a part of it for the first time, it’s unique, it’s exciting, and at the same time it’s a challenging situation, so it’s something I’m very excited about.

For instance, superfan Connie spent a couple of days creating her second iteration of a Stampeders fleece t-shirt blanket.

“Basically I had a bunch of old t-shirts; the oldest one is from ‘It’s A Snap’ in 2003,” she explained. “I have a really hard time throwing away anything that has the White Horse on it. I kind of hoard everything.

“I had an old fleece blanket that I got form a CFL Tweet Up at a Grey Cup and then I had all of these t-shirts and I decided to cut off the logos or whatever the design was and sew them onto this blanket. It was kind of a mish-mash, the first one, just kind of rag tag sewn onto the blanket.

“When I moved all of my mom cave stuff from the room upstairs to the basement, I pulled out all of these shirts from volunteering, things I bought, championship gear, things I’d been given, there’s always something. I didn’t want to throw them away, even though I wasn’t wearing them anymore, so the second blanket came to life. My daughter Molly and I were very thoughtful about how we cutout the shirts, so that it would lay out more uniform like a quilt. We spent a while laying it out on the floor and rearranging it to decide on a pattern. It took me about two days to get everything sewn onto a very nice, new fleece blanket.”

“The new one is way better than the old one. This time I sewed it on better, so it’s a very nice, cozy, double-layer fleece blanket to use in the stands when it gets cold. My daughter Molly now has the original one and now that she has her own season seats, she’s very excited to have her own stadium blanket.”

While both blankets are Stampeders-themed, there is a very constant Nik Lewis inspiration throughout. The long-time Stamps receiver is referenced eight times between the two blankets, mostly with references to the Nik Lewis Nation, but also with a personal design and a term that he created.

“There’s one shirt on here that Nik Lewis did the design for on the old blanket, it’s the ‘Feel the Power’ designed shirt with the blue,” she said. “Nik actually influenced the blankets a lot, as I have a lot of Nik Lewis Nation shirts on here, too. He also coined the term MollyG Nation, which we turned into a shirt. That’s a funny story; when Molly was three or four, we were at practice and she was running around the stands like kids do while we were talking to Nick and he mentioned that he wanted to be in Molly G Nation. She came to join us and she was chewing some gum and I asked her where she found it and she pointed towards the stands so I was like, ‘Spit it out. That’s gross. That could have been a Roughriders gum.’ ”