SASKATOON — C.J. Avery has a thirst for firsts.
On Friday, the 25-year-old linebacker registered the first interception of his auspicious audition with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
That should not have been surprising, considering that Avery made the first interception in the history of the revived XFL.
“That was great,” Avery recalled with a smile at Griffiths Stadium. “That was the first game of the season and I didn’t know what to expect.
“I just did my job and, when you do your job in football, great things happen.”
As a member of the Vegas Vipers, Avery stepped in front of a pass that was thrown by the Arlington Renegades’ Drew Pitt with 40 seconds left in the first half on Feb. 18, 2023.
“I didn’t know it was the first interception until after the game,” Avery noted. “I checked my phone and a couple of guys sent me things that were on ESPN. I realized it was the first interception and thought, ‘Wow. That’s a great thing to happen.’
“I actually have the ball. It’s in my house. I framed it and put it somewhere. I’ll look back one day on the memories.”
The immediate priority is to make a positive impression with the Roughriders, as he did while picking off a pass on the second play of Friday’s no-huddle series.
“It was exciting,” Avery said. “It’s great to be back on the football field and being out here competing with the guys.
“I’m just doing my job and having fun with it.”
That was also the approach at the University of Louisville, which he represented with distinction in 54 NCAA games.
Over a period that spanned 2017 to 2021, Avery recorded 349 total tackles (20 for a loss), nine sacks, three interceptions, 16 pass deflections, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
He was named the Cardinals’ top defensive player in 2019 after making 93 total tackles (62 solo stops, 31 assists) in 2019. He also led the team in tackles in 2020 (78; 48-30) and 2021 (97; 45-52).
In 2022, he signed with Chicago as an undrafted free agent and spent training camp with the Bears.
Avery then started in all 10 XFL games he played for the Vipers, making 62 total tackles (35-27) and, of course, the landmark interception.
There is also a Roughriders connection to a first in the original XFL, which was shut down after its introductory season of 2001.
Paul McCallum, then a member of the Las Vegas Outlaws, scored the first points in the history of the XFL, period. He kicked a 23-yard field goal against the New York/New Jersey Hitmen at 8:48 of the first quarter on Feb. 3, 2001.
McCallum, who had been the Roughriders’ full-time placekicker from 1997 to 2000 before joining the Outlaws, returned to the Green and White in time to play in all 18 games of the 2001 CFL campaign.
He remained a Roughrider through 2005 before spending the next eight seasons with the B.C. Lions. After subsequent stints with Saskatchewan (2015) and B.C. (2016), he retired as a player.
In 2022, McCallum was enshrined in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
MORE HISTORY-MAKING!
The Roughriders’ first all-MLB exchange took place on Friday, when Shea Patterson handed off to Jerrion Ealy.
Patterson and Ealy were both drafted by Major League Baseball teams, only to subsequently concentrate on their football careers.
In 2018, Patterson was a 39th-round choice of the Texas Rangers. Ealy was claimed by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 31st round of the 2019 draft.
Ealy, who played in the 2018 Under Armour High School All-America Baseball Game, played football at the University of Mississippi from 2019 to 2021.
Patterson also attended Ole Miss (in 2016 and 2017) before spending the next two seasons at the University of Michigan.
COREY CALLED IT
After the defence dominated during Thursday’s rookie camp session, Head Coach Corey Mace had this to say: “I suspect that, watching the tape now, the offence will see what happened there and they’ll come back and try to dump it on the defence.”
Sure enough, the offence responded with a much better day — even though the defence still had its moments (see again: C.J. Avery).
“It was really nice to see,” Mace said of the offence’s rebuttal on Friday. “The quarterbacks — all of them — were completing balls everywhere.”
Hence the plaudits for Patterson, Trevor Harris, Mason Fine, Antonio Pipkin and newcomer Jack Coan.
“The competition at that spot is going to continue throughout camp, obviously, but even seeing the offence gel and being able to move the ball, specifically through the air, was nice to see, because we know what we want to be on the ground,” Mace said.
Cue the offence’s highlight reel:
- Kendall Watson made several nice catches, including one over the middle on a dart by Pipkin.
- Rookie D’Sean Mimbs made a tough catch in traffic and followed up with the juggling grab near the sideline while absorbing contact.
- Jake Parker demonstrated a nice burst of speed after catching a bubble screen. He later caught a pass in stride over the middle, 20 yards downfield.
On defence, Habakkuk Baldonado continues to disrupt plays near the line of scrimmage. The Global defensive end played in five games with the Roughriders last season.
SAD NEWS
Moe Levesque, a lineman with the Roughriders’ first Grey Cup-winning team, passed away on Feb. 11 in Fort Pierce, Fla. He was 86.
Levesque played in 15 regular-season games with the Roughriders in 1966, when he was also part of a 29-14 Grey Cup victory over the Ottawa Rough Riders.
Born in Grand Falls, N.B., Levesque began his CFL career with the Montreal Alouettes in 1963. He was traded to Saskatchewan for running back/defensive back Bob Good on May 18, 1966.
Shortly before the 1967 season, he was dealt to Ottawa for a player to be named later.
MAIN EVENT
The Roughriders’ main training camp is to kick off on Sunday at Griffiths Stadium. Sessions are to begin daily at 8:30 a.m.
Green and White Day is scheduled for the following Saturday at SMF Field, where the gates are to open at noon.
The agenda will begin at 1 p.m. with State of the Nation — an update/Q&A that features Mace, Craig Reynolds (President-CEO) and Jeremy O’Day (Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager).
The team’s on-field activities are to begin at 3 p.m., with an autograph session (along the fence line) scheduled for 5 o’clock.
