Gryphons football players learn from the pros in hopes to make the CFL
Getting ready for the upcoming season, the Toronto Argonauts set up camp at the University of Guelph’s Alumni Stadium on Wed, May 25 and will continue training and practicing until Sat, June 18. Joining the pros on the field are Gryphons’ receiver Ryan Nieuwesteeg and linebacker Curtis Newton, who were each drafted to the Argos earlier in May.
While both Gryphons were selected in the CFL draft, the training camp determines which players actually make the team for the Argos’ season opener against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thu, June 23.
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“There are lots of guys out here fighting for positions and if you’re not getting better then you’re probably not going to make the team,” said Newton in an interview with The Ontarion. “I’m just going to try to learn as much as I can every day and keep improving.”
Nieuwesteeg added that stepping onto the field to compete among the pros was a bit of a shock at the beginning of the three-day rookie and quarterback camp.
“You see a lot of guys you’ve watched on TV for years, […] so it’s a little overwhelming at first, but once you start making some plays, it gets a little more comfortable and you start feeling at home again.”
Training on the Gryphons’ turf also helps these players feel at home. Not only are they starting their CFL careers in a familiar environment; they are also surrounded by several other Gryphons—both past and present—on the field.
Newton and Nieuwesteeg were joined by former Gryphons Jake Reinhart, Cam Walker, and Dan MacDonald during the second leg of the camp.
Curtis Rukavina, the Argonauts’ director of player personnel—who was also a linebacker for the Gryphons from 2009 to 2012—said that Guelph’s involvement at the professional level is a testament to the university’s football program: “Not only is it quality football players that it’s putting out, but I think it’s quality people as well.”
While the Argos veterans have been very welcoming and the coaches are eager to share their knowledge, the biggest challenge for the rookies is getting used to the tempo of the CFL practices.
“Getting caught up with the speed and the coaching style, learning your coaches, learning their systems—it’s probably as much mental as it is physical,” explained Rukavina.
“You learn so much […] and I’m just trying to be a sponge and soak it all up and take in everything that I can right now,” said Nieuwesteeg, whose ultimate goal is to get a spot on this year’s team in any capacity.
While the majority of players in the training camp are competing for 46 coveted spots on the team’s roster, for Gryphons’ quarterback James Roberts, the goal is just to learn and improve for the upcoming Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) season.
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Roberts is participating in the camp as part of an internship program that allows quarterbacks—who do not yet qualify for the CFL—to shadow the pros and give Canadian players a leg up on the competition.
With two more years of CIS football ahead of him, Roberts is not considering trading in his black, red, and gold for the Argos’ double blue quite yet. Instead, he hopes to take even the smallest details he has learned from the veteran quarterbacks in the camp, particularly from CFL Hall of Famer Ricky Ray.
“The number one thing [I’ve learned] would probably be along the leadership role,” said Roberts. “It’s always good to get out of your own zone and see what other people do. […] It’s just a good learning curve and experience for me.”
With their quarterback training at the professional level, the Gryphons should expect a successful season ahead of them this fall.