The drive for the Vanier Cup officially kicked off for the Manitoba Bisons this past weekend as they hosted their annual three-day spring camp at the East Turf Fields. Below are some thoughts from head coach Brian Dobie.

'Huge upside' shown by Manitoba's three rookie pivots

Rookie quarterbacks Jackson Tachinski (Vincent Massey Collegiate), Stephen Woit (F.W. Johnson – Regina) and Gavin Perkins (Hammarskjold – Thunder Bay), along with second-year Jonathan Remple (fourth-year eligibility) came into camp looking to increase their chances of obtaining the backup pivot position behind fourth-year Des Catellier (second straight season as starter). The three first-years weren't hard to miss, as each is above 6'3" and over 200 pounds.

"All three of them have huge upside. They're tall, they're athletic, they've got strong arms. The list goes on," Dobie said.

"And they're all bright, very intelligent kids who are high academic achievers. All the right things are there. They just need to get here and get to work and take the next natural step. You can see that they've all been really well coached."

Dobie added that Tachinski probably had the strongest showing of all three in Sunday's scrimmage.

"He grew stronger as the week went along and as he got further reps in the second part of the scrimmage. I thought he had a great camp, as did the other two [rookies]."

'Gigantically competitive situation' at running back

Running back depth was a particular point of emphasis during this year's offseason, considering the fact that veterans Jamel Lyles and Somto Anyadike would likely not be back.

Breydon Stubbs (Vincent Massey Collegiate) — the starting running back from VMC's ANAVETS Bowl-winning team and Team Manitoba's Offensive MVP at last year's Canada Cup — was signed last August, while four-time Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) national champion Logan Fischer (Saskatoon Hilltops) and 2018 undefeated Rural Manitoba Football League champion Colton Nedotiafko (Interlake Thunder) committed in the new year.

Former Winnipeg Rifles all-star Micheal Ritchott was also invited to participate this weekend.  

But that's not to discredit the work of returning backs Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette, Demi Adeleye-Olusae and Brandon O'Connor (injured), who all impressed in 2018, with the latter two continuing their development at camp.

All six backs shone during the scrimmage, with Stubbs and St. Pierre-Laviolette busting off some big runs while Ritchott scored a long touchdown.

"It's funny how things go, because if you'd have interviewed me about this in early February, I was in panic mode, knowing full well that Jamel Lyles is probably gone to the CFL and that Somto Onyadike has chosen not to return to university," Dobie said.

"But all the backs had great camps. It's going to be a gigantically competitive situation [at training camp]."

Eric Adams earns a shoutout

Second-year receiver Eric Adams, also known as 'big play EA' in part due to some of the video game-like catches he makes, was at it again this weekend. He made a strong case to contend for a starting position left vacant by the graduations of Shai Ross, Dylan Schrot and Stephen Ugbah, including a reception on day two where he went over the top of a defensive back's helmet ala David Tyree in the 2008 Super Bowl. His work didn't go unnoticed by Dobie, who singled out his performance following the day three scrimmage.

"He deserved that," the head coach said.

"Eric Adams was a young guy who was definitely not a blue-chip recruit. He was a late addition to the football team [last year] and ran scout team and worked hard. Not only did he have a great scrimmage, he had a great weekend and camp. He was making catches all over the place and just finding ways to get it done."

Benson turns heads on the offensive line

Since the middle of last season, there's been discussion as to whether or not to transition defensive tackle Newton Benson — a high level recruit out of Kelowna in 2017 — to the offensive line.

At that time, the squad needed some help running scout team due to injuries and so Benson took reps on both sides of the ball. His solid stance and first step impressed the coaches and thus the decision was made over the offseason to try him out on the offensive line for spring camp.

"He did great," Dobie said.

"For the last two years he's been redshirting on the defensive line. Wow, I wish I could go back in time and put him at offensive line right away, because that kid is a big man and he's strong and quick and athletic. His feet and hands are really good, he just needs to keep getting coached now. He's got big potential."

True freshmen?

Rookies Austin Balan (Sisler) and Sammy Hezekiah (River East) need no introduction, but here's one anyway. Balan was last season's Winnipeg High School Football League (WHSFL) Division 1 Most Outstanding Player, while Hezekiah earned the same honour in Division 2. Balan was also Division 1's Rookie of the Year two years prior while Hezekiah was the MVP of last year's CTV Bowl, helping the Kodiaks earn their first title since 1997.

Balan went both ways as a running back and safety, however it's the latter which he was recruited for coming out of high school. It helped that he had a preliminary understanding of Manitoba's defensive playbook due to utilizing the base of it at last year's Canada Cup under Bisons defensive coordinator Stan Pierre.

That understanding was on full display this weekend as Balan made a serious push to be in contention for the starting safety spot left vacant by a graduated Jayden McKoy.

"He's way ahead of the curve, because of going through U18," Dobie said.

"He really benefitted from having Stan Pierre as a defensive coordinator. Austin's a really smart guy and a really good football player and may have been in this exact situation regardless, but that really accelerated him. He could start. Flat out. He's really good."

Hezekiah — one of the WHSFL's best cover defensive backs — made the transition to strong side linebacker for spring camp, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise as the former starter Houston Rennie was also previously a halfback and the position requires solid coverage skills.

His time to shine at SAM was aided by the fact that former Edmonton Huskies standout Vince Schiffner signed a contract with the Edmonton Eskimos and was unable to practice due to a contractual agreement with the CFL club, while a few other commits couldn't make the trip. Hezekiah took full advantage of the increased amount of reps and is right in the mix along with a number of returning veterans.

"Circumstances led to him getting a great opportunity and he made the most of it," said Dobie.

"He worked hard, looked good and responded to coaching. He did all the right things."

Hunting Hills a 'diamond in the rough'

Two commits who arrived to a bit less fanfare locally were linebacker Dolan Hills and defensive lineman Will Farguson out of Red Deer's Hunting Hills. The team features former Bisons All-Canadian defensive end Justin Cooper on its staff and "have really good coaching," according to Dobie.

"They were better than their film showed," he added. "That's always a good thing. I think those guys out in Red Deer are a bit of a diamond in the rough. They're ahead of the curve."

Farguson lined up at defensive end and tackle for Hunting Hills but seems to have found his niche on the interior with Manitoba, where he'll have the chance to learn under the likes of Kent Hicks, Jeremie Drouin, Cole Adamson and Bojan Stevanovic.

"He moved inside for most of camp and that's his spot," Dobie noted. "He's a big, strong kid who's really smart.

Hills is a "true football player" at 6'0" and 205 pounds who seeks contact.

"He's not very tall but he flies around," Dobie said. "He gets to the spot and makes the play."