602 days.
That’s how long since the Edmonton Elks will have gone since doing anything on a football field when they start their first practice on Sunday.
Of course back then, they weren’t the Edmonton Elks and the crossover team that got crushed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Eastern Final was led by a red-faced Jason Maas, not fresh-faced Jaime Elizondo.
So, what else is new?
“I think it would be easier to answer what hasn’t changed,” general manager Brock Sunderland quipped ahead of the opening of training camp.
“We have a new coaching staff, we have a new name, we have a new logo and a lot of new players. In the era of one-year contracts, every year you’re going to have new players and turnover, so when you throw on the pandemic and then missed a season in 2020, that’s added to it.”
Despite the space of time between the end of Edmonton’s 2019 season and the launch of their triumphant return in 2021, some of that player turnover has been too recent for comfort. Just take a look at the offensive tackle position.
In the past few weeks, the Elks have lost three experienced veterans to retirement in just that one spot, including former Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Derek Dennis, Randy Richards and Tommie Draheim. They lost incumbent starter Colin Kelly for at least three months after he suffered a torn pec, allegedly from doing pushups in his quarantine hotel room.
That’s a microcosm of the turmoil that a long layoff and a pandemic season has provided, but the Elks are not panicking. Sunderland believes they have players in house to plug those holes at tackle and it’s the same story elsewhere on the team.
“We’ve got some young guys that all of you don’t know about yet, but on the inside here we’re eager to see on the field. We have really high grades on them and they’re in the building for a reason,” Sunderland insisted.
“Everyone in this building that’s on the roster would not be here if we didn’t have complete faith, that they could go out and help us win a game. We’re not flinching, we’re moving forward and we’re going to go out and do the best we can to win with the people that we have in the building.”
Sunderland, now entering his fourth season and fifth year, in the top job exudes confidence for the team that is now almost entirely his own. Elizondo, the former Ottawa Redblacks’ offensive coordinator, is his first head coaching hire, but should be instantly in his element on a team that might as well be called “R-Nation West.”
Among those with ties to Sunderland and Elizondo’s time in the nation’s capital are star quarterback Trevor Harris, receiver Greg Ellingson and lock down left tackle SirVincent Rogers. Defensively, corner Jonathan Rose and Mike Moore were first in Ottawa.
In edition to those who have thrown off their plaid, Sunderland has also brought in a few of Elizondo’s charges from his time with the short-lived Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL. Taylor Cornelius will vie for the backup quarterback role and Jalen Tolliver will get a shot at receiver, but while familiarity will aid the coaching staff in an unprecedented training camp, don’t expect those with ties to Ottawa or Tampa to get a leg up.
Every player on the roster is someone the team feels could contribute as a starter and Elizondo emphasizes that competition will be the name of the game in camp.
“One of the worst things philosophically that we can do is make sure that a player has a spot solidified,” Elizondo said. “When you look back over your shoulder and there’s a very good player behind you, it just makes you want to do that little bit extra, compete a little harder.”
That goes for everybody, even established veterans who might normally coast through training camp uncontested. 35-year-old kicker Sean Whyte is one such player.
Since arriving in Edmonton in 2015, Whyte has been one of the most consistent legs in the CFL, but he’ll be pushed by fifth-round rookie Dante Brown for the spot, a two-time first team All-American at Fort Hays State. Both will be evaluated by the new coaching staff.
“Sean is an exceptional kicker, couldn’t be more excited to have him on our side and to work with him, and we’ll see what Dante is all about. We haven’t had a chance with Dante to be on the field and see how the ball comes off his leg, what it sounds like,” Elizondo acknowledged.
“I know that they’re both great people and I’m excited to work with both of them, but competition across the board at any spot is always good for your football team.”
Other spots are even more wide open, like at defensive end. Canadian standout Kwaku Boateng and sack artist Shawn Lemon will get the first crack at play time, but the team has not made a decision on how to deploy the ratio at that position.
Young Canadian pass rushers like Mathieu Betts and Alain Pae will have a chance to make it a pair of national book ends, while talented Americans like former Big 12 sack leader Matt Boesen state their case for keeping it an import spot.
“That’ll play out on the field and the players will make a decision for us by their play,” Sunderland explained.
“Everybody’s going to be in the mix. The best guys are going to play and we’re excited to see what they bring on the field when we get ramped up here and get going.”
By now, the Elks are used to change. If training camp brings more of it, so be it.
