Christion hoping for success
South Dakotan is so skilled he once acted part of NFL superstar in Steelers practice
Taryn Christion's quickness and elusiveness have gotten him several looks in the National Football League, including a week with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019 when he was brought in to mimic Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson in practice.
The talent has always been there; so have the measurables — he ran a 4.49-second 40-yard dash in a pro day while at South Dakota State, where he passed for 11,535 yards and 104 touchdowns, while adding 1,515 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns. So, yeah, Christion can play ball.
The 24-year-old, one of four quarterbacks in training camp with the Ottawa Redblacks — along with Matt Nichols, Dominique Davis and Caleb Evans — has looked sharp. It's another opportunity and he hopes maybe this is the right time and place for a breakthrough.
“It feels great to be back on a football field,” said Christion during a media Zoom call after the Redblacks' fourth day of camp Wednesday. “I've been back home in South Dakota, about a year-and-a-half, mainly throwing at a net, working out by myself. I was throwing in the morning, then going to work for my day job (a corporate fellow at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls in business operations).”
With NFL experiences and some time in the XFL, he's prepared for this moment with the wider dimensions of a CFL field suited to his skill set as a quarterback with plenty of mobility.
“Being out here the first four days, it's a lot bigger,” he said. “There's another player on the field, which balances it out a bit, but there is more space, more room for some lanes.”
Asked about his short time with the Steelers, pretending to be Jackson in the week leading up to the match against the Ravens, Christion said: “It was a good experience, being with a team, seeing what preparation is like and how important roles like that are. Everyone plays a role on a team — whether it's on the practice squad or on the roster — you've got a role to play.”
While Christion didn't know any of the other players in camp before he got to Ottawa, he did have a connection; he's worked out with former Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Chris Streveler, who is a friend of Nichols.
Said Christion: “(Streveler) said it was a lot of fun (up here), it's a great league, with great players, which is what I've already experienced. I'm excited to keep going through training camp and improving throughout this process.”
BENE TALKS DEFENCE
Mike Benevides, who took over as the Redblacks defensive co-ordinator with the departure of Noel Thorpe (now in the same job in Edmonton) following the 2019 season, likes what he sees so far.
“The kids are working extremely hard,” he said. “We're giving them a lot of information, they're handling it and working their tails off. We have a lot of young men who've only been in the building for five days, there's certainly a lot of work to get done, but they're really impressing me in a lot of ways. Every single day the guys have been able to take the ball away and make some plays. The cream will rise to the top and we'll find the best Redblacks for our team.”
Many of these players haven't played any kind of football since 2019 — with the CFL cancelling its 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Football shape is different than gym shape; it's been a long time,” Benevides said. “So certainly there's going to be rust. It's going to take time to get the athletes to where they want to be.”
Finding an identity and fitting players into roles that best suit them will be a work in progress over the remainder of camp, all leading into the team's first game of the CFL season on Aug. 7 in Edmonton.
“Right now, I don't have any preconceived notions,” Benevides said. “I've told them our identity will come out. We're still a long ways away. I've told them, `You're going to declare the roster. If you perform and make plays, you'll make the team. If you're not, you won't.'”
Asked about the depth of the defensive group, the coach said there will be some good battles for job openings.
“In the secondary, a lot has been made about the age — we're old and this and that — but
I've always had a tremendous amount of respect for veterans; they've been around and they've done it,” he said. “I don't know in all of my time (coaching in the CFL) if I've had a linebacker corps this deep in terms of how many are quality players. That's outstanding for us. In terms of the (defensive) front, they're going to have to declare who can rush the passer and get things done. From front to back, there are open spots. We don't know who that end is, we don't know who that tackle is, we don't know who that middle linebacker is, in the secondary there are a couple of spots popping up. I can see a lot of rookies or new people playing. Competition will bear that out.
“If they're not tough, if they're not willing to play a little nasty, if they can't run, they can't play for this group. There'll be some hard decisions to make. We're just getting started. There's still a long way to go.”
THE END AROUND
Starting at defensive back Wednesday were Sherrod Baltimore (boundary corner), Dominique Hatfield, Antoine Pruneau, Randall Evans and Gump Hayes (field corner). Abdul Kanneh remained out with what looked like a leg injury, but he's expected back soon. … Receiver Nate Behar has changed his number from 19 to 80.