Hilltops defender ‘soaking it all in’ at Riders camp
Linebacker has been converted to safety while working out with the pro club
Cody Peters has been soaking it all in at Saskatchewan Roughriders camp these past two weeks.
It’s been a dream come true for the 22-year-old Saskatoon product, a Bethlehem High School graduate and member of the Canadian junior football champion Saskatoon Hilltops.
While attending his first pro football camp as a territorial junior player and non-counter, Peters was thrown a curve when the Riders moved him to a new position. Peters was left auditioning at safety instead of his familiar linebacking spot on defence.
That meant tackling some new concepts at a much higher level.
“It is a big adjustment, but the competition is a lot higher and the stakes are a lot higher,” Peters said this week at Roughrider training camp in Saskatoon, where the team will stage a Green and White Day this afternoon.
“Just the athleticism out here is a lot more. There’s a lot more to take in and a lot more knowledge to learn.”
He was quick to realize that his angling during ball pursuit needed some adjustment.
“Basically, they tell you to flatline a lot on everything,” he noted. “They base everything on sprinting and put a real emphasis on sprinting.”
Up until now, Peters had never strayed away from the linebacking spot. The defensive secondary is foreign territory to him.
“That’s actually the first time I’ve ever played DB, so all the stuff I’m doing is new to me and I am learning as I go, all the stuff,” he said. “I’m just taking it in.”
Peters was on the Roughriders’ roster for their first CFL preseason game, accompanying the team to Edmonton for their game against the Eskimos.
Last season, the 5-foot-11, 215-pound Peters registered 60 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass deflection in 10 games with the Hilltops. That included 46 solo tackles in the Prairie Football Conference regular season, PFC playoffs and 2017 Canadian Bowl.
“I’m going to take a lot more leadership back to the Hilltops, the way these guys sort of hold themselves around here, and just key things, like little things on special teams,” he said, adding he has received some good feedback and input.
“They say they like how I fly around and stuff. Basically, if you’re going to do something, do it 100 per cent, right or wrong.” It’s been good while it’s lasted. “Overall, so far, I feel blessed to be here just because it’s a great opportunity,” said Peters. “I’m just soaking it all in.”