Mitchell pleased with the Stamps' backup pivots
Veteran quarterback has been mostly observing QBS so far in training camp
Bo Levi Mitchell barely threw the ball in practice for the first week of Calgary Stampeders training camp.
There was a minor lower body thing — his words — that he was being careful about, but the Stampeders didn't need to give their star quarterback a ton of reps in the early days of camp. Those practices generally involve getting the foundations down and slowly installing the more complex elements of their system.
With no pre-season games, getting the three men vying for the backup QB position up to speed was the priority.
Mitchell was still out on the field every day, though, and that gave him a close look at those three quarterbacks. Asked for his evaluation of Jake Maier, Michael O'connor and Dakota Prukop on Wednesday, Mitchell gave a glowing assessment.
“I think it's the most impressive group of quarterbacks I've had in camp with myself,” Mitchell said. “I think all three of them are very knowledgeable. They're smart. They all have different feels of playing quarterback. All three are very different.”
Over the years, Mitchell has had an impressive list of quarterbacks who have competed to back him up. Nick Arbuckle is now the starting quarterback of the Toronto Argonauts. Andrew Buckley was an all-time great Canadian college quarterback and had a bright future in the CFL if he hadn't opted for medical school. Drew Tate spent a few years as the Stamps starter himself. The likes of Mitchell Gale and Ricky Stanzi had loads of talent, too.
Without comparing individuals, it's saying something that Mitchell rates this group the highest.
“I think Jake is a lot more like myself. Moves around a little bit in the pocket, but more trying to escape to make throws. He's got a real natural arm motion,” Mitchell said.
“Dakota, you see the guy with a shirt off and he's rocked-up. He's fast. Mentally, he understands. He gets everything. He sees everything. The ball comes out with great velocity.
“Mike? Typical NFL, prototypical 6-foot-4, big arm, smart, understands the concepts, understands where things need to be.”
The three backups have impressed head coach Dave Dickenson, too, although he's repeatedly stressed that nobody has necessarily pulled away from the pack. With no pre-season games, evaluating quarterbacks can be difficult, but the team believes the reps each QB took last week should provide them with the foundation to show their best.
It's time, though, for Mitchell to start working himself up to being ready for Week 1 against Arbuckle and the Toronto Argonauts.
“You should see him more now,” Dickenson said. “I wanted to get the younger guys more reps early. Understanding that we start our install a little more simple, we start with the foundation and the building blocks from Day 1 on. Now, we're starting to get a little more complex.
“Bo needs these reps, which he (got). Also, a lot more looks on defence, more blitzes which, as a veteran, you can always learn from.
“I want to get him in there and make sure he's sharp as ever and gets the timing with the receivers.”
MOURNING MCMANN
On Wednesday afternoon, the Stampeders announced that they were mourning the death of former assistant coach Chuck Mcmann, who died recently at the age of 70.
Mcmann was an assistant coach in Calgary under Wally Buono from 1992 to 2000, winning two Grey Cup with the Stamps in '92 and '98.
“I am deeply saddened to hear of Chuck's passing,” said Stamps president and general manager John Hufnagel, who worked for five years on Buono's coaching staff with Mcmann. “He was a great man and a great coach and he will be sorely missed. My condolences to Chuck's wife Marg and the family for their loss.”
Mcmann also spent time as a CFL coach with the BC Lions from 2008 to 2015 and was head coach at the university level with Waterloo and Mcgill.