Reed impressed with Sweeney’s speed

SPRUCE GROVE — Isaiah Sweeney’s blazing speed, coupled with Tavoy Moore’s knee injury made for the perfect unfortunate equation for Kavis Reed on Sunday.

The Edmonton Eskimos head coach will have to replace Moore — the team’s projected top return man before he injured his knee on the first play of Friday’s pre-season game against the Saskatchewan Riders — for the time being, while the Eskimos wait to learn the severity of Moore’s injury.

Sweeney was shining on the University of Houston’s track and field team just before he signed with the Eskimos on June 9. His 10.2-second 100-metre time was on full display when he caught a 77-yard TD pass from Mike Reilly on Friday night. That speed alone makes Sweeney a must-see for the return game.

“He’s a very versatile individual and we now want to look at him in multiple roles,” Reed said.

Seven released

Import receiver Dobson Collins, 25 was the most high- profile name on the Eskimos’ cut-list Sunday. Teams across the CFL had to scale their rosters back to 65 players by 10 p.m. MDT Sunday. That number excluded injured players and non-counters in camp (junior players, Canadian draft picks and Canadian free agents who have never played in a regular-season CFL game).

Collins came to the team in September 2011 and spent all of 2012 with them. He caught 13 passes for 154 yards in 2012.

Former Riders receiver and return man Ismael Bamba was the only non-import player to be cut. Receiver Owen Spencer, offensive lineman Johnny Culbreath, defensive backs Carry Harris and Otis Merrill and defensive lineman Jorge Wright were also released.

Spruce Grove camp

Eskimos president/CEO Len Rhodes stood alongside Spruce Grove mayor Stuart Houston before Sunday’s practice began and officially announced that the team will hold their training camp there in 2015. The FIFA Women’s World Cup of Soccer will bump the club out of Commonwealth Stadium and Clarke Park that year.