Eskimos have old gang back on the offensive line
First, Matthew O’Donnell returned from his National Football League tryout and is once again stationed at right guard.
Then left guard Simeon Rottier, a Canadian Football League all-star and the Eskimos’ nominee for most outstanding offensive lineman in 2014, returned to the lineup Saturday for the first time since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee late last season.
“I was pretty happy with first game back,” Rottier said Tuesday. “Knee felt fine. I wasn’t necessarily expecting to play the whole game, so mentally for me, that was a big hurdle to get through a whole game.”
Rottier, 31, said it would have been nice to have more than two weeks of practice before returning to action.
“There were a few blocks that it was my first time doing them since last year,” he said. “Even though I had a couple of weeks (of practice), depending upon the play call, you don’t always get it in practice and it’s not always the same as the game, either.”
Still, he felt comfortable playing with left tackle Tony Washington and centre Justin Sorensen on either side once again.
“I felt like I was right back in with the group again,” he said. “There’s ups and downs to every game, so it was no different. I felt like there was some things that I probably would normally see better. I think it was still moving just a little bit fast at times, and other times it felt like right back to normal.”
Training camp was the hardest to sit out because “there’s nothing like the camaraderie that gets built through that time,” Rottier said, re- ferring to the grind of two-a-day practices.
“That’s the kind of thing you want to be going through with your brothers,” he said. “We’ve got a pretty good group, but you still feel a little bit disconnected.
“Overall, I’m just glad to be back.” FRIENDS AND OPPONENTS: Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly has been talking to Matt Nichols since his former backup was traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in early September, but the tone of their conversation will be different when they chat this week.
“I talked to him last week before they played Calgary,” said Reilly. “It would have obviously been in our best interests for them to win, so I was trying to give him as many pointers as I could. But this week it’s in our best interests for them to lose, so I don’t think I’ll be helping him out at all.
“We’re still good friends. Each week we’ve talked about the upcoming opponent. We probably won’t talk as much football this time, but it’ll be nice to see him.
“I’ll definitely tell him he better watch out for a pretty stingy defence,” Reilly said with a wink. SHORT YARDAGE: Versatile Kendial Lawrence, the kick-returner/running back/receiver who limped off the field several times during Saturday’s game with the B.C. Lions, wasn’t at Tuesday’s practice ... The Eskimos announced Monday that national wide receiver Nate Coehoorn’s contract has been extended through the 2018 season. Coehoorn, a five-year veteran and first-round draft pick in 2011, has 18 catches for 160 yards and one special-teams tackle this season.