Edmonton Journal

Esks continue to be rich in Canadian content

Having non-imports starting at important positions could give Eskimos critical edge

- Terry jones

If there was one item that had the potential to backfire on the CFL big time in negotiatio­ns with the CFLPA on the new collective bargaining agreement, it was the battle over the import/ non-import ratio.

Canadian starters, especially players who are considered “ratio breakers” are expensive. An American fresh out of college, on the other hand, can be signed for the league minimum salary. So to go from seven Canadian starters to five, as was put on the table, would cut costs.

To me, the most important word in Canadian Football League is Canadian. And I believe there would have been a significan­t negative fan reaction if they had been allowed to get that one through.

You should know the Edmonton Eskimos off-season planning wasn’t affected by that potential detour.

“Ultimately what wins championsh­ips for you in this league is having great Canadian talent,” said head coach Jason Maas.

Traditiona­lly, when it comes to Canadians, Edmonton gets it and has a philosophy in place to put it into play.

“You have to recognize quickly in the off-season who your starters are going to be so you can go from there to determine who will back them up,” said Maas.

“Ultimately, the biggest chess match you have in the off-season is figuring that out and the Canadian depth you have. I really believe that’s ultimately what wins Grey Cups — having that great Canadian talent.

“And ultimately what you’d like is to have ratio flexibilit­y from there. And I believe we have that.”

The Eskimos have two players they consider “ratio breakers,” defensive end Kwaku Boateng and cornerback Arjen Colquhoun.

“Those aren’t normal positions that Canadians play anymore. When I first came into the league that wasn’t the case. We’re kind of going back old school where we’re expecting a Canadian to start,” said Maas.

“We feel we’ve got a great one in Kwaku. That’s why we can go out and get Jesse Joseph (Montreal), Andrew Marshall (Ottawa) and play Mark Mackie (an Edmonton 2018 draft) with the thought that they can back him up and rotate in to that position. We have our numbers on the offensive line where we feel we could be good with three. It could be four.”

General manager Brock Sunderland said managing the ratio is a huge part of the equation in the CFL.

“The rule of thumb for me is where you decide to start one Canadian, you have to have two,” he said.

“So really, you’re looking at 14 guys that, in theory, you feel comfortabl­e starting for you.

“So, right away 14 of the 21 you have on the roster you feel like you can go with as a starter. That’s the ideal.”

The beautiful thing about having “ratio breakers” in the lineup is it gives you flexibilit­y.

“A good example was 2017 when one or two guys got nicked up and a player like Duke Williams, who is so talented, emerged,” said Sunderland.

Of special interest Sunday will likely be Trevaun Smith, the Eskimos first round in the 2016 draft.

Smith has spent the last three seasons with the Indianapol­is Colts, Oakland Raiders and Jacksonvil­le Jaguars. He has the potential to be a special player.

“I think so,” said Sunderland. “The ingredient­s are there. But one thing people need to remember about Trevaun Smith is that he hasn’t played three-down football for eight years. It’s a bigger adjustment than I think people realize. And it’s the first time he’s played football in an actual game for a while,” he added of the receiver who bounced from practice roster to practice roster in the NFL.

“We think the sky is the limit for Trevaun Smith, but we have realistic expectatio­ns as well.”

If you focus on the Canadians, which players should you be watching?

“The guys who are going to be given every opportunit­y to play a lot are Jordan Beaulieu (Western) and Jordan Hoover (Waterloo) at free safety,” said Sunderland.

“One guy we like who is going to get a lot of looks is Kyle Saxelid, our second round draft pick from this year,” he said of the 6-foot-7 290-pound offensive lineman out of UNLV.

“We like the depth of our Canadian content. Right now I feel good enough about our Canadian content that we could have multiple different positions on our roster where we could have starting Canadians. That’s a great spot to be in going into the season.

“We feel if need be we could potentiall­y go two receivers. With what Alex Taylor has shown so far, we have enough confidence in him that we could go with him at running back if the situation called for it.

“We have enough depth on the offensive line right now, if we needed to go with four there, we could do that. We still have enough depth at linebacker, we could play a guy in that area if need be.

“It’s pretty fluid right now. If a guy like Duke Williams emerges and we think we have to change the ratio, we feel we have the ability to do that.

“Hopefully it allows us to put our best lineup on the field, American and Canadian.”

 ?? Greg Southam ?? Defensive end Kwaku Boateng is considered a “ratio breaker,” a Canadian contributi­ng big time.
Greg Southam Defensive end Kwaku Boateng is considered a “ratio breaker,” a Canadian contributi­ng big time.
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