There’s a certain joy Donald Rutledge, Jr. derives from closing in on a receiver to bust up a pass or stepping up to pile drive a runner into the turf.
And Rutledge, Jr. would love nothing more than to experience all of the above regularly with the two-time defending Grey Cup champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers. That’s why Friday’s first pre-season game against the Edmonton Elks is so mammoth for the 24-year-old defensive back to make an impression.
There’s also this: between his 2020 stint with the Indianapolis Colts featuring only intra-squad games and no pre-season tilts due to the pandemic and then not getting any action last summer with the Arizona Cardinals, it’s been eons since the Bronx, NY product has even hit someone in anger. In fact, you have to go back to the 2020 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl for his last ‘real game’, or a stretch of 860 days.
“It’s exciting,” said Rutledge, Jr. in a chat with bluebombers.com this week. “You’ve got to try and lighten up on your guys in practice, but one of my skillsets, one of my strong suits, is being a force on the defence. When I’m out here with the guys I don’t like to show it too much, I like to play smart and be professional with everyone out here fighting for a job.
“But you get somebody out here that’s a stranger across from me? It’s time to play ball.”
Rutledge, Jr. has a glorious opportunity in front of him, what with the Blue Bombers secondary undergoing some change after the departure of DeAundre Alford to the Atlanta Falcons, with Brandon Alexander recovering from offseason surgery and Mercy Maston being carted off the field earlier in the week with an injury, the extent of which hasn’t been made official.
Rutledge, Jr. has been working in Maston’s ‘dime’ spot, but also played safety and weak-side linebacker during his time with the Colts and Cards and in his college days at The Citadel and Georgia Southern.
“Pre-season games… this is how you lock down a job,” he said. “It’s how you start to fine-tune everything and gel with your group, even if with the returning guys. This will be my first time gelling with them with live bullets and that kind of atmosphere. There are going to be some mistakes out there, but by I’ll be playing fast and hard. I’m not going to say it will be perfect, but I will be playing hard.
“Most of all, I’m just dying to get out there and hit somebody. I’ve been working at it since (the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl). I’ve grown since then and I’m not the same player. I’m ready to show it off against some guys in front of me.”
With that in mind, here are 3 Storylines for the Blue Bombers first preseason game…
1. ONE SHOT?
Rutledge, Jr. isn’t the only fresh face in training camp trying to land a gig with the Blue Bombers. Friday’s preseason game might be the only action some prospects see before the cutdown to 75 players on Saturday with 98 names currently listed on the roster.
So, to riff on Eminem here… ‘if you had one shot, or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in the moment would you capture it or just let it slip?’
“It’s extremely important,” said receiver Dalton Schoen who, like Rutledge, Jr., has had an excellent camp. “For me personally I went through this in 2020 with COVID when we didn’t have preseason games when I was in L.A. with the Chargers.
“(Not getting pre-season work) just makes it really difficult to climb the depth chart, prove yourself and show you’re in a position to beat other guys out for a job. It’s really hard to make a team when there aren’t pre-season games, especially for guys at the bottom of the depth chart trying to claw their way in.”
2. KICKER WATCH
Kicking has always been a black-and-white, yes or no, good or no good gig and Marc Liegghio and Ali Mourtada understand that as well as anyone.
The Blue Bombers will open the 2022 regular season at home against the Ottawa RedBlacks and who handles the kicking duties – whether the two share the punting and placekicking chores or lock down the gig exclusively – is still to be determined.
Sergio Castillo left in free agency this winter for the Elks, leaving Liegghio and Mourtada to challenge each other. Liegghio, who was the punter last season, has been working to improve his placekicking, while Mourtada – who handled the placekicking for four games last year – is trying to hone his punting skills.
“That’s my plan (to handle both punting and placekicking,” said Liegghio. “I did it all through university and did a good job at it and I hope that I can do that for this team. I worked on a lot of things in the offseason – punting, kicking, kickoffs… I want it all to be perfect and up to my standards that I know I’m able to accomplish. I just want to be able to help my team and put the ball where I need to put it.
“Once you’re out there it is all eyes on you, but you’ve got to love that. You’ve got to have the confidence that, ‘OK you want me out there? I’m going to do my job and put it through the uprights or put (a punt) on the numbers and do what I do best.’
“I’m extremely happy with my camp. Happy with my field goals, happy with my punting. Hopefully I can bring that into the season and continue to do a good job.
3. ZACH & THE QBS
The Blue Bombers announced Thursday morning that Zach Collaros – QB1 and the CFL’s reigning Most Outstanding Player – would not suit up for Friday’s game against the Elks.
“I always want to play,” said Collaros after walk-through Thursday. “It’s always weird with these kind of games when you’re going to go, you’re not going to go and then you see everyone else out there, so you want to play.”
Head coach Mike O’Shea would not confirm the QB rotation, but CFL veteran Dakota Prukop, last year’s No. 3 Dru Brown, newcomer Joe Mancuso and University of Manitoba product Jackson Tachinski – part of the U Sports Canadian Quarterback Internship program – will all dress for the game.
Who pops off the page Friday and then next Tuesday in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders will likely earn a spot as the No. 2 pivot to Collaros.
