Rookie Camp '25 Primer - Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Ed Tait

@EdTaitWFC

Maybe it’s a tad too dramatic or theatrical but, hey, if the cliché fits sometimes you just roll with it. And so, as Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie camp opens Wednesday morning let’s begin with this:

‘You never get a second chance to make a great first impression.’

Consider this as the evidence: the newcomers taking the field beside Winnipeg Soccer Federation South will have just three practice sessions to open the eyes of coaches and management before Saturday’s medicals and then the beginning of main camp on Sunday with all the veterans in place. That small window can make or break careers, frankly, for we’ve seen many step up and shine over the three days and hundreds more just have a line drawn through their names on the depth chart.

Cruel, yes, but also the reality of pro football.

This is a Blue Bombers team that has undergone significant change over the winter with the departures of starters Kenny Lawler, Tyrell Ford, Liam Dobson, Drew Wolitarsky and TyJuan Garbutt — all to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — while mainstays like Adam Bighill and Brandon Alexander are not returning and Pokey Wilson earned a shot with the New York Jets.

At the same time, the foundational pieces that have made this franchise so successful during a run of eight straight double-digit win seasons and five consecutive berths in the Grey Cup are back — Brady Oliveira, Zach Collaros, Willie Jefferson, Stanley Bryant, Pat Neufeld, Chris Kolankowski, Jake Thomas, Deatrick Nichols, Evan Holm and so on and so on.

All of this is to suggest a couple of things: this is a tough outfit to crack as a rookie or newcomer, yet there is opportunity. And for everyone who steps on the field on Wednesday, that’s the foot in the door they’ve craved since turning pro.

Following the three-day rookie camp the team will have medicals and testing on Saturday, with the entire collection of talent at work together on Sunday back at Princess Auto Stadium. Teams will have to reduce their rosters to 85 on Saturday not including draft non-counters like this year’s draft class and the three Winnipeg Rifles in camp in running back Kaiden Banfield, receiver Jerome Penner and defensive lineman Zack Davis. That number get shaved further in a hurry, with roster needed to be down to 75 (excluding non-counters) by next Tuesday.

Worth noting: two Blue Bombers 2025 Draft picks — first pick Connor Shay, a linebacker and quarterback Taylor Elgersma — are absent this week as they attend NFL rookie mini camps with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, respectively.

The Blue Bombers open their preseason at home on May 24th vs. the Saskatchewan Roughriders and then are in Regina a week later on the 30th for the final dress rehearsal. Winnipeg then has the bye in Week 1 of the Canadian Football League schedule and opens their campaign on June 12th at home vs. the B.C. Lions.

Here’s a quick primer to get Blue Bombers fans ready for rookie camp…

WHO TO WATCH

Tay Gowan during his days with Arizona

#23 Tay Gowan, DB: The Blue Bombers have a couple of vacancies with Tyrell Ford and Brandon Alexander gone and Gowan comes to Winnipeg with some NFL experience. A sixth-round draft pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2021, Gowan has seen action with Philadelphia, Minnesota and Tennessee and has good size at 6-2, 185 pounds.

#36 Russell Dandy, DB: Same story as above, except the club’s defensive coaches got a sneak peek at Dandy last year in camp and then in the September practice roster expansion.

#48 Trey Vaval, DB/KR: Lump Vaval into this group — and it’s a big one — as he had a look from the Atlanta Falcons year and also brings kick returning skills.

#70 Geordon Porter, WR: The Blue Bombers may have seen Kenny Lawler leave in free agency and Pokey Wilson to the New York Jets while releasing Drew Wolitarsky, but there’s a huge collection of receivers in camp including CFL vets Dillon Mitchell, Reggie White, Jr. and Jerreth Sterns — all added in free agency — as well as new faces like Porter. He attended rookie camps last year with the Jets and Giants in New York

#74 Reggie Brown, WR: Another pass catcher looking to make an impression, Brown already popped out to the Blue Bombers scouting staff during his time last year with the Kansas City Chiefs. He had 53 catches for 1,054 yards and nine TDs for James Madison in 2023.

#51 Matt Kickel, OL: Big dude at 6-4, 323, Kickel started his college days at Arizona State before transferring to Aurora, where he was a star for the Spartans last season, where he was named Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year and First Team All-NACC.

#53 Dreydon Hall, DE: The Blue Bombers DL took some hits in offseason with Garbutt, Celestin Haba and Miles Fox all exiting. Plus, as dominant as Willie Jefferson is, he is 34 while newcomer James Vaughters is 31. There’s room for young blood here and those two veterans could help school a CFL newcomer like Hall, who played four years at Harding University and was a conference all-star in 2023.

#51 Ryan Johnson, DE: Same scenario as Hall, above. Johnson comes straight from Southern Mississippi where he had three sacks in six starts last year.

#2 Jaiden Woodbey, LB/DB: The Blue Bombers love their hybrid linebacker/defensive backs as they offer so much flexibility and versatility in Jordan Younger’s multi-faceted defence. Woodbey, like veteran Michael Griffin II, offers that skillset. He spent last year with the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League and after appearing in three preseason games with the Los Angeles Rams in 2023. Began his college career at Florida State where he was named to the ESPN Freshman All-American Team and then transferred to Boston College where was twice named an All-ACC Honorable Mention.

Other names passed along by the Blue Bombers crack scouting staff to keep an eye on:

#79 David Wallis, WR
#58 Aidan Hemphill, OL
#59 Christophe Atkinson, OL
#56 Marquise Lawson-Greenwood, DL
#0 Isaiah Avery, DB
#45 Qaundre Mosely, DB
#29 Duron Lowe, DB

THE QBS

Lock in Zach Collaros atop the depth chart and the battle for the other two spots on the roster will be contested by veterans Chris Streveler, Terry Wilson and Shea Patterson along with two rookies.

Aside from Elgersma, the other rookie is Chase Artopoeus, who was just signed last week. He comes to Winnipeg after playing six years of college ball at UCLA and most-recently with Tennessee-Chattanooga (2023-2024). He started 15 games over two years with the Mocs.

Also joining the club for camp as part of the Canadian QB Internship Program will be Cole Anseeuw of the University of Manitoba.

Further Camp Reading

Links to positional previews previously on bluebombers.com. Check them out here:

PRACTICE TIMES