Rams lock horns to start Spring Camp  

By Greg Urbanoski  

The University of Regina Rams started their 2007 Spring Camp Friday night with a flourish, including a fight between defensive lineman Paul McDill and offensive lineman Brenden Labatte.  

It was the start of a spirited session for the Rams, who are looking to build on their playoff appearance last year and perhaps move into the upper reaches of the Canada West conference.  

The Spring Camp featuring approximately 91 players is an opportunity for the veterans to knock five months of rust off and for the new Rams players to see how they stack up and how much more work they need to do to compete at the university level.  

The Rams are focusing on keeping their sessions businesslike, hoping to spend less time hitting and more time on coaches getting the Rams offensive and defensive schemes taught to the players. The first practice Friday night featured a team meeting, then a stretching session, followed by different groups of players going over everything from run and pass plays, to pattern running, run defense and man cover, pass rush techniques, pass block techniques, and concluding with various one on one sessions where the players applied what they learned in almost game situations.  

The Spring Camp will continue with two practices on Saturday and two on Sunday, with the final being a scrimmage at 3 p.m. at the field at the University of Regina . While the Friday night practice was light on the contact, it was not light on the intensity with the McDill-Labatte fight catching people’s attention.  

“I think the guys are a little edgy,” said Rams Head Coach Frank McCrystal. “I also think these guys have paid their dues. They have taken their lumps and we knew this was going to happen.  

“I think now these guys are coming of age and they are ready to take a run at this.”  

Friday night was the first indication for McCrystal of how his players have worked out in the off-season and what kind of game shape they are in.  

“It’s great to be on the field because you do a lot of talking and you do a lot of measuring and in the off-season there are a lot of things you do that are good for you but not as much fun as actually playing,” said McCrystal.  

McCrystal said in walking around, the Rams strike him as athletic and focused on the job at hand.  

“We’re not a real rah-rah group but I think we are pretty business like and I think we are pretty professional in the way we are organized in the way we come out and to where we want to be,” said McCrystal.  

“I think the other positive thing is our veterans really encourage our young guys and first year guys. They know the reason they are here is that they are good football players and they want good football players on this team if they intend to go all the way.”  

One of the things that caught people’s attention on the sidelines was the sight of Taylor Kidby and Kolton Solomon returning kicks. While Kidby has not committed to the Rams, McCrystal said the Rams special team returns looks exceptionally good.  

“Steve Ryan scored twice for us last year and then John Kanaroski is also terrific but he got hurt right away,” said McCrystal. “We’ve also got Chris King so we’ve got some guys who can bring it back.”  

The big question for the Rams this season is defense. While there seems to be no question the offense under Teale Orban will be able to score, the Rams need to stop people from scoring.  

“Defensively we need to make sure we coaches are focused on the task at hand,” said McCrystal.  

“We also need to make sure we don’t color this thing and paint a picture of other than what it is. We played very poorly last year defensively and played the defense against the run poorly. There is no way to sugar-coat that and we need to correct that in terms of fundamentals as they apply to the system.”  

McCrystal said he wants the defense this year to be able to penetrate and get off their blocks much better than they did last year. He said the coaches have to be on top of the defense to ensure the message gets through.  

The Rams were impressed with Brenden Owens, a rookie wide receiver from Regina O’Neill,  and was also impressed with the play of the Rams young linemen.  

“We’ve got people like Scott McGee, but he’s been what we thought he would be,” said McCrystal.  

“I’m really looking to seeing how they all perform this weekend.”  

Who’s Hot - Graham Mosoiondz impressed with one catch towards the end of the practice while Ed Bankowski earned a honourable mention because he was on fire on the sidelines.

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