Rams Spring Camp Attracts Grey Cup Champions

By Greg Urbanoski

The defending Grey Cup Champions are looking to reload for the 2006 season and one of their stops is the University of Regina Rams.

Dan McKinnon, Football Operations Manager of the Edmonton Eskimos, spent two days looking at potential CFL talent and talking to potential draft picks, free agents and future prospects. McKinnon also spoke to the team as a whole after the Saturday morning practice and impressed players with not just what he said, but the size of the Grey Cup Champion ring he was wearing.

McKinnon has responsibility for Canadian scouting for the Eskimos, whether in Canadian university ranks or Canadians playing south of the border. He drove down to Regina to check out the Rams because they are a team on the rise with youth and talent.

“I'm here to see draft eligible players for this year, get a better pulse on the workouts this weekend and also looking at futures so we can establish a relationship with them and monitor them on an ongoing basis and I am also looking at some of the free-agents who are remaining here as well,” said McKinnon.

“We know that Regina has a very good program and they teach the same type of information, terminology and technology that we do at the pro level. What we are looking at now is how well they apply those teachable moments they share with their coaches, how they handle it, how they interact given some new information. You also look at the aptitude, how well they can apply it when the time comes.”

McKinnon said mental focus is important at a pro level. He is looking at their commitment to work ethic and getting the most out of their drills. He said aptitude is important to see how well they respond in a stressful situation such as a scrimmage.

“Coach Frank (McCrystal) helped me to meet the players we needed to look at. I was able to look at all the positions over the last two days and I have been very fortunate to interact with the coaches so I got quite a bit of information on the players.

“I think the 2006 Rams will be a nice young team. I think they are going to be very competitive and it is going to be an interesting conference. The players mentioned to me came as advertised and lived up to their full potential so I am looking forward to seeing them live up to their full potential this year.”

McKinnon had some advice for the players, especially working out in the weight room. The short CIS season doesn't give teams much time to build cohesion or fully display their talents, compared to an 18 game CFL season, so working on weights is important to establish strength if players are interested in a professional career.

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