It’s early, but the Saskatchewan Roughriders offence are among the league leaders through their first three games of the 2023 Canadian Football League (CFL) season.
Led by offensive coordinator Kelly Jeffrey, the green and white are the early leaders in net offence in total yards and are second in yards per game after Week 3.
On Tuesday, the Roughriders offensive coordinator joined Michael Ball as a guest on the SportsCage.
The chemistry for the Roughriders offence extends off the field. Jeffrey explains the entire coaching staff have formed a cohesive unit.
Saskatchewan’s offensive coordinator praised the work the positional coaches, running backs coach Andre Bolduc, offensive line coach Anthony Vitale, receivers coach Drew Tate, and assistant Naaman Roosevelt have done with their respective groups so far this year.
“As a group it’s great, it’s really, really a good staff and we’ve got a good vision kind of all aligned.”
Having some younger assistant coaches has been beneficial for the team according to Jeffrey.
“The game just like anything else progresses and you really have to stay on top of it, so having some younger coaches who have that background, it’s important, it helps a lot.”
During Saturday’s 29-26 OT win against the Calgary Stampeders, the coaching staff was tasked with a big adjustment on the offensive line when left tackle Jerald Hawkins went down with a quad injury in the second quarter, requiring right guard Logan Ferland to move to Hawkins spot at left tackle and Logan Bandy replacing Ferland at right guard.
Jeffrey said for the first series that Ferland played tackle, he tried to call the offensive plays towards the right side of the offence to allow the Melfort product some time to settle in at left tackle since that was the first time he had played the position since his days with the Regina Thunder. The Riders offensive coordinator felt after that first series, Ferland and the rest of the offence got more comfortable.
“It didn’t feel like we missed a beat at all, it felt like we even got stronger as the game went along. ”
Quarterback Trevor Harris holds a slim six-yard lead over BC Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. for the most passing yards in the CFL this season. Jeffrey says Harris provides the offence with solid leadership.
“When Trevor is out there, you know you’re going to get good decisions, you’re going to get accurate passes, he’s really going to handle the flow of the game and the procedural part of it and we’ve been extremely lucky to have him.”
Jamal Morrow has also gotten off to a strong start this season as the Roughriders running back leads the league with 233 rushing yards, including a 133-yard effort against the Stampeders. Jeffrey believes that Morrow is among the league’s elite running backs.
“He’s incredibly gifted, he looks smaller but he always seems to break tackles. He doesn’t, you know look as big, but he seems to always move the pile forward. ”
Along with his athletic ability, the Roughriders offensive coordinator says Morrow is a smart football player.
“He just knows where those yardsticks are at all times, he knows when he’s supposed to stay in bounds and as athletic as he is, he’s got tremendous football I.Q.”
The trio of Shawn Bane Jr. , Samuel Emilus and Tevin Jones have stepped up among the receivers for Saskatchewan. Bane Jr. is third in the CFL with 245 receiving yards, Emilus is tied for the league’s lead in receiving touchdowns with three, and Jones is 10th overall with 194 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Jeffrey believes that Harris has plenty of confidence in all of his receivers.
“There’s a lot of guys that he(Harris) know will come up with the ball.”
A key part of the Roughriders offence success according to Jeffrey has been the group’s ability to achieve success on first down keeping their options open.
“When you look at the call sheet, if we’re struggling, I try and call some safe plays that if we can catch a hitch here to make it second and five or if we can get Morrow up field for five, that’s the world we want to live in, the whole playbook is open and you feel good about that.”
Saskatchewan will get a chance to look for further success when they return from their bye week, as they will host the Edmonton Elks on Thursday, July 7 at Mosaic Stadium.
