TILLMAN'S TAKE ON RECENT SIGNINGS

By Rob Vanstone 01-06-2009 COMMENTS(0) Rider Rumblings

The Roughriders announced the re-signings of defensive halfback Lance Frazier and linebacker Renauld Williams on Tuesday. Afterward, Roughriders GM Eric Tillman asked about those players. Here is what he had to say:

Were you surprised that Frazier did not test free-agency considering the year he had? “Honestly, no. We have a great group of guys, and Lance, like most of them, loves the chemistry and the environment here. These predictions of a mass exodus have been greatly exaggerated. Will we lose some guys?

Yes, of course. Probably a couple with follow Richie, another couple could leave due to better financial offers, and we will decide to go younger and not bring three or four others back. But, that's simple reality in this new salary cap era, as we've seen with the changes out in BC already, right? But, with the majority of our guys who who are priorities for us, which Lance and Renauld clearly were, we're in good shape . . .

Look, the guys love playing in Saskatchewan and they have great confidence in our future. How many teams, after all, have had back to back 12 win seasons? How many teams have had back to back home playoff games? We have something special going right now, and our players know that. There's no better place to play in the Canadian Football League because of our fans and the unparalled way they support their team. It's fun to play here, an absolute blast playing in front of loud and packed stadium every week.

"What are their attributes as players? “Lance has really grown as a player since we brought him up in my first few weeks back in 2006. He's become one of the best halfbacks in the league, and, frankly, other than quarterback, that's the hardest position to play in the CFL. At corner, you have the sideline as your friend. At halfback, you have tons of field, especially on crossing routes, or anytime you are in man coverage. But, Lance has great quickness, good feet and hips, that allow him to flip and run with guys, and, now, after two years, he's developed very good recognition skills. That later is essential to becoming an elite player, which he has a chance to do .

. . Renauld is as good a pure athlete as we have on our defence. Our coaching staff viewed him as an absolute must sign. Rey is big, fast, explosive, and he's only going to get better with increased playing time. The sky is the limit for Rey; his upside is clearly at the impact level."How do you see Williams fitting into the linebacking equation? Or can that even be stated right now given the uncertainty about Maurice Lloyd? “Where Rey plays next year, will be based on how free agency unfolds. In a perfect world, we get both Mo and Anton back, but this is not a perfect world, is it? So, we feel very comfortable with Rey playing either outside or inside.

Which is how exactly how we feel regarding Sam Olajubutu, too. Sam's a good young player and his time on our practice roster late in the season gave us a lot of confidence in his ability. Sam was a three year starter at Arkansas, an all-SEC player, and we're very comfortable with him competing inside or out, too."