DAY 5 OF RIDER CAMP

By Murray McCormick 06-11-2009 COMMENTS(1) Rider Rumblings

What a pleasant day at Mosaic Stadium.The sun was shining, there was hardly any wind and there was loads of action on the turf. This is what training camp is supposed to be like.So, without any more of intro, here’s some observations and thoughts after Day 5 of the Riders’ main camp:

— Defensive back Danatay Heard put on quite the show. He intercepted two Steve Jyles’ passes and returned one 110 yards for a touchdown. He also knocked down a Jyles pass. Pretty impressive for the second-year pro.

—Actually the interceptions in the end zone may have been by design. Riders head coach Ken Miller said he wanted extra pressure on everyone while the team practiced it’s goal- line offence and defence. “To have the picks is a concern but as we practice more in that area of the field we will make better decisions and not have that happen,’’ said Miller.

— Running back Jason Geathers and linebacker Brandon Perkins were added to the roster and made their first appearances in pads Thursday. Geathers is quite the player in the Arena Football League and here is some video proof of that on youtube.

— Miller is concerned that running back Wes Cates could be sidelined longer than just the season opener. Cates is recovering from off-season should surgery. “I just hope we are able to get him recovered as soon as possible,’’ Miller said. Miller added that Hugh Charles has looked good. He hopes that one of those two might be able to pick up the slack while Cates recovers.

— QB Darian Durant looked pretty good with what I suspect is the first-team offence. He looked comfortable in the pocket and could run outside pretty well. He connected on a TD pass to SB Jason Clermont during the short-yardage drills. The pass was kind of ordinary but he completed while backing into the pack of players watching the drills.— RB Eric Morris made a nice one-handed snag in the second practice.

— Riders president Jim Hopson addressed the team after Thursday’s practice. “He wanted to tell them that he was pleased and that they were doing well,’’ said Miller. “It’s really part of a team-building exercise.’’

— Linebacker coach Alex Smith’s outside voice has some volume. You can hear him throughout the stadium during all of the drills.

— I talked to returner Casey McGahee about the Riders’ special teams for Friday’s paper. I also have a story on Jason Geathers. They will also appear online later but you can always help out the L-P by purchasing a paper on Friday.