The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced the signing of Shomari Williams, the first overall pick in the 2010 CFL draft, on Wednesday.
Photograph by: Troy Fleece, Leader-Post files
REGINA — Saskatchewan Roughriders' Shomari Williams is ready to call Regina home, but he remains concerned about finding a place to stay.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced the signing of Williams, the first overall pick in the 2010 CFL draft, on Wednesday.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced the signing of Williams, the first overall pick in the 2010 CFL draft, on Wednesday.
Since the draft, the former defensive end for the Queen's Golden Gaels has been working out in Houston and searching for a two-bedroom apartment or suite to live in with his wife,
Dominique, while they are in Regina. Williams is expected to arrive in the city on the weekend and will continue his search for a home in person.
"It's hard when you're looking online to see what the place looks like,'' Williams said Wednesday from Houston. "I hope to find one by Monday or Tuesday.''
It may not be easy finding an apartment in Regina because it has Canada's lowest vacancy rate at less than one per cent. Williams hopes that a member of the Rider Nation might be able to assist him in his search.
"If anyone wants to help, I'll take it,'' said Williams. "I would even take a basement apartment. I'm willing to look at anything.''
Brendan Taman, the Riders' general manager, wasn't surprised to hear about the challenges Williams faces in finding a home during the football season. Taman said many of the new coaches with the Riders this season were faced with similar issues when they moved to the city.
"We might look at establishing some relationships with people during training camp who might be able to help the players out,'' said Taman. "It's the little things like that that add to the stress level. They are trying to make the team and once they do that, then they have a week to find a place to live.''
Negotiations between the Riders and Williams went a lot smoother than his early pursuit of a home. Taman was expected to sign Williams shortly after the draft ended May 2 but it took longer than that to reach an agreement.
"It took a little longer to work out but there weren't any problems,'' said Williams. "There was just the business side of things that had to be worked out with my agent (Darren Gill).''
Taman said Wednesday that Craig Smith, the Riders' director of player personnel, did most of the legwork on getting Williams signed.
Taman said Wednesday that Craig Smith, the Riders' director of player personnel, did most of the legwork on getting Williams signed.
"We knew that the intentions of Shomari (before the draft) were to play wherever he got picked,'' Taman said. "We weren't nervous about a holdout situation but any time you have a first-round pick, you want to be fair to him relative to what the other picks signed for over the years. Craig was able to do that with (Gill). We were confident that we would be able to get him signed before mini-camp.''
Williams, a 25-year-old native of Brampton, Ont., spent three seasons with the University of Houston Cougars before transferring to Queen's in 2009. He recorded 32 tackles and four sacks in six regular-season CIS games. He became a force in the Golden Gaels' run to the 2009 Vanier Cup championship. Williams had 26 tackles, 5 1/2 sacks and 7 1/2 tackles for losses in four playoff games.
Williams returned to Houston to continue training for his rookie season in the CFL. Taman said it's unlikely that Williams will start the season at defensive end. Williams is expected to contribute on special teams while working his way onto the defensive line.
"I want to do the best that I can,'' said Williams. "If that means helping out on special teams, that's what my role is. I want to put myself in the best possible position to see the field as much as I can.''
NOTES: On Wednesday the Riders also announced the signing of Taylor Wallace, a linebacker who spent five seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. Wallace, a native of Unity, was the 2009 Canada West most outstanding defensive player. Wallace had 38 defensive tackles, 1 1/2 sacks and two fumble recoveries. He dressed for 32 games in his career and recorded 133 tackles, 6 1/2 sacks and three fumble recoveries ... Rookie camp is June 2 at Mosaic Stadium. Veterans are to report June 6.Read more:
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