Andy Fantuz is one of six exceptional Saskatchewan Roughriders' receivers heading into the regular season.
Photograph by: Troy Fleece, Leader-Post
REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders are pleased to employ six highly reputable receivers — but there's a catch.
Only five of them can play at once.
"I think our biggest problem is going to be getting everyone touches,'' Roughriders slotback Andy Fantuz says with a smile, knowing full well that such depth is a luxury, not a problem.
Fantuz is part of a receiving corps that includes fellow slotbacks Weston Dressler, Chris Getzlaf and Jason Clermont, along with wideouts Prechae Rodriguez and Rob Bagg.
Fantuz is part of a receiving corps that includes fellow slotbacks Weston Dressler, Chris Getzlaf and Jason Clermont, along with wideouts Prechae Rodriguez and Rob Bagg.
"I am truly blessed to be in this situation, to have six guys of the calibre we have here,'' Riders quarterback Darian Durant says. "It's going to be great working with them all year long. Hopefully we can all stay healthy and be able to accomplish what we're capable of.''
The Roughriders are so loaded at receiver that Clermont — the most accomplished member of the splendid sextet — is not designated as a starter.
"He had an incredible camp and it is hard to fathom, really, that he won't be on the field to start the game,'' Fantuz marvels. "But he will get in there and get his reps and get his touches. He's just an incredible leader in the locker room and on the field. He's someone I look up to and I learn a lot from. He is a big part of this team and it just shows the depth that we have at receiver.''
On paper, the Roughriders have never been this deep at receiver — which is saying something.
When Saskatchewan won its first Grey Cup in 1966, Ron Lancaster directed passes towards Hugh Campbell, Jim Worden, Alan Ford and Gord Barwell. All of them are in the Plaza of Honor.
When Saskatchewan won its first Grey Cup in 1966, Ron Lancaster directed passes towards Hugh Campbell, Jim Worden, Alan Ford and Gord Barwell. All of them are in the Plaza of Honor.
Ten years later, Lancaster's primary targets were Rhett Dawson, Steve Mazurak, Tom Campana and Bob Richardson. Being that the team used two running backs in that era — a contrast to today's one-back set — a fine receiver named Leif Pettersen was usually a backup.
In 1981, the Roughriders dazzled fans while relying on a passing attack that utilized the talents of Joey Walters, Chris DeFrance, Emanuel Tolbert and Dwight Edwards.
In 1981, the Roughriders dazzled fans while relying on a passing attack that utilized the talents of Joey Walters, Chris DeFrance, Emanuel Tolbert and Dwight Edwards.
By the late 1980s, Saskatchewan's terrific troika of Ray Elgaard, Don Narcisse and Jeff Fairholm was exploiting secondaries. The wideout opposite Narcisse was often an afterthought (see: Ray McDonald, James Hood, Gene Taylor, Mark Guy, B.K. Williams, Tre Everett, Willis Jacox, Reggie Brown and Willie Culpepper).
Elgaard and Fairholm — the Slot Machines — were so dominant that another excellent inside receiver, James Ellingson, rarely stepped on the field. His talents were obvious when he was deployed, most memorably in the 1989 Grey Cup.
Since then, there have been other talented receiving corps. The 2000 quartet of Curtis Marsh, Dan Farthing, Eric Guliford and Demetris Bendross (no snide remarks, please) comes to mind. Matt Dominguez, D.J. Flick and Andy Fantuz were showcased during the Grey Cup championship season of 2007.
But, honestly, have Roughriders fans ever seen anything quite like the current group?
Fantuz was named the most outstanding Canadian in the 2007 Grey Cup. If he can remain healthy, a 100-catch year is not out of the question. Neither is the CFL's most-outstanding-Canadian award.
Fantuz was named the most outstanding Canadian in the 2007 Grey Cup. If he can remain healthy, a 100-catch year is not out of the question. Neither is the CFL's most-outstanding-Canadian award.
Dressler was named the CFL's rookie of the year in 2008 after catching 56 passes for 1,123 yards, an average of 20.1 yards per grab. The runner-up for the award was Rodriguez, who had 70 catches for 1,099 yards for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2008. Rodriguez was acquired from the Tiger-Cats in February.
Bagg was recognized as the Roughriders' top Canadian in 2009. Getzlaf, who had a team-high six touchdown catches, also merited consideration. And then there is Clermont, who had three 1,000-yard seasons with the B.C. Lions, and was twice named the league's top Canadian. He also earned outstanding-Canadian laurels in the 2004 Grey Cup, two years after being decorated as the CFL's rookie of the year.
Clermont deserves an expanded role in the Roughriders' offence, but who do they sit in order to accentuate his talents? If you think that is a problem, imagine the predicament faced by opposing defensive co-ordinators.
"If you want to take someone away, we definitely have other guys who can pick up the slack,'' Durant says. "Teams really can't key in on Dressler like they've been doing the past couple of years when Andy's been hurt. Now that we have those guys healthy, and with the emergence of Robbie and Getz, it opens it up across the board.''
And why not open it up? At various times in their history, the Roughriders have had three, four or five gifted receivers. But six?
Stay tuned for the Saskatchewan Air Show.
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