The Saskatchewan Roughriders rookie Brent Hawkins has earned one of two starting defensive end positions. The other spot goes Luc Mullinder, who is entering his seventh season with the Roughriders,
Photograph by: Don Healy, Leader-Post files
REGINA — It won’t have a catchy nickname like Chick ’n’ Baggs, but the tandem of Brent Hawkins and Luc Mullinder has been assembled to man the defensive end spots for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Hawkins and Mullinder officially won the jobs Thursday, when the CFL team announced it had released Joe Sykes. His departure — and those of other ends who were cut earlier this week — left Hawkins and Mullinder as the last men standing in the race to replace NFL signees John Chick and Stevie Baggs.
“(Hawkins and Mullinder) have done a great job athletically as far as what we ask, within this defence, our edge players to do,” defensive line coach Mike Scheper said Thursday after the Roughriders practised at Mosaic Stadium.
“As far as picking up mental reps and the scheme and knowing where to be and when to be there, they’ve both done a great job. At this point, they’ve earned the opportunity to be the starters at the defensive end positions.”
Hawkins, 26, spent the 2006 and ’07 seasons with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars but hasn’t played in either of the past two campaigns.
After Saskatchewan signed him in April, Hawkins was considered a front-runner for a starting job — and he did nothing to hurt his chances with a stellar performance in rookie camp.
He was slowed by a knee injury during main camp, but did enough to win a starting spot. Now he plans to keep it.
He was slowed by a knee injury during main camp, but did enough to win a starting spot. Now he plans to keep it.
“It’s an opportunity; it’s not something set in stone,” Hawkins said. “If I do badly in practice, Coach may change his mind and start someone else. So I’ve got to keep up my intensity and energy levels during practice to make sure I keep that spot.
“But you don’t think about that. If you come out here and play how you can and play hard every day, then thinking about starting shouldn’t even matter — and to me it doesn’t at this point.”
Mullinder is entering his seventh season with the Roughriders. He had 20 tackles and two sacks in 18 games in ’09 as part of a rotation along the line — but he’s no longer the third man in. Now a starter, Mullinder isn’t operating under the radar anymore.
“You can say that, but I didn’t prepare this off-season and I didn’t prepare (during) this camp to be in the spotlight,” said the 29-year-old product of Mississauga, Ont. “I prepared to help this team win football games and I prepared to be the best player that I can be.
“Spotlight or no spotlight, the objective is to win and the coaches are going to put in the guys that they feel can get the job done. If that’s me, great, so be it, I worked hard, I deserve it. At the same time, if it’s not that way, I have to be ready to do whatever we can.
“We’ve got to win the Grey Cup. That’s the goal — the only goal.”
The Roughriders got down to Thursday’s CFL-mandated roster limit of 46 players under contract by releasing nine players, but only Sykes and defensive tackle Josh Miller actually were gone.
Defensive backs Willie Byrd and Ladarius Key, defensive linemen Ikenna Ike and Ryan Lucas, linebacker Christian Houle and receiver Cary Koch all were on the field and appear destined for the practice roster when it’s announced Saturday. Receiver Aaron Fairooz also was cut, but he’s still around with a broken foot.
Receiver Obed Cetoute and linebacker Kye Stewart were put on the waived-injured list, while offensive lineman Kelly Bates was placed on the nine-game injured list. Stewart and Bates practised Thursday.
Offensive lineman Dan Clark remains with the Roughriders, but he currently doesn’t count against their roster because he’s still junior-eligible.
Head coach Ken Miller said Sykes — who dressed for five games in ’09 — was done in by a lack of consistency on defence and an inability to play on special teams. Miller noted that Mullinder has been the picture of consistency during camp and that Hawkins has the potential to be a “dominant defensive end.”
Mullinder likes the combination of power and speed that he and Hawkins offer — “Hawk’s first step is absolutely ridiculous; he should be a 100-metre dash guy,” Mullinder said — as they try to replace Baggs, Chick and the 23 sacks for which they combined in ’09. In Hawkins’ mind, the duo has developed good chemistry thus far.
“We’re trying to be on the same page as much as we can,” he said. “If we can get into the same synch that Baggs and Chick had last year, then I think we’re going to be great.”
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