RIDER GREAT BOBBY JUSASIN

RIDER GREAT BOBBY JUSASIN WAS IN REGINA TO HELP WITH DON NARCISSE's FOOTBALL CAMP.  HE HAS A GREAT INTERVIEW WITH HIS SON WYATT ON ROD PEDERSENS TALK SHOW.  HE SPEAKS VERY HIGHLY OF THE RIDERS AND HIS DAYS IN REGINA.

http://www.rodpedersen.com/   ( page down a bit )


ALSO OF NOTE....DEBBIE AND I WERE IN REGINA ON TUESDAY NIGHT TO ATTEND A RBC SEMINAR AND WENT TO LANCASTER's TAP HOUSE AFTER FOR A DRINK.  BOBBY WAS THERE.   I KNEW THAT HE WAS AN EX RIDER, BUT COULDNT QUITE PUT MY FINGER ON HIS NAME.   HE MENTIONS ON THE INTERVIEW THAT HE WATCHED THE CFL DRAFT AT LANCASTERS.

SHERBROOKE STANDOUTS HAPPY TO BE RIDERS

REGINA — Ismael Bamba wants to follow in the footsteps of another former member of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux.

Bamba, a wide receiver, was selected by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the sixth round (39th overall) of Thursday’s CFL draft from the Universite de Sherbrooke Vert et Or.
Before he played at Sherbrooke, however, Bamba was at UND for three seasons. During his recruiting visit to that school, he met Fighting Sioux star Weston Dressler — who’s set to begin his fifth season with the Roughriders.

“I watched him play before I even committed to UND,” said Bamba, a 24-year-old product of Ivory Coast whose family moved to Montreal when Ismael was four.“He’s a tremendous player, really explosive, and I’m going to try to contribute to this team like he does now.”

Dressler has set the bar pretty high. The CFL’s most outstanding rookie in 2008 has exceeded 1,000 yards receiving in three of his four seasons in Saskatchewan and is one of the league’s most dangerous receivers.

The Roughriders don’t expect Bamba to step in as a rookie and contribute like Dressler did, but the Vert et Or star was ranked third among receivers going into the CFL draft.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder had 40 receptions for 543 yards and four touchdowns for Sherbrooke in 2011. He also returned 12 kickoffs for 310 yards and a touchdown and 18 punts for 208 yards with one major.

Despite being ranked 11th in the final CFL Scouting Bureau pre-draft rankings, Bamba was the 39th pick. Roughriders general manager Brendan Taman said Thursday that Bamba was high on the team’s board so, when he was still available in the sixth round, Saskatchewan pounced.

“He actually is very good,” Taman said. “I got some notes right when we picked him that some other teams were trying to (trade) up to get him.”

While Bamba said he didn’t care where he was selected, he admitted it stung a bit when his draft position didn’t match his ranking.

“But the rankings aren’t something I really looked at because you never know what the coaches think of you,” said Bamba, who has one year of CIS eligibility remaining. “I really don’t care about dropping in the charts, but if anything, it’s something I have to take a lesson from and keep going.”
Asked if he was driven by dropping in the draft, Bamba replied: “I was motivated even before that.”
“Even if you get picked in the first round, you still have something to prove because it’s a different league,” he said. “For me, getting picked in the sixth round is kind of late, but I’m really happy to be with this organization and I’ll try to prove they made a really good decision to pick me.”
Kevin Regimbald-Gagne has the same goal.

After selecting the Vert et Or linebacker in the fifth round (35th overall) on Thursday, Taman suggested the Roughriders would look at the 6-foot-1, 215-pounder primarily on special teams — and Regimbald-Gagne said he’d be more than happy to do that job.

“I’m a good linebacker, but I’m better on special teams,” said the 24-year-old product of Rouyn-Noranda, Que. “For my first season with Sherbrooke, I played a lot of special teams and for my entire career, too.

“Joining the Roughriders as a special-teams player, it’s a good chance for me to make my name and do good things — and hopefully after (a while), I get a chance to play on the defence.”
Regimbald-Gagne was named a first-team CIS All-Canadian in 2011 after registering 40 solo tackles, 15 assists, three sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries for the Vert et Or. He’s also a two-time Quebec conference all-star.

Regimbald-Gagne has a year of CIS eligibility remaining, but he hopes to stick with the Roughriders in 2012.

He already has heard a lot about Saskatchewan from Roughriders punter-kicker Chris Milo, whom Regimbald-Gagne played against (when Milo was with the Laval Rouge et Or) and with (in the CIS’s East West Bowl).

“He gave me a call right after the draft and told me about the Rider Nation,” Regimbald-Gagne said. “It’s going to be a good experience to play with this team.”

HEENAN DELIGHTED TO BE A RIDER

The Riders top draft pick Ben Heenan met with the Regina media May 3, 2012 in Regina, SK.

Photograph by: Bryan Schlosser , Regina Leader-Post

CFL draft announcements don't get more dramatic that the one staged Thursday morning in Saskatoon.

Nearly 2,000 onlookers broke into a standing ovation when Saskatchewan Roughriders' president and CEO Jim Hopson announced that his team would take University of Saskatchewan star Ben Heenan with their first overall pick when the CFL draft went live later in the day.

The ruckus at the University of Saskatchewan Huskies' fundraising Dogs' Breakfast started before Hopson was halfway through the announcement - spontaneous applause that broke out all over the sprawling facility, as Hopson proclaimed from the stage: "I'm pleased to announce that later today, with the first pick in the 2012 draft, the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be selecting University of Saskatchewan offensive lineman Ben Heenan."

A teary-eyed Heenan hugged his parents at their table before threading his way through the crowd to accept a jersey from Hopson onstage. The announcement ended weeks of speculation about what the
Roughriders would do with the pick.

Heenan is a homegrown talent and widely considered a can't-miss player, but the Roughriders are deep on the offensive line and entertained offers for the pick.

"(Roughriders' general manager Brendan Taman) debated long and hard, and he had some good offers," Hopson said later. "But in the end, he said 'I can't pass this guy up. He's too good.' "

The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Heenan was still emotional after the breakfast had ended.

"I had a strong inkling the past few days, but nothing was official until today," Heenan said. "To spend today with 2,000 Huskie supporters, my teammates and my family really does mean a lot.
"For right now," he added, "I'm just going to soak this in and enjoy it with my family and teammates. Later on, next week, we'll figure out where I fit into the grand scheme of things."

Taman didn't attend the Dogs' Breakfast - he was back in Regina preparing for the draft - but Hopson said the team wanted to make sure they didn't pick Heenan just because it was popular with fans.
Other factors were at play, he said - foremost the likelihood that Heenan can have a long career on the Roughriders' line.

"He's from Grand Coulee (just outside Regina), and from my understanding, he's going to become part of the family farm operation," Hopson said. "You probably don't have to worry about him wanting to sign with somebody else down the road, and that can happen. You draft a kid from the east, and there's no guarantees he doesn't want to go home - I think a guy named Andy Fantuz kind of showed us that, and (Brendon) LaBatte showed the same thing (when he left the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to sign with the his home-province Roughriders). Long-term, it's a good football decision."

But it wasn't a decision set in stone until Hopson formally made the announcement, which was first suggested by Huskies' head coach Brian Towriss.

He and Hopson were talking at a mini-camp in Moose Jaw last week when Towriss planted the seed.
"(Towriss) said, 'I don't know what you're going to do, but if you're taking Ben, it would be really cool to be able to announce it at the Dogs' Breakfast,' " Hopson recalled.

"Right away, the bells went off. I said, 'Brendan, no pressure, but if that's your call, let us know.' We called the league. We called TSN. I was a little worried. I thought they might say no, but they said 'Great. Fabulous.' It all came together. But even this morning, I waited for my phone to ring and Taman to say, 'Hey; I just traded the first.' But it worked out perfect."

Heenan is the second Huskie selected first overall. In 2008, Hamilton picked safety Dylan Barker with their first overall pick.

The moment left a deep impact on Heenan's parents, Dale and Deb.
Father Dale said he grew up a Roughriders' fan, though he's focused more on the Huskies than the local CFL team the last few seasons.

"As a little kid, we used to go with my grandfather to the football games," Dale Heenan said after the breakfast.

"We sat in Section 4, and we went to Rider games all the time with grandpa - my cousins, my sister, my mom and dad. We had three season tickets there for, it seems, forever. It's kind of neat - we watched the Riders during those really good years, and never did I guess in my wildest dreams that one day, after watching all those guys, that I'd be watching my son play on the field."

Towriss, meanwhile, reiterated his belief that Heenan is most complete player the Huskies have ever produced and that includes past offensive-line greats like Gene Makowsky and Scott Flory, both of whom went on to long CFL careers.

"He's the most CFL game-ready guy we've had - his strength, his agility, his speed," Towriss said.
"And over and above that is his character. There's no red flags anywhere. He works every day to get better, he's had a great upbringing, he's polite, he's modest, he has a fire. He's going to be a great pro if he can stay healthy."