CJFL an option for displaced U Sports players

CTV Regina: Will U Sports football players head to the CJFL? WATCH: With the Fall U Sports season cancelled, some football players could head to play in the CJFL. Claire Hanna reports.

REGINA — The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) season is moving ahead, but with a modified schedule.

“If things continue to improve, the season could start in September,” the CJFL said in a statement to CTV News.

The league is having conference calls every two weeks, and teams aren’t sure how many games will make up the shortened season.

This will be determined based on field availability, travel and costs. The league is following provincial health guides.

The Regina Thunder have already begun group workouts in the gym, preparing for the season.

The league is attracting a lot of new talent given the cancellation of the Canada West Season last week.

“I would assume that a lot of guys from U Sports are at least going to consider playing junior football,” says Scott Macaulay, the Head Coach of the Regina Thunder. “From our standpoint, it’s a great opportunity for us to showcase our coaches, our facilities, the junior football league.”

Carson Sombach redshirted for the Regina Rams in 2019. When he found out Canada West wouldn’t play in 2020, he started weighing his options.

“Knowing that they’re probably going to have a season, that they’re actually going to play some real games, it for sure crossed my mind just to get on the field and get competition,” said Sombach.

He says while that was his initial reaction, he and other players aren’t being so quick to jump at the opportunity.

Changing teams requires learning new systems, developing chemistry, not to mention leaving the allegiance he’s built with the Rams. Sombach also says the Rams coaching staff are doing their best to plan for training and competition opportunities.

He says the Rams coaches also recognize some of the players might consider joining the CJFL for one season.

“Giving the players 100 per cent the option whether they want to go to junior for the year or stay on with the Rams, it was 100 per cent their choice. [They] said if we do have practices and there’s a lot out of town players gone and a lot of players playing junior, we’ll practice with what we have.”

Kieran Poissant, a receiver with the Thunder, thinks many will want to join their team

“I think that juniors is pretty enticing to university players right now because everyone’s just itching to get back on the field and play some football,” Poissant said.

Poissant is in his first year with the Thunder. A year ago, the 19-year-old was committed to the Rams straight out of high school, but opted to take the year off before beginning the season. Poissant switched to the CJFL before the COVID-19 outbreak in March.

“The best of luck I could have probably hoped for,” he joked.

Despite the growing interest in the league, Macauley is cautious about their recruiting process, sensitive to the team’s culture.

“Is there a guy that could come in and obviously he’s going to be a great player, but can he leave a legacy for the Thunder once he leaves? And we know we’d only have him for one year,” says Macauley, referencing the fact that U Sports is scheduled to return a full gamut of varsity sports in 2021.

The fate of the Canadian Bowl, the CJFL National Championship, is still up in the air. But the Thunder don’t want to take the opportunity of winning the title away from a player, for a replacement who’s main focus is to win a Hardy Cup.