PREVIEW: ARGOS/’RIDERS
Schmidt makes debut to add new wrinkle to Argos offence
Argonauts.ca Staff
Argos Head Coach Bart Andrus has waited all of training camp, not to mention the first week of the regular season, to get sophomore Steve Schmidt into the lineup. The 232-pound tight end is expected to see his first game action since last season after sitting out the majority of training camp with an injury.
Andrus’ intrigue with Schmidt rests with the San Diego State grad’s ability to showcase his versatility on the football field. His size and strength allows him not only to block in a fullback roll but cover on special teams. In addition, he showed flashes in limited time last year that he could be relied upon as a TE/WR as well as long-snapper if the situation warrants it.
“We saw a lot of good things out of Steve in training camp and we had big plans for him but unfortunately we had to put some of those on hold”, said Andrus.
“I think that Steve has a pretty huge upside. He is a very good blocker and he is pretty fluid in the way he runs his routes. He is also a big target for Kerry (Joseph) to have out there with him”.
Kerry Joseph will go against Darian Durant in the quarterback battle, however, it is unknown at this point as to whether or not Joseph will have his go-to weapon on offence. Arland Bruce lll, who has been sideline all week with an injury, will be a game time decision for Coach Andrus and his staff.
On special teams, it will be rookie P/K Justin Medlock handling both the punting and the kicking duties in place of Eddie Johnson who was banged up in the opening quarter of last week’s tilt with the Tiger-Cats. Despite finishing the game, Johnson was placed on the injured list for Saturday’s contest with a shoulder injury.
News seems to be swinging in a positive direction for the Boatmen who will have both DB Jason Shivers and Schmidt back in the lineup (taking the roster spots of Ben Ishola and Brad Smith who have returned to the PR). In addition, DT Kevin Huntley has returned to the club after being released in training camp and will likely see significant time at the defensive tackle position alongside second-year Argo Walter Curry.
Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. at Rogers Centre and can be seen on TSN or heard on the Fan590 and Sirius Satellite Radio. For tickets, please click here. Following the game, the Boatmen will prepare for their matchup with the defending Grey Cup Champions in Calgary next Friday evening.
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