Riders training camp continues in Saskatoon

The first full week of training camp is underway in Saskatoon for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

On Mondayplayers took to the Griffiths Stadium turf for day two of camp. New and old players were busy running drills and executing plays in front of a crowd of fans.

• Saskatchewan Roughriders kick off 1st day of training camp

"I think there's a lot of excitement for the team this year, so many changes," said long-time Roughriders fan Lisa Lukye. "There's always hope in Riderville. We just have such high hopes for our team."

Right now there are roughly 85 players vying to make this year's roster. Over the next three weeks the coaching staff will try and find the right mix of players to make the team. After Monday'spractice head coach Chris Jones talked about finding the right ingredients.

"It's kind of like mixing fuel for a two-stroke [engine]. You got to get the mix just right or there's smoke," Jones said.

"The good thing is there have been changes but we have a lot of guys who have played in the league so it's not like you're starting with a bunch of rookies. Now we do have a lot of first year guys but we also have a lot of veteran guys who have played and won and have been very good players on other teams."

Veteran receiver Rob Bagg is happy to be back on the field in the green and white. He admits he had to think about his future during the offseason after all the changes to the team.

"When it all went down over the winter I just thought about it for a moment before I re-signed," said Bagg. "I ultimately came to the conclusion that I liked this coaching staff. I liked the way the team was shaping up and thought this was the best place for me."

And despite only winning three games last year, Bagg is confident going into this season.

"We're meant to be where we are right now, meant to struggle last year and I like to think we went through that to do something spectacular this year and winning the Grey Cup would be just that."

Training camp is scheduled to run for three weeks. Planned events include a live scrimmage and fan day at Saskatoon Minor Football Field and a street festival and barbecue.

• Roughriders plan barbecues, parties for training camp in Saskatoon