Steven Dunbar Jr. is back in black & gold and reunited with Tim White

Effectively, real training camp ended for the Ticats today. It was the final instalment of power practice, the sweaty slice of hell that’s better known as two-a-days.

Yes, there’s a walkthrough on Thursday and the final, pre-season game goes Friday in Guelph but on Saturday the team will be pared to its regular size of 45, plus practice roster players, plus injured lists.

But the Ticats have still been bringing in players, and their  training camp is just beginning. They have to progress at an accelerated pace, particularly in the case of Steven Dunbar Jr., who won’t be in uniform this Friday against the Argos but—as long as he’s healthy and can be in playing shape–will likely play, conceivably as a starter on the short side, in next Friday’s season opener in Calgary.

Dunbar should need no introduction. He signed with the Ticats during the pandemic, opted out because of the cancelled COVID-19 season, but returned to the team in 2021, and made the East all-star team in 2022, finishing second on the Ticats –behind Tim White–with 1000 yards, 72 receptions and six touchdowns.

He then went to Edmonton as a free agent for 2023 and led the team in touchdown receptions despite being injured after 13 games. He was released and went to the UFL in the off-season but made his way back north yesterday.

“I thought it’d be a great place to kind of get my career back on track,” Dunbar Jr. said this morning. “I thought I’d come back home and try to get the thing going. I’ll play wherever they want me to play. My mindset is just to put my best foot forward.”

Dunbar will be reunited with White, evoking memories of the 2021 Grey Cup when he led all receivers, of both teams, with six receptions, 63 yards and a go-ahead touchdown. He, White and Jaelon Acklin emerged as stars when Brandon Banks had to miss eight games with injuries. And White has only got better since.

“Obviously Tim is doing great things in his career,” Dunbar says. “It’s very motivational and inspirational and it’s cool to see. We came in together and to see the things he’s doing with his career, it inspires me. I want to be around that kind of energy.”

And that kind of energy wants to be around him

“It’s great, we just got better,” White said. “When I started hearing about it, I started getting excited. It adds another level of experience, somebody who’s familiar with the landscape of the CFL and knows what it is being a Ticat.

“He’s a rangy (6-foot-3)  receiver and when I say rangy, it’s funny; he was one of the taller guys in the room two years ago, but now we have quite a few tall guys. He has great hands, he runs great routes and he understands the game. He can balance the field.”

Balancing the field—meaning having more play-breaking options than just the marquee target, which is White–played a role in the Ticats re-signing Dunbar, after he was released from the UFL this winter. The Ticats have a deep docket of young, big receivers, whom they’ve given a long look in camp, and during Saturday’s pre-season game against Ottawa, but while they’re generally tall, they’re generally short on CFL exposure.

“As a staff, we talk about the level of experience you want going into games,” explains General Manager Ed Hervey. “We had a chance to see our young guys and we have a lot of hope and optimism for them but whenever you have a chance to have someone like Steven who can come in, fit into what you’re doing and everyone is familiar with him, you don’t hesitate.

“Everything he brings to the table on and off the field is good for our organization.

“Obviously, there’s his experience on the field, his ability to make plays. He’s shown being able to play inside and out when he went to Edmonton last season. And he’s smart. He can balance the field for Tim, once he learns the offence and gets up to speed. He’s someone you have to respect defensively and we know that if relied upon to make plays in games, he can be a guy you can feature and take over a game.

“Off the field; his work ethic,. you always see him working hard, he’s always going to be on the JUGS machine, and young guys follow that. He’s been a model citizen, everyone likes him and he’s been a quiet but strong leader. Guys will gravitate toward him.”

Head coach Scott Milanovich says he doesn’t know Dunbar well but has studied a lot of his film, even while Milanovich was the Senior Assistant Coach here last year. He says there are things in the Ticat offence, which “we’ve taken from his style of play”, including the five-yard waggle which is part of Milanovich’s offence but which Dunbar also was using last season in Edmonton.  He also likes Dunbar’s size, explosiveness and reliable hands.

And, like Hervey, he is aware of Dunbar’s quiet, lead-by-example professionalism, which should prove helpful to the likes of rookie Shemar Bridges, who can now be more gradually integrated into CFL play.

Today, after practice we caught up with Milanovich, Dunbar and weakside linebacker Ray Wilborn. It’s Wilborn who gets the call to take over at weak side linebacker and, yes, he’s very aware of who the man he replaced,  Simoni Lawrence, is. You can also hear and see more about that in today’s episode of Ticats Today.

CATS CLAUSES: Taylor Powell took almost all of the reps with the top offensive unit Wednesday and will likely start Friday in Guelph … former Western Mustang Robert Panabaker’s  visibility keep  rising because of his versatility (safety and SAM linebacker) and because of a monster hit he delivered under full game conditions against Ottawa …  the Ticats used a little more of the “true tight end” package in practice this week with Michael Ezeike and Jevoni Robinson playing the spot, but they also used some ‘hybrid’  ends with offensive linemen and fullbacks as extra blockers … newly-signed receiver Dezmon Patmon, who played at Indianapolis when Scott Milanovich was there, is getting close looks, as is defensive lineman Darrius Moragne besides Steven Dunbar Jr.’s arrival the other big news of the day was the announcement the “New Stipley Experience”, the next evolution in premium live experience at Tim Hortons Field, will debut at the home opener on Friday, June 16 in the south end plaza. There will be live music before every game and at half time, and bonuses such as $5 beers and $6 Cottage Springs for an hour after the gates open. There will be 10 food and beverage kiosks, retail booths and lots of symbolic hammers to celebrate the city’s iconic nicknames. All the details are at  Ticats.ca/THF