They have embarked on a journey that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats want to last the full 193 days from introductory drills at McMaster University to the Grey Cup game in Winnipeg.
The first stage of the 2025 football season was launched under sunny and uncommonly calm conditions late Wednesday morning at Ron Joyce Stadium as the Ticats opened mini-camp for rookies, players new to the CFL, and quarterbacks. There’ll be only two days of in-uniform drills—not much time to make your first impression a lasting one—before another day of off-field work and meeting-room study brings the Cats into the first day of full training camp powered by Greenworks on Sunday when survivors of this mini-camp will joined by returning CFL veterans.
Head coach Scott Milanovich was generally satisfied with the opening serve but until he and his staff review the practice film—and there’ll be lots of it—he couldn’t comment on specifics. Much of the 100-minute session was spent on repeated drills that incorporated basic Ticat concepts, with the aim of sharpening execution and precision on both sides of the ball.
At this point, with many young players often nervous about their new surroundings while trying to absorb their assignments, acclimatize to the increased and varied demands of Canadian pro football and still stand out from the crowd, Milanovich understands that it’s a lot for newcomers to absorb. But one thing he did suggest to the group during ‘breakdown’, the end of practice coach’s commentary, was that he’d like to see a little more energy and excitement from the group as a whole.
And while the balmy weather was ideal to provide a level playing field and highlight the best of everyone’s skill set, he doesn’t want it to remain that way because there will always be games played under less friendly kinds of atmospheric conditions.
“I wish we’d have had this our first day of (regular) camp, but we need some rain too,” Milanovich said. “You just don’t want it on the first day. I was happy to see today, though. Happy for all of the guys from the U.S. who had never been to Canada to come up here and get a kind of a Chamber of Commerce Day on the first practice.
“But it looks like it’s going to get a little nasty later in the week. So we’re looking forward to that too. I look forward to seeing what they can do when the weather turns foul.”
There are 55 players in rookie camp with another three expected to report on Wednesday. Seven of those are quarterbacks but two of them—No.1 Bo Levi Mitchell and his primary backup Taylor Powell—are not throwing passes during the rookies’ two days of physical practice. They’re both on the field but are mainly offering advice and support. That’s not about injury prevention or load management but rather a coaching decision to limit the numbers so that the other five pivots can get enough reps to demonstrate their assets and playbook knowledge.
Returning pivots Taulia Tagovailoa and Harrison Frost were joined by Tyler Huff from Jacksonville State and Gavin Hardison, who played at University of Texas at El Paso. Guelph Gryphons’ quarterback Tristan Aboud, who’s from Montreal, is also taking snaps as part of the CFL’s QB Internship program. Aboud completed 67.4 per cent of his passes for 14 touchdowns and 2994 yards for Guelph last season and rushed for an impressive 351 yards. Edmonton’s Tre Ford (2019) and Winnipeg draftee Taylor Elgersma (2024) have both taken advantage of an internship with the Ticats in previous springs.
“We’ve got a good set of quarterbacks,” said Milanovich. “It’s going to be a tough competition and we’re probably going to have to whittle some down here pretty soon because you can’t rep six of them. But we’re happy with the guys we’ve got.”
One of those guys, of course, is Mitchell who is coming off one of the best seasons of his storied CFL career. As a lifelong quarterback, a blossoming TV analyst and the ultimate leader in team-building, Mitchell knows exactly when and how the tone has to be established. Not just by the coaches but by veterans like him.
“I think today’s about getting out here and running and then trying to define the culture to the young guys,” he explained. “Get them to understand what Hamilton football is all about. How we show up to meetings, how we show up to practice. We show up with determination, you persevere if anything’s going bad. But our biggest thing is, by the time the vets come in, that they understand how we roll.”
What caught our eye
* Many of the passing drills concentrated on the deep corner routes at which Bo Levi Mitchell excels although he refers to it as “The Ricky Ray Pass.” All five quarterbacks threw it well, many on the button where only the receiver could catch it, despite what was surprisingly good man-to-man coverage for a first day of camp. But last year’s No. 3 and 4 quarterbacks Taulia Tagovailoa and Harrison Frost, respectively, were a little more consistent in ball placement, throwing trajectory and tightness of the spirals, a reflection of their time here last season.
“Obviously our two vets coming back, they’re locked in,” Mitchell said. “So Taylor and I are happy; they’re kind of breaking them in for us. But the young guys look good. I think they have to learn Scott’s way of doing things. That’s something I had to learn coming in. You don’t miss behind, miss out front; be on time when you’re throwing a ‘go’ ball; don’t try to throw it 75 yards; take your drop and throw it on time.
“It’s day one, but they understand the playbook and they’re excited. So, it’s good to see one-on-one drills there. We’re going to test (defensive backs) and kind of see if they can play the deep ball or not. And I think that’s something you’ve got to see early in camp. You’ve got to see if young guys can cover. And you’ve got to see if young guys (receivers) can beat man.”
* There’s a plethora of wide receivers, even though that’s one of the positions, if not the, position, with the most returning depth, and many of them looked sharp in yesterday’s one-on-one drills. Among others, two 6-foot-3 receivers, Trea Shropshire from Alabama-Birmingham and Maalik Hall from Southeastern Oklahoma State, made big catches on deep corner routes. And smaller but extremely quick receivers Phillip Brooks and Isaiah Wooden (who played one game for the Ticats last year), made tough catches on short hard throws into the middle and heavy traffic.
* With Milanovich’s coaching staff upping the emphasis on special teams, underscored by assigning two official assistants to special teams coordinator Dennis McKnight, there is a lot of competition for the kick return job. As well as veterans coming in Sunday, such as Lawrence Woods, who’s had some electrifying runs in his tenure here, there were about a half-dozen men fielding punts yesterday. For most Americans, after a lifetime of being able to declare fair catches this will be their first experience with the CFL’s “halo”—the 360-degree, five-yard no-yard zone which protects the receiver until he touches the ball.
“Yeah, definitely it helps the returner,” says defensive back Quavian White from Georgia State, one of the impressive returner candidates. “It gives you time to process everything. In the U.S. if you don’t have a fair catch you get smashed in the face right away. So it’s pretty good having some time to maneuver and figure out what you want to do next.”
Kansas State receiver Phillip Brooks, who knows of legendary Ticat returner/receiver Speedy Banks because he too played at KU, says the no-yard zone brings mixed blessings.
“It’s new to me right now and I’ve got to go over the film to see if it actually helps,” says Brooks. “From the film I’ve watched, it allows the defence to set up a little bit earlier and get everybody to you. But you know that can be broken. So I’m going to continue to watch film (of Banks), see how he did his returns, then execute it.”
* Three vets who will likely be defensive starters—shutdown corner Jamal Peters as well as free agent signees DaShaun Amos from the Argos and Reggie Stubblefield from the Alouettes—were in the stands at Ron Joyce Stadium watching the rookies, some of whom will eventually be their teammates this year. Amos and Peters are close friends and won the 2022 Grey Cup with the Argos.
Cats Clauses: One of the noticeable figures among the mob of defensive linemen is DE Marquise Copeland, 27, who was on the active roster when the Los Angeles Rams won the 2022 Super Bowl over the Cincinnati Bengals … DE Isaiah Bagnah from BYU, the Ticats’ second choice, 9th overall in last week’s National Draft, carried his well-muscled 6-foot-3, 256-pound frame with confidence during drills … this is the first training camp the Box J Boys, the Ticats’ spirited longtime supporter group, will be without stalwart Mike Tivador who died in late February.
