General Manager Ted Goveia talked in the off-season about bringing in as many players as he could to training camp who have experience in winning environments.
Jackpot.
Enter, in a very large—metaphorically and physically—way, 6-foot-5, 287-pound defensive tackle Marquise Copeland.
After trying for the better part of three years to crack the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams’ lineup but finding himself on and off the practice roster, then released, he finally made the team in 2021 and by late November he had become a starter.
And he started right through the playoffs, including the 2022 Super Bowl which the Rams won 23-20 over Cincinnati at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium.
“It’s like, really, a dream come true,” Copeland said after the second day of Ticats mini-camp concluded Thursday afternoon. “You think about this a lot as a kid. You don’t really think about the downs, you think about the ups, but the lows I had in my career made the other stuff much more sweet. Coming off the practice squad that season, having a good year and, actually starting in a Super Bowl.”
The Cleveland native, who turns 28 on Friday, had bee a second-team conference all-star at the University of Cincinnati, a few years after former Ticat Zach Collaros and NFL/pop-culture superstar Travis Kelce played there, and made 147 tackles over his four years.
Undrafted, he was still favoured enough by the Rams that once he finally made the roster he played 26 regular season games and started all four post-season games in their Big Year which culminated with the Super Bowl victory, just the second ever by a team in its home stadium.
“And I had my first interception (against Arizona’s Kyler Murray) in the very first playoff game I ever played. So those were all like super-high moments for me. It just helps me continue to love this game and everything that comes with it.”
That attachment brings him to Hamilton where, despite having reached the summit of U.S. football, and earning the coveted ring to go with it, he was at mini-camp with a dozen other defensive linemen, most of whom are new to professional football. Like a large number of U.S. players he was released from the Rams as he reached certain salary-guarantee levels so he headed north.
“I want to keep playing football and that love of the game is the biggest thing,” he says.
“I didn’t grow up watching the CFL very much. But I had some teammates coming out of college and I watched them and they’re super close to me, still brothers. So then I started to learn a little bit more than I did because a few of those college teammates are still in the CFL, so I learned a lot about it.”
The Ticats have been remaking chunks of their defence, especially the defensive line, so there is an opportunity for him here, especially with his pedigree. But there are also lots of other contenders: the defensive line had 13 members this week and there are several more arriving, including 2023 all-star tackle Casey Sayles and newly acquired National Kyle Samson, when veterans begin suiting up for main camp on Sunday.
“I always just put my head down and work wherever I am,” he said. “I haven’t really looked at the depth chart but definitely a goal of mine is to start here and do a lot of good things for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“My game is; ‘This is a nasty player!’ I love that. I’m not dirty but I like to get my hands down and play gritty, like how you’re supposed to play in the trenches. I love to be physical and all that comes with it.
“From what I’ve seen there are things that are different in the CFL but the offence is pretty similar to what I’ve always played. It’s really just certain small things, I guess, like the yard off the ball. And it’s an adjustment learning the new techniques. That’s what you do to be a good football player. You always have to learn technique.”
WHAT CAUGHT OUR EYE
Day Two is not Day One: In a short, intense hot house environment like a two-day mini-camp in unfamiliar surroundings, player who don’t stand out on the first day often find their bearings in the second. And it can be vice-versa. During Wednesday’s one-on-one drills the clear standout on defence was 6-foot-3 cornerback Zamari Walton, out of Ole Miss, who suction-cupped himself to receivers on four deep passes in a row (although one might have been pass interference in a real game). He was also excellent in team drills, working well in tandem with defensive halfback Eric Haney of San Diego who wasn’t as strong on man-to-man but separated himself from the pack by showing quick and correct reads and handling zone coverage like a veteran.
Our nod for Catch of the Day went to Oregon State’s Tre’Shaun Harrison who somehow snatched a pass out of perfect double coverage draped all over him.
Frost “un-retired” last year and happy he did: With Nos. 1 and 2 Bo Levi Mitchell and Taylor Powell intentionally only observing and advising in order to give the other quarterbacks enough snaps, returnees Harrison Frost and Taulia Tagovailoa moved into the primary positions during mini-camp and you could see the difference their 2024 experience, if limited, made.
“It’s just the comfortability,” Frost explained. “Just knowing where everything is. You know the system, obviously, and there’s a couple of receivers out there that have come back. So it was fun getting some opportunities to throw the ball around. It definitely takes some adjustment to get used to the (Canadian) football. I remember last year, on the first day it took me half the practice to figure out how to throw the ball. And the other two guys (Gavin Hardison and Tyler Huff) are picking it up good now too.”
Frost’s first CFL game experience came in an August home loss to Edmonton when he replaced Mitchell (who had replaced then-starting Powell) late in the game and drove the team for a touchdown, ending up at 8-for-12 for 95 yards.
“It was awesome,” he recalled. “That definitely gave me a little boost of confidence.”
Frost had already embarked on a post-football career—as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Virginia–when the Ticats called last year. After playing at West Georgia, he auditioned with the XFL and the NFL’s New Orleans Saints but then hung up his gear before answering the Ticats’ call.
“I’m glad I did,” he said.
And just like that, mini-camp is over: Head coach Scott Milanovich got most of what he wanted in Thursday’s second and final day of mini-camp with some cold windy weather which tested players under less than ideal conditions. And he saw a lot more energy from the players, something he’d asked them to deliver at the end of Wednesday’s opening practice.
“They had fun out there today,” Milanovich said. “I told them after practice that looked and sounded and felt like a professional football practice. It’s a coach’s job to set the tone but we expect the players to take that role over and they’re starting to learn what the expectation is.
“It’s obviously windy in our stadium and a lot of the stadiums in the league. So it was good exposure for our guys.”
Milanovich says Day 2 had a different feel than the opening day because between the two on-field sessions there was a lot of film work and analysis.
“From an evaluation standpoint, what we’re really looking for in the second day is what guys can take, the critiques from the meeting room, and them not making the same mistakes again. And that’s a huge part of this game. You’re going to make mistakes, we all do. The coaches do, too, but you can’t make them over and over again. So that’ll be a big part of the evaluation.
“We’re pleased. There’s some good football players here. There’s some good football players that probably aren’t going to be here after tomorrow. But, we’re looking forward to getting the vets in and getting this thing really cranked up.”
The Ticats must cut about 12 players who were in mini-camp to get down the league mandate of 85 players (plus this year’s drafted players) for Sunday’s opening of regular training camp.
Six of one, two dozen of the other: When mini-camp players broke off into their various position groups, there was a visibly stark contrast between the two trenches: offensive line and defensive line. In some part a reflection of the player personnel department’s off-season restructuring of the unit, defensive line coach Casey Creehan had 13 players going through drills and assignment instruction this morning.
At the other end of the field, offensive line coach Brendan Walsh was working with just six offensive linemen. Two of those were last year’s 7th round Canadian pick John Kourtis, who returned to the University of Saskatchewan last year and this spring’s third rounder, UBC’s Arvin Hosseini, the only non-defensive player the Ticats selected in the entire draft. That small group meant a lot of individual instruction and a host of extra work, with only one of the six linemen having to sit out each rep.
Hands like gloves, and no wonder: For the second day in a row, the most consistently surehanded receiver was Kansas State alumnus Phillip Brooks. He’s also a quality punt-returner but football was not his original sport of choice. Baseball was. He played shortstop and, mostly, second base in high school and wanted to pursue a diamond career. His first big scholarship offers came from baseball powerhouses like Nebraska and Kansas State.
“It was probably my best sport coming out of high school but at the last minute I decided to switch and concentrate on football,” he said. “I love the sport and did it from a very young age but I think I kind of got burnt out with the whole deal. Baseball definitely helped me with catching but I played basketball too, so I don’t think it’s only baseball that developed my hand-eye coordination.”
Cats Clauses: Here’s the kind of confidence football coaches want to see: hard-hitting defensive back Quavian White, a former track star who walks and talks like a sprinter, quickly responded to a Ticats.ca question which began “If you make the team….” with “There’s no if. I’m on the team.” … While mini-camp is primarily for first-year CFLers, invitees also include some players who spent time with the Ticats last year and didn’t get much, or any, playing time. They included WR Isaiah Wooden, who’s among the candidates for primary returner and suited up for the final game of 2024, TE Camren McDonald who caught two passes in two 2024 games, DL Mario Kendricks who had a sack and two tackles after joining the club last September, Canadian DL Reece Martin who played three games last year, and WR OJ Hiliare who was on the practice roster in the second half of 2024 … OT 6-foot-5, Bryson Broadway, who was all-conference at Georgia Southern says his football teammates always rib him, nicknaming him ‘Broadway Joe’, after Joe Namath, or ‘Hollywood’ … DB/returner Lawrence Woods III, who has had two TD kick returns and several other dynamic runbacks in three previous seasons with the Ticats is in town awaiting Sunday’s first day of regular practice. He hasn’t put on weight but he has noticeably re-sculpted his body in the off-season, looking for more strength and speed.