Calgary Stampeders legend Charleston Hughes shared his choice for what team has surprised him to begin the 2025 CFL season.
"Calgary has piqued my curiosity. Remember I said I hope I'm wrong, they definitely came out the gate proving me wrong 100 percent," Hughes said to the SportsCage.
Leading into the campaign, Hughes predicted where each team in the West Division would finish at the end of the season. At the time, he picked the Stampeders to be last place.
"VA is doing what VA normally does. He's playing very well, he's found his go-to target on that team -- [Jalen] Philpot, he makes big plays," Hughes said referring to Vernon Adams Jr.
"VA is comfortable with him, throwing the ball and comfortable getting it to him. [Dedrick] Mills is running the ball very well. They're hitting on all cylinders coming out of the gate, but this is a long season. It'll be interesting to see how good they are over time."
The Stamps have started the year 2-0. In Calgary's home opener, the Red and White won against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 38-26. In Week 2, the Stampeders beat the defending Grey Cup Champion Toronto Argonauts 29-19. The Ottawa Redblacks go to Alberta to play Calgary on Saturday.
"They're still trying to figure out their situation over there. They have a lot of gaps on that team and they're trying to fill those gaps. When it comes to the coaching staff and coaching decisions that are being made on the field, I don't think they're 100 percent there yet," Hughes explained about the Redblacks. "Can they do it against Calgary? Maybe, but the way Calgary is right now, I don't see it. They're not the poo-poo team in the league."
Two teams Hughes played for during his CFL career, the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts play on Friday at BMO Field.
"It's the game of the week, but Toronto's not going to win that game. They look bad right now, I would say it's a rebuilding year for them for the most part. They don't look like the strongest team. The quarterback position has been a question mark," Hughes said.
"The run game has been a question mark for them. The one player that shows up week after week is [Damonte] Coxie, he's been an absolute beast for them from last year and this year. He's one of those big-body players where you can throw the ball anywhere on the field and he's going to make a play. They're going to lean on him for the most part to try to make every single play on the field, but that can only take you so far."
You can catch the Riders and the Argos match-up on Friday. The pre-game show starts at 2:30 pm with Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk, and Wes Cates. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the call at 5:30 p.m. You can hear everything on the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
