Saskatchewan Roughriders' head coach Corey Mace has high hopes for defensive lineman Shane Ray going into the 2025 CFL season.
"When Shane's good and he's healthy -- he's a problem. For him, it's about staying healthy," Mace said. "I know he's completely changed the way that he's trained in the offseason. In camp, he ended up rolling his ankle, but he's back out there feeling good. It's a matter of hit the ground running, go full speed and disrupt like he's done pretty much his whole career."
The Riders decided to evaluate young players during their first preseason game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, so Ray did not play. For the second preseason game, Ray was unable to play because of that injured ankle.
What Mace admires about Ray is his humility and the way he enhances the defensive line with his knowledge.
"He's straight work and wants to help the guys around him. He's extremely bright in defensive line play," Mace said. "He's not one to keep it a secret. He wants to share the wealth with everybody. All those things, never an issue with my experience for Shane, which is awesome."
The camaraderie among the Riders' defensive line is high, according to Ray.
"We've been spending a lot of time together, Mike [Rose], Scoop [Carney], Micah [Johnson]. I'm a fan of those guys and what they've been able to do," Ray said.
"I think Scoop's going to have an incredible year. Micah, his story, you see what he's doing at 37, still playing, still dominant. And then you got Mike Rose. Mike Rose is a great pass rusher, a guy that I'd love to be next to and see what we can do with stunting, rushing, whatever. I'm really fond of these guys being able to play with them and see what we can do together."
With the CFL season officially beginning on Thursday, Ray is eager for it to happen.
"For everybody, we're tired of practicing against each other. The whole goal is to make it to the season and get to the next opponent," Ray said. "We're excited to finally see what this team is made of and start the trajectory of where we're going."
Ray originally spent time in the NFL from 2015 to 2019. He won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos in 2016. Overall, he made over $9 million USD during his time in the NFL. He has prior experience with Mace as the two were together with the Toronto Argonauts in 2022, during which Mace served as the Argos defensive coordinator. That year Toronto won the Grey Cup and after that, Ray went back to spend some time in the NFL.
"For me, it's another opportunity to play football. I've kept in touch with Mace throughout my journey and we've talked about me coming out here multiple times," Ray recalled.
"I was still in the league and back and forth. Then to finally make it happen after everything with Mace is, it feels good. I feel like I'm in a great spot to be successful and help this team as well. I'm looking forward to the opportunity."
With the championships Ray has won, he is confident about the players assembled in Riderville this year.
"Seeing this team and not comparing, but to compare it to Toronto when I was there, we were like one or two pieces away from a Grey Cup there my first year. Then the next year, we changed our mentality," Ray explained.
"Mace came in, we had a different mindset and we were able to do it. This team is one of those same types of situations where you made it to last year and where we are today. We have our opportunity to win a Grey Cup this year with a few changes. If it's one or two changes to get you over that hump, we're capable of doing that."
The Green and White begin the regular season on Thursday. Catch the pre-game show with Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk and Wes Cates at 4 p.m. while Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 7 p.m. You can hear everything on the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
