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Search on by coaching staff to 'find some guys that are really going to push the vets and make us better'
Published May 06, 2026 • Last updated 13 minutes ago • 6 minute read
Calgary Stampeders rookie camp
Calgary Stampeders GM/head coach Dave Dickenson and players have some fun at the end of practice during rookie camp at McMahon Stadium on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. Photo by Gavin Young /Postmedia
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The freshest of talents took the field Wednesday for the Calgary Stampeders.
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Yes … rookie camp has arrived for the Canadian Football League franchise, signalling the on-field start of the 2026 campaign.
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It’s a group the Stampeders hope helps elevate the future — both for this year’s Grey Cup hoist in November at McMahon Stadium and for seasons beyond — and sets a good tone for the coming weeks in the team’s preparation for the much-hyped campaign ahead.
“It wasn’t a super fast-paced practice by any means,” said Stampeders GM/head coach Dave Dickenson, of the initial camp session on the home turf of McMahon. “I didn’t really feel a lot of the juice. I think that’s a product of the guys just trying to feel out the process, feel out what this game’s about.
“But I’m hoping in this rookie camp, we find some guys that are really going to push the vets and make us better.”
Rookie campers totalled 45 — plus the team’s new and veteran quarterbacks — for the first day of the three-day camp, which closes Friday ahead of Sunday’s start to main camp.
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Eric Rascoe
Linebacker Eric Rascoe talks with media after practice on Wednesday. Photo by Gavin Young /Postmedia
The freshmen group on hand includes the seven selections made by the Stamps in last week’s CFL Draft, highlighted by sixth-overall choice Eric Rascoe.
“A lot of moving parts,” said Rascoe after Day 1 of rookie camp — his first exposure to Canadian football. “But it’s really fun — a really fun game to play. I’m enjoying it. Just trying to be a sponge right now and soak everything in. Just come in and buy into what we have going on in Calgary, buy into the process, buy into the family culture and understand the principles, the mission and the values that they carry here.”
The linebacker was the club’s gem of the pick-em, as a player with professional football experience already under his belt, having played with the Indoor Football League’s San Antonio Gunslingers last season before obtaining his Canadian status to make him eligible for the CFL Draft.
“Eric’s almost 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds and has the ability to get up to 225 or 230 and move to one of the inside linebacker spots,” said Dwayne Cameron, the Stampeders’ director of Canadian scouting. “So we’ll see where (defensive coordinator) Bob Slowik wants to slot him.”
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Rascoe, a standout with the NCAA’s San Angelo State Rams, signed with the club after the Stamps made him their first-round choice, as did the six other prospects chosen the draft.
And now here they are in Calgary looking to make the grade in the CFL.
Matt Sibley
Receiver Matt Sibley catches a pass during rookie camp on Wednesday. Photo by Gavin Young /Postmedia
WHAT’S THE SKINNY ON THE DRAFTEES?
Here’s a closer look at the 2026 CFL Draft selections by the Stampeders …
LB Eric Rascoe (IFL’s San Antonio Gunslingers), 1st round (sixth overall)
The skinny: Rascoe was the fastest linebacker at the CFL Combine, with a swift 4.56-second 40-yard dash.
Cameron: “Eric was a highly productive player in college — 8.5 sacks, 20 tackles for loss, five interceptions … So he makes contributions in a lot of different ways. A very explosive athlete.”
WR Jesulayomi Ojutalayo (U SPORTS’ Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks), 3rd round (26th)
The skinny: Ojutalayo had a pedestrian 44 catches and six touchdowns over his career as a U SPORTS receiver, but he starred on special teams for the Golden Hawks with 26 special-teams tackles.
Cameron: “We’re getting the best special-teams wide receiver we feel in the CFL Draft. He’s excited. He’s pumped. He’s going to come in and develop as a receiver. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s on the roster Week 1, covering kicks for us.”
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DL Tristan Marois (NCAA Colorado Buffaloes), 3rd round (27th)
The skinny: Marois finished up his college career playing under Deion Sanders with the Buffaloes as a backup defensive lineman.
Cameron: “But in his last year at Robert Morris University, he had 25 tackles, 3.5 sacks, six TFLs … He’s going to join a defensive-end group that has Kelon Thomas in it and has (2024 draftee) George Idoko, and he’ll compete for a special-teams spot on our roster.”
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WR Matt Sibley (U SPORTS’ Calgary Dinos), 5th round (44th)
The skinny: Sibley is a hometown talent, who hauled in more than 100 balls and rolled up 1,300 yards as a star pass-catcher with the Dinos.
Cameron: “I feel like we made a dream come true here. But look, this is not a charity situation. This kid’s an explosive football player. He’s fast, twitchy — he runs a sub-4.6(-second 40-yard dash). And not the biggest guy at 5-foot-10-and-a-half and 190 pounds, so he’s got to go out there and be tough and gritty and make his mark and try and make this roster as a receiver.”
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OL Mitchel Schechinger (U SPORTS’ Guelph Gryphons), 6th round (53rd)
The skinny: Schechinger played both guard and tackle in the university game and was a second-team OUA all-star o-lineman last year.
Cameron: “Interesting note on Mitch … he goes up in weight for football, and he goes down in weight for wrestling. He’s an OUA medallist for a wrestler. So he’s got that toughness and that grittiness. And he’s highly intelligent.”
DL Stephen Kpehe (U SPORTS’ Queen’s Golden Gaels), 7th round (62nd)
The skinny: The 6-foot-1, 245-lb. Kpehe can fly for a big guy, running the 40 in around 4.70 seconds, and that’s rare.
Cameron: “So this is a young man who you’re kind of betting on the athletic traits. We’ll see where he fits, whether he’s going to be an on-the-ball guy or whether he’s going to be an off-the-ball guy. But his primary focus right now should be special teams and trying to make the roster that way.”
OL Jack Warrack (U SPORTS’ Saskatchewan Huskies), 8th round (71st)
The skinny: The 6-foot-5, 295-pounder was a Canada West all-star in 2024 at a university program known for producing solid pros along the o-line.
Cameron: “He’s a young guy that may ultimately end up going back to school. He’s played tackle. He’s probably going to have to kick inside the guard. We’ll see how it goes from there. I know (offensive line coach) Ucambre Williams and (offensive coordinator) Pat DelMonaco were both happy to get him.”
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Dave Dickenson
Stampeders GM/head coach Dave Dickenson says “the big thing for the rookies is try to build a foundation of knowledge.” Photo by Gavin Young /Postmedia
Among other rookies on hand is kicker Jude McAtamney, who was the team’s first-round pick — sixth overall — in the 2026 CFL Global Draft and a handful of players signed just last week in American receiver Rylan Davison, American offensive linemen Deon Buford and Cameron Dye, American defensive back Ike Larsen and Canadian linebacker Olivier Ruest.
With P.J. Walker having retired, the Stamps have also inked and brought in quarterback Jacolby Criswell, a standout with the NCAA’s East Tennessee State Buccaneers in eight games last season after time spent with the North Carolina Tar Heels and Arkansas Razorbacks.
“The big thing for the rookies is try to build a foundation of knowledge, so that when we install or get going with the main guys that the rookies are a little bit ahead of maybe what a true rookie would be,” added Dickenson. “You’ve got to try to make it as equal a playing field as possible. But it’s tough in three days. I mean … seriously, it’s just really difficult.
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“But if you can make it through the first two cuts and get to that first pre-season game (May 18 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders at McMahon), that’s when football players are decided. The games are where decisions are based.”
SHORT YARDAGE
Canadian DL Anthony Federico retired just ahead of camp. During his Stampeders tenure from 2024-25, Federico made two defensive tackles and three special-teams stops over 11 games … The Stampeders have released American WR Jeff Foreman … Rookie camp continues with a second-day session Thursday from 9:50 a.m.-11:30 a.m. … Practice on the final day Friday goes from 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
tsaelhof@postmedia.com
http://www.x.com/ToddSaelhofPM
George Hopkins
Stampeders equipment manager George Hopkins, in his 55th year with the club, sets up the lockers for rookie camp on Wednesday. Photo by Darren Makowichuk /Postmedia
Calgary Stampeders rookie camp
Players stay loose as rookie camp begins. Photo by Darren Makowichuk /Postmedia
McMahon Stadium
Lockers fill up for the 2026 season at McMahon Stadium. Photo by Darren Makowichuk /Postmedia
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