By Darren
Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex
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| Evan Johnson, left, helps coach at Playground To Pros. |
Johnson is
best known for suiting up as a right guard on the offensive line of the CFL’s
Saskatchewan Roughriders. In Saskatoon, he is remembered for taking the field
from 2012 to 2016 to play in the trenches on offence for the University of
Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team in the U Sports ranks.
During the
off-season, Johnson makes his home in Saskatoon with his wife Dallis and son
Maverick. He trains for the upcoming CFL campaign at Ignite Athletics at the Indoor
Training Centre on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds. Having obtained an
engineering degree at the U of S, Johnson also works with Pinter &
Associates Limited, which is a Saskatoon based company that provides a wide
range of engineering services.
Along with
training on the football front, Johnson plans to always have his calendar open
to help coach with Saskatoon Minor Football’s annual Playground To Pros camp
that is usually held in April. The Playground To Pros camp helps develop
skills and fundamentals for young football players at the grassroots level. This year’s Playground To Pros
camp ran from April 11 to 13 at the Indoor Training Centre.
“It is awesome,” said Johnson, who stands 6-foot-4 and
weighs 290 pounds. “I love coaching.
“The kids are awesome. This is my second year with Playground To Pros. I had it circled on the calendar for a long time.
“I was just waiting to get back out here. I just have such a
good time with all the kids. It is a good time.”
Johnson said his experiences at the Playground To Pros camp have been rewarding.
“I like teaching them new skills,” said Johnson. “I like having those lightbulb moments where they kind of get it.
“Football is obviously a difficult sport. It has lots of
adversity and lots of physicality to it. Some kids really get it.
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| Evan Johnson, second from left, gets a chuckle while overseeing a drill. |
On top of helping out with Playground To Pros, Evan and Dallis, who is originally from Canwood, Sask., donated to the Saskatoon Valkyries of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League last year to cover the fees for one player. They donated to the Huskies last year too and plan to donate to both the Valkyries and Huskies again this year.
Dallis played defensive back for the Valkyries from 2016 to
2020 and helped them win WWCFL titles in 2016 and 2019. Evan helped out as an
assistant coach with the team during that time. Dallis also served as a
Valkyries board member in 2020 and 2021.
Evan would like to help out a little more on the coaching
front, but he is doing as much as his hectic life will allow at the moment. He
also enjoys taking part in the Rider Reading Program that the Roughriders run
through the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation.
“The Roughriders do have a program called Rider Reading,
where players are able to go to different schools and different communities,”
said Johnson. “I was able to spend a week going around Saskatchewan visiting
different schools, reading to the young kids and kind of teaching them the
importance of literacy and kind of the joy that myself and others get out of
reading.”
One of Johnson’s great joys has been the fact he has played for the Roughriders the past two seasons. He broke into the league in 2017 with the Ottawa Redblacks, who selected Johnson in the first round and ninth overall in that year’s CFL Draft.
Johnson
began starting with the Redblacks as a rookie and helped them make the Grey Cup
game in 2018, where they dropped a 27-16 decision to the Calgary Stampeders. In
February of 2021, Johnson signed with the Roughriders as a free agent and later
agreed to an extension with the team in December of that same year after the
club fell 21-17 in the West final to the eventual Grey Cup champion Winnipeg
Blue Bombers.
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| Evan Johnson enjoys coaching the next generation of players. |
“I was born and raised here. I plan to grow my family here. Saskatchewan has always and will always have a special place in my heart especially being a Roughrider and being able to do these things and give back to the community and just be around it.
“I still have family down in Regina too. I’m Saskatchewan
through and through, and this is exactly where I want to be.”
During the off-season, Johnson said it has been a huge help
to be able to train at Ignite and work with the coaches there to prepare for
the upcoming CFL campaign.
“I love Ignite,” said Johnson. “I love the Gordie Howe Sports
Complex.
“This indoor facility has been awesome for us as well. It
really gives us a chance to elevate our training. We have guys from all across
the league from all over the place, we come here.
“We train together. We compete with each other. We make each
other better, and I can’t think of a better facility to facilitate that.”
Johnson and the Roughriders will be on the Complex’s grounds
on Saturday, May 20 as the Roughriders hold their annual Green and White Day at
Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Roughriders President and CEO Craig Reynolds,
Vice-President, General Manager Jeremy O’Day and Head Coach Craig Dickenson
will give the Roughriders State of the Nation address and host a fan question
and answer session at 1 p.m.
The Green and White game follows at 3 p.m. The afternoon
will be great for families as there will be many kids’ activities include face
painting, music, inflatables, performances by the 620 CKRM Pep Band, the 620
CKRM Rider Cheer Team and Gainer the Gopher. Following the Green and White
game, fans are invited to line the fences for a player autograph session.
The Roughriders will hold rookie camp from May 10 to 12 at
Griffiths Stadium at the U of S and open main training camp at that same
location on May 14.
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| Evan Johnson, second from left, hangs out with a group of coaches. |
“It is optimistic,” said Johnson, who will turn 29-years-old
on August 21. “It always has to be at this time.
“We’re starting up some meetings, and getting some things
going. We’re getting the playbook figured out and distributed. We’re just
chomping at the bit to get going here now.
“The countdown is on, and we can’t wait to start up camp in
Saskatoon here.”
