After nine years attending training camp as a member of the Edmonton Eskimos, Ricky Ray began a new chapter of his career on Sunday when he took the field for the first day of camp with the Toronto Argonauts.
"This has been pretty new for me," admitted Ray. "This is my 10th year and I've never been around a head coach that preaches this kind of tempo in a system that is pretty complex like this one."
The system which Ray is referring to is being implemented by another new face in the Argos' organization, head coach Scott Milanovich.
Milanovich has joined the club after serving as the Montreal Alouettes offensive coordinator for the last four seasons.
"I think the biggest strength of Scott is just his communication skills. He's so direct, he lays everything out in front of you, he doesn't like to leave anything up to guesswork. I think it's definitely going to benefit us in the long run," said Ray.
"You've seen how Montreal has gotten off to hot starts almost every year and I think a lot to do with it is the tempo they've used in practice, which we're using now. So hopefully we can get in better shape and be ready to go," he added.
Ray will be hoping that hot start begins in Week 1 when the Argonauts face his former club the Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. The game can be seen on TSN, June 30 at 7pm et/4pm pt.
However, there is plenty of work to do before then as Ray tries not only to learn a new system, but to develop chemistry with his new offensive weapons.
"It's just nice to get used to some of these new guys like Chad Owens, Spencer Watt and a few of the other guys, like Andre Durie, that I don't have a lot of experience with," explained Ray. "Mo Mann and Jason Barnes, I have some history with those guys, so it's going to come a little bit quicker, but these other guys it's just about developing that timing."
The Argonauts will be able to showcase their new offence, led by Ray when they begin their pre-season against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on TSN, on Wednesday, June 13 at 7pm et/4pm pt.
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