The Marathon Continues.

[Soapy]

Steelers defense dominate Huskies offense in preseason opener
After losing starting quarterback D'Eriq King to free agency, many expect the struggles of the Pittsburgh Steelers to bleed into the new season. For the night however, the Steel Curtain reigned supreme as the Steelers defense blanketed the NFC championship to a 24-7 victory.

Toronto did not play most of its starters with quarterback Matthew Stafford getting the start. He only played a quarterback before sitting the rest of the game as did Steelers quarterback and first round Brian Peterson. Peterson went 5 of 10 for 48 yards.

Pittsburgh did let most of its defensive starters play with safety Minkah Fitzpatrick recording two interceptions along with fellow safety Terrell Edmunds.

The Good

1. Pelfrey shows improvement in coverage, records pick six
   The lone touchdown of the game for Toronto came from a pick six by safety Charlie Pelfrey. Pelfrey had three tackles along with a pass breakup and showed a lot of improvement in both his man coverage and zone coverage responsibilities. With Keanu Neal gone, Pelfrey could potentially replace him as a box safety in the team 3-4 base package.
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2. Rookie LB White looks fluid and instinctive in debut
   The last time Toronto/Washington selected a defensive player with the number two overall pick, it ended up being Chase Young. LB Case White isn't that but he showed off his ability to find the ball carrier, recording four tackles in just one quarter of action. White twice tackled a ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage and also looked good in coverage.
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3. Bussey and Etienne provide the lipstick for the pig
   The offense looked horrendous but two bright spots where running back Travis Etienne and wide receiver Rico Bussey Jr, two guys fighting for a roster spot as a backup. Etienne led the team with two catches for 55 yards while Bussey had two catches for 33 yards and was open on several more occasions.

The Bad

1. Pride Jr. struggles as well as other defensive backs
   Toronto opted to go with youth for its third corner spot and it's not paying off. Troy Pride Jr. had a very tough game as did Lynn Stallworth and the rest of the defensive backs, specifically at corner. Lonnie Johnson Jr. probably had the best day at the group but overall, a real tough day for the corners.
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2. Rousseau quiet in debut as pass rush non-existent
   No Husky defender recorded a single sack despite Pittsburgh dropping back 31 times in the game. While Chase Young and Nolan Garrison did not play, as well as Fletcher Cox, but Greg O'Neal and Greg Rousseau did play a quarter. Rousseau didn't even register a quarterback pressure and his one quarter of action was entirely forgettable.

The Ugly

1. Gore's day from hell does not bode well for roster prospects
   Seventh round pick WR Shawn Gore is the definition of a long shot and one catch for five yards isn't going to cut it. Especially when one of Gore's drops led to interception and had another one on second down. It wasn't a good day for Gore who could very well have seen the last of his opportunities.
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2. QBs fail to get it going
   The offense put up just 115 yards of total offense with the majority of those coming in three big plays. The team had more kick return yards than offensive yardage and that ultimately falls on the quarterbacks. Eric Cooper's day was mediocre with 5 completions on 10 attempts for 44 yards with the aforementioned interception off Gore's finger tips while Joshua Dobbs threw two picks in three possessions.

[Soapy]

Lawrence makes preseason debut as Huskies tame Lions
Dwayne Haskins might turns out to be a decent professional quarterback. Unfortunately for the former first rounder who was traded to Pittsburgh just days before Toronto drafted Trevor Lawrence, he's no Sunshine.

Lawrence's preseason debut was short but effective, making his presence felt in just a quarter of action as Toronto sprinted to a a 43-26 win over Haskins and the Detroit Lions.

Haskins played an entire half, going 14 of 21 for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Lawrence went 4 for 6 for 45 yards, leading a touchdown drive before leaving the game. Matthew Stafford replaced him, going 5 of 7 for 98 yards and a touchdown while Eric Cooper added two more touchdowns and 95 yards passing.

The Good

1. Etienne finds new legs and hopefully health in Toronto
   Travis Etienne never got it going in Minnesota, missing two of his four seasons with injuries. He looked good tonight, rushing for 131 yards and two touchdowns and was able to do so by largely evading defenders. Add in his performance as a receiver in the opener and Etienne, along with Todd Gurley's 44 rushing yards and a touchdown, look like locks for the roster
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2. Rousseau and White make early impact
   Greg Rousseau and Devonta White were the two free agent acquistions that have people in Toronto excited about because unlike Fletcher Cox, there is hope that they can be part of the future. Rousseau recorded a sack along with two tackles while Smith found the endzone on a 59-yard catch and run touchdown. It was just the preseason but after a quiet opener, it was good for Rousseau and Smith to make their presences felt.
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3. Hearst continues to turn heads as a returner, make it a tough roster cut decision
   The trio at running back -- Angel McBride, Sherwin Florence and Kyree Sampson -- are roster locks with Travis Etienne quickly joining that group. Veteran Todd Gurley continues to make a good case as a veteran presence and then there's LaMont Heart, averaging 25.5 yards per return. His three carries were uneventful and leaving the game early with an injury didn't help but he's making his case.

The Bad

1. Pass defense remains a question mark
   Detroit had 427 yards of total offense and that's with the team's starting secondary outside of Jamal Adams playing the entire first half. It's not just a single player that is struggling but the team as a whole as guys like Hunter Renfrow gave them trouble. The loss of Chidobe Awuzie is going to be bigger than many expected even if Awuzie was past his prime and becoming overpaid.
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2. Rookie LBs look lost in second game
   Case White had a very good debut against Pittsburgh but both White and Nate Culberson struggled against Detroit. Culberson looked lost at times and a step slow, especially on a screen play where Detroit ended up scoring. White also missed a sack on Haskins which resulted in a touchdown. This is to be expected with two rookie linebackers set to man the defense this season.

The Ugly

1. Schwartz' injuries limits opportunities with Lawrence
   Rondale Moore did not suit up, leaving wide receiver Anthony Schwartz plenty of opportunities to make his mark in the slot. Instead, he got hurt and left the game without getting a chance to gel with quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Instead, Dorsett got to catch two passes from Lawrence and continues to build rapport. That second slot player behind Moore is going to be key and Dorsett has the job right now.

[Soapy]

Huskies trade for Patriots All-Pro corner Gilmore
The Toronto Huskies have traded for New England Patriots cornerback and former all-pro Stephon Gilmore, sending over their third, sixth and seventh round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft for his service.

Gilmore, 34, joins a talented secondary that just two seasons ago was among the NFL's worst in the history of the game. The three-time first-team All-Pro recorded three interceptions last season in jut twelve games. Toronto was ready to trade for Gilmore last season before his injuries sidelined him. The year before that, Gilmore missed twelve games with another injury and hasn't had back-to-back 16 game seasons since 2020, where he led the NFL in interceptions.

The Huskies take Gilmore on a one-year rental with his contract set to expire this season and they will only pay $8.74 million of his $15.4 million salary with New England covering the rest.

The addition give Toronto one of the league's best trio at corner with all-pro corners Ashley Konrad and Donovan Bigby. This puts even more emphasis on cornerbacks Troy Pride Jr., Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Dorian Burnett for their fight for the fourth corner spot as one of them will now likely not make the roster.

The team cut cornerback Lynn Stallworth.

[djp73]

34? Man's washed.

[Soapy]

Rehearsal game vs. Tennessee provides opportunity for positional battles to be won heading into regular season
If history repeats itself, starters for the Toronto Huskies will not play next week in the preseason finale vs. the Los Angeles Rams. This has typically been the case under head coach Eric Bienemy when it comes to roster management and dealing with the preseason. With that being said, this makes this week's match-up against the Tennessee Titans that much more important in the typical dress rehearsal game as Toronto tries to finalize a roster spots.

The battle for the fourth receiver continues to be a tough one with veteran Phillip Dorsett II trying to hold off speedsters Rico Bussey Jr. and Anthony Schwartz. Dorsett's work-man like approach increases his chances to earn that role while Bussey's play has been the best of the three. Schwartz's background as a track star continues to make him an interesting subject as he brings a similar dynamic as Richard Leonard as being able to make things happen with the ball in his hand.

The most talked about battle has been at corner where Toronto brought in veteran Stephon Gilmore. With his price tag both in terms of salary and trade capital -- a third, a sixth and a seventh round pick -- Toronto will almost certainly start Gilmore at nickel. However, there is still a battle to be won for the fourth corner role in the team's dime package. On paper, Troy Pride Jr. looks like the man for the job but his tough preseason makes it a tough call. Lonnie Johnson Jr. provides some length at the position but the best performance at the position has come out of second-year man Dorian Burnett. Burnett is a lock to make the roster due to being a third round pick last season but will he also be the fourth corner?

A quiet battle that has been brewing for the past two seasons has been between safety Jalen Thompson and Javelin Guidry. Guidry is a special teams ace and one of the fastest players in the league. He had a very productive 2023 season with 59 tackles and three interceptions, all career high. But in 2024, his snaps played went from 505 to 197, the lowest of his career. Quite simply put, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles stop rotating at safety and instead just used Jalen Adams and Keanu Neal on running downs and Adams with Thompson on his sub package looks. Guidry continues to improve his coverage skills and despite being listed at five-foot-nine and 188, he is one of the team's better tacklers in the secondary. A solid performance vs. Tennessee could see Guidry earn that starting spot over Thompson or at the least, re-enter that rotation.

Finally, we have the backup running back spot where Travis Etienne and Todd Gurley are making it interesting. Sherwin Florence is on a contract year and since his Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign in 2022, his carries have decreased each year. Florence is and will continue to be the team's short-yardage back but in terms of spelling star running back Angelo McBride, Florence will need to fight off Etienne who leads the team with 69 yards per game and 12.5 yards per carry.

[Soapy]

34? Man's washed.

one last dance.

[Soapy]

Huskies offense remains as explosive as ever in preseason win over Titans
The Toronto Huskies offense looked constipated just two weeks ago. Add in a dash of Trevor Lawrence, a sprinkle of Rondale Moore along with a few other pieces and it's a completely different beast.

The Huskies put together 465 yards of total offense in the 37-24 win over the Tennessee Titans as Trevor Lawrence played an entire half, completing 70 percent of his passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Moore got involved with two touchdowns while Chase Young's first extended preseason appearance netted him two sacks.

The Good

1. Veteran additions show they still have some juice left
   Stephon Gilmore recorded an interception and Fletcher Cox got a sack with both plays eliciting huge crowd reactions. Toronto has typically tried to get younger in years past but this off-season, they went out and got two guys in Cox and Gilmore that could be playing their final seasons. Both looked good in limited playing time and should be huge pieces of a Toronto defense looking to improve from last season's resurgence.
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2. Florence and Etienne make compelling cases for RB2 role
   Sherwin Florence reminded folks why he was a break-out rookie with 62 yards on nine carries, a far cry from his usual short-yardage pickups. Travis Etienne then followed it up with another impressive performance, rushing for 82 yards on 8 carries to sustain his ridiculous yards per carry average. Etienne certainly has earned a roster spot with his play this preseason and he might make the decision to keep Florence beyond this season a bit tougher.
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3. Bounce back game for rookie LBs
   Case White and Nate Culberson responded from their dud of a game against Detroit with an impressive performance vs. Tennessee. White led the team with seven tackles, recording two tackles for loss. Culberson had three tackles himself and fared well in coverage. White also had some quarterback pressures and projects to be a good blitzing linebacker.

The Bad

1. APB out for Gregory Rousseau; last scene vs. Detroit
   Gregory Rousseau had just one tackle and no quarterback pressures, let alone a sack. Rousseau was also ran at quite a bit in the second half and Tennessee had success on his side. With Chase Young and Nolan Garrison on the left side, Rousseau should expect a lot of actions coming his way and ending up with just one tackle is unacceptable. It's too early to tell but their gamble on the former first round pick might be bust
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2. Cooper's accuracy could hinder any real chance in the league
   Eric Cooper made a few plays but for the most part, it was his misses that were the biggest ones. Cooper missed on two potential touchdowns -- one to Anthony Schwartz and another to Rico Bussey Jr. -- due to his inaccuracy. He also threw a pick six and missed ten of his 23 pass attempts. Cooper doesn't have the biggest arm and moxxy alone isn't going to get it done, especially with his inaccuracy.

The Ugly

1. Lapses in zone coverage
   The secondary had an improved day but if there's one thing to critique, it's the zone coverage. Justin Herbert was able to pick at the coverage using Brevin Jordan and Zach Moss as they found soft spots in the team's zone coverage. Come the regular season, Toronto will be a primarily man coverage team but the issues in zone coverage remains a concern.

[Soapy]

Cooper hopes to make the odds once more come Monday
By Sunday night, 22 players currently on the Toronto Huskies roster will have been cut and the other 53 will have made the roster. With the majority of those 53 roster spots secured with returning starters and key players, it leaves approximately ten roster spots for around 30 players. Those are odds that Eric Cooper is fine with, he's faced tougher ones.

Cooper wasn't always a long shot. Coming out of Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana, Cooper was a highly touted two-sport athlete and was drafted in the fourth round of the MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres. At the time, Cooper was committed to the Florida Gators to play both football and baseball but the lure of a signing bonus and frankly not going to classes lured him to go pro instead.

"I wasn't even eighteen yet," says Cooper of the decision to go pro, "I was just attracted to just being a ball player and not having to worry about school and grades and all of that but I definitely wasn't ready."

After a stint at the rookie level with the Arizona League Padres, Cooper had success with the Fort Wayne TinCaps and was quickly promoted to AA in the Texas League with the Amarillo Sod Poodles. That's where everything, according to Cooper, went south.

He suffered an injury during spring training which sidelined him for the first half of the season. Before he was even able to hit the mound again, Cooper was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. Cooper bounced around their minor league system due to injuries and poor performance for eighteen months and was once again traded, this time to the Texas Rangers.

"For those two years, I didn't really have a home. I would just get like a hotel room and just be cooped up in there, going to and from the games. I wouldn't really have any friends, barely see my family and at that age, it's tough. You develop some habits, some unhealthy ones," admits Cooper.

The majority of Cooper's teammates were 'lifers', guys that had been in the minor league system for a few years now and several years older than Cooper. After games, they would hit the local bar scene to help past the dog days of summer. Cooper was underage for most of his so he would retreat back into his Extended Stay hotel room, crack open a few ill-gotten beers and drink the night away. The beers turned into a six-pack and then eventually an entire case and when that wasn't enough, Cooper started washing down his per-diem with hard liquor and experimenting with recreational drugs.

"It was a dark place," Cooper says, "I sucked, I was failing drug tests, I kept getting hurt so at some point, it turns into self-sabotage."

He spent just two months with the Frisco Roughriders before he was waived at just 21 years old and seemingly his career in the tank. Embarrassed to go back home, he got a job as a security guard at Memorial High School. It didn't take long for Cooper to form a relationship with the football coach, Reed Emerson, and join the coaching staff as a volunteer. Emerson had a relationship with one of the staffers at Baylor University and soon enough, Cooper got a try out for a walk-on spot for a sport he hadn't played in over three years.

"He wasn't very good," says Baylor coach David Arranda, "But he was competitive and from a walk-on, that's what you want so it really wasn't going to cost us anything and he was older and we felt that he brought both a competitive nature to the quarterback room as well as some veteran leadership. He had been through the pro ranks so he understood the business of sports and could help relate that to the younger players."

Cooper redshirted in 2021 and played in just three games as a backup in 2022 where he earned a scholarship. In 2023, Cooper was named the starter and led Baylor to an 11–1 regular season, a number 5 ranking in the College Football Playoffs Rankings and a Fiesta Bowl appearance. He also broke school records in total attempts, completions, yardage, and touchdowns.

His injury history and age hindered Cooper in the draft process despite his stellar final season at Baylor. Nevertheless, Cooper was drafted in the fifth round by the Toronto Huskies, making him just the second quarterback to ever be selected in the franchise's history.

Cooper spent his rookie season on IR but now has the opportunity against the Los Angeles Rams in the preseason finale to make his case as the team's backup and if nothing else, to make the roster.

"I've been at the bottom," says Cooper, "And this isn't it. I want to make the roster and I want to help the team but if it doesn't happen, I'll be fine, I'll find a way to be back here. I was a security guard like three years ago, I'll be fine."

[djp73]

Cool story. Transferred to OK State or typo?

[Soapy]

Cool story. Transferred to OK State or typo?

idk what you talking about :shifty: