Courtesy Edmonton Journal:

The quarterback recruits, working in the long shadows cast by starter Ricky Ray and backup Jason Maas, will step into the spotlight on Wednesday.

Jared Zabransky and Lester Ricard will get the bulk of the action when the Saskatchewan Roughriders drop into Commonwealth Stadium for the Edmonton Eskimos’ first pre-season contest.

“We’ll get a chance to see them under the lights,” said coach Richie Hall. “There’s no more workshops and tutoring. It will be test day.

“Ricky and Jason have had good camps, and we want to get them in at some point in time, but the main focus is on the other two guys because that’s a decision we have to make.”

Both Zabransky and Ricard are new to the Canadian Football League, and both know there are four quarterbacks in training camp but just three spots on the roster.

“You definitely want to go out and show what you can do,” Zabransky said after Monday’s session, “but I need to handle my business — and that’s going out and doing my job.

“You start getting caught up in all that other stuff, it takes your concentration off the things you need to be focused on.”

After trying to catch on with the Houston Texans and then the Pittsburgh Steelers, Zabransky, a product of Boise State, signed on with the Eskimos in the spring.

Ricard went from Tulane to the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent. After spending the 2007 season on the practice roster, he signed with the Carolina Panthers and got into one pre-season contest.

“I’m just going to go out and play. With the wide-open offence, I have an opportunity to showcase my ability,” he said. “The coaches have given us equal reps (at practice) and given us a chance to be successful and I have done pretty well with the opportunity I’ve been given.

“But for me, the game has always been slower than practice. It should be fun, and I don’t really care who goes in first, whether it’s Jared or me. We’ll both play and I think we’ll both be successful.

“He might be a little faster,” Ricard continued. “I might have a stronger arm, but we’re both competitive and I think we’ll both put up a lot of points.”

Following Wednesday’s game, the Eskimos will play the B.C. Lions in Vancouver next Tuesday and then open the season on July 2 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Commonwealth Stadium.

TEMPERS TESTED

Late in the second session, in a drill without pads, defensive lineman Kai Ellis threw a punch at offensive lineman Calvin Armstrong and ignited a brief midfield brawl.

“These last couple of days, people are starting to get under each other’s skin. Tempers are starting to rise a little bit quicker. I get the sense they are ready to hit somebody else,” Hall said. “This has been a controlled camp and even though we’ve had pads on, it hasn’t been full go. They’re ready, but like I said, they have this nasty attitude at times during practice, but that’s practice. Bring it to the game.”

BOTTOM LINE

“The biggest thing for me is it’s my first game. I’m going to be nervous regardless of whether it’s Saskatchewan or not, but I do think it’s going to be a great opportunity for us to go out and see where we’re at as a football team” — Hall, who tutored the Roughriders defence before he signed on as the head coach of the Eskimos during the off-season.

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