Wayne Ruby Jr. is one of the Saskatchewan Roughriders' newest signings and head coach Corey Mace admires the conviction of the 24-year-old.
"Speaking with him, the first thing he said: 'Coach, I'm going to bring that Florida swag up there,'" Mace shared on The SportsCage. "I know a lot of guys in the building, not only coaches, but players are excited to work with the kid. Bless his heart, rookies, he texts me: 'Hey, coach, can I get this number? I said: 'Hey, wait, let me tell you something about being a rookie: you might have to wear 177. You gotta earn your right to get the number you want.' He said: 'Hey, I get it. No problem. Looking forward to proving you're right in signing us.'"
The six-foot-one, 190-pound receiver spent his collegiate career at NCAA Division III Mount Union University from 2019 through 2023. He won the Ohio Athletic Conference Ed Sherman award for best receiver three straight years from 2021 through 2023.
"What I love most about not only Wayne but the other guys in the situation, he's a division three football player and a lot of guys that I've had time either coaching or playing with, Fred Jackson is one of them, these guys are so prideful about caring." Mace said. "What he was able to do at his school and at that level of football, he had almost 7,000 yards receiving throughout his college career -- immaculate talent."
Ruby Jr. reports for rookie camp on Wednesday, May 7 with main training camp beginning on Sunday, May 11.
"Elated for the kids' future and see what it looks like coming in," Mace said. "Usually there's always a couple of guys that you're excited to see coming to camp. Last year, KeeSean Johnson, Dohnte Meyers, this kid's one of those as well."
Both Johnson and Myers made an impact with the Riders in their respective rookie years during the 2024 season. Johnson played 12 games where he recorded 56 receptions for 746 yards and five touchdowns. Meyers played five games with the Riders, recording 24 receptions for 349 yards and one touchdown.
Mace lauded his team's performance in CFL free agency. Saskatchewan signed quarterback Tommy Stevens, offensive linemen Sean McEwen, Philippe Gagnon, running back Khalan Laborn and special teams ace Kerfalla Exumé after the market opened. Backup quarterback Jake Maier, receiver Tommy Nield along with defensive linemen Shane Ray and Mike Rose were added prior to the communication window opening.
"I got to give so much credit to [Jeremy O'Day] and Kyle Carson; these guys do so much work. You should see our war room as we prepare for things like free agency in the draft. From the coach's standpoint, we look at some potentials that could be coming up, coming available," Mace explained.
"Then from there, it's the due diligence of J.O. and Kyle, speaking with the representation of these players throughout the tampering window, getting a feel, gauging their interest in being a Rider and how much that's going to cost. But you can't open up the window and start working there. There's so much work that goes into it prior to even the window opening so that you have your ducks in a row to get started."
This upcoming season will mark Mace's second year as the Riders' head coach. It's been another year he and his family experience winter in Saskatchewan.
"I'll put it like this: Thank goodness there's heat here in the office and at the house," Mace said. "Not a lot of time spent outside, the kids they see snow, they want to get out there and they get a taste of that wind... it's not been terrible, though, because I still get to do the things I love, which is spend time with the family and then come to work and do football."
