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Alfieri’s Day 5 training camp notebook: Uguak arrives, Snead is ‘dynamic’

Tyler Snead (#85)

After spending the day off the field yesterday, the Alouettes were back at practice on Thursday for Day 5 of training camp, which is brought to you by le Salon de jeux de Trois-Rivieres.

Canadian defensive end Lwal Uguak was on the field for the first time since signing with the Alouettes on Wednesday morning. Uguak, who is wearing number 96, was the team’s first-round pick, 7th overall, in 2023.

“I communicate, I have length and I won’t just show one thing all the time,” Uguak said on Thursday. “I’m very versatile in my moves and what I do on the edge and what I do inside or wherever it is on the (defensive) line. I think I’m a good teammate as well.”

The 23-year-old began his NCAA career with the Connecticut Huskies from 2018 to 2021 and he eventually transferred to Texas Christian University, where he played in the 2022 National Championship Game. Unfortunately for Uguak, TCU lost to the Georgia Bulldogs, 65-7.

“I think it helped me a lot,” he said of his time at TCU. “I didn’t always have the wins at my previous college. Your confidence goes down when you’re only winning one game per year. Going to TCU and the way the coaching process was, and the way they treated the guys was like how they would treat their kids. They were demanding but they respected you at the same time. We were going to work; we were going to be brothers and we were going to go do it on the field too. It was very good for me…being able to go to the National Championship game, that’s a dream I have always had since I was young.”

Uguak recently completed rookie minicamps with the New York Giants and the Atlanta Falcons.

Tyler Snead has been ‘dynamic’:

We have written about the competition at wide receiver before, but we haven’t talked about Tyler Snead in this notebook yet. The rookie has looked good since the start of camp. He’s been working at wide receiver and as a returner, and he has looked comfortable adjusting to the Canadian game.

“He’s pretty dynamic,” head coach Jason Maas said. “He’s definitely making the most of his opportunities when he’s in there. He runs great routes. Obviously, smaller stature receivers are usually great route runners and he’s that. He has great quickness, great ability to get in and out of breaks, he’s very comfortable returning the ball on punts and he’s done it in all types of weather here in camp. He’s also smart. We have had him in the classroom for four or five days now and he’s picked up the offence extremely well. I think, of all the players, he may be one of the guys that knows every (receiver) position, which is huge.”

He’ll always be one of the smallest players on the field (he’s listed at 5-foot-7, 174 pounds), but he makes up for it with quickness, toughness, and football intelligence.

“I have never been the biggest, fastest or strongest guy, but my dad told me that I can play the hardest and the quickest way to the field is knowing the playbook,” Snead said. “If you don’t know plays, they can’t really put you in. I pride myself on knowing every position so I can be versatile as not only a slot but as an outside (receiver). My dad instilled those rules in me since I was young.”

After completing his college career at East Carolina, Snead was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent.

Prior to being cut by the Steelers, Snead caught the game-winning touchdown pass in a preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“That was one of my highs in life,” Snead said of the touchdown. “My whole family was there to experience it. My grandma, my dad, my mom, everybody was there. It was a cool moment I got to share with my dad. I got to keep the game ball. I enjoyed my time in Pittsburgh. I loved it there. All the guys were great, and I tried to pick the brains of some vets, and the coaches were awesome, too. Coach (Mike) Tomlin was great and (receivers coach) Frisman Jackson was great, too.”

The 23-year-old caught touchdown passes from Cody Fajardo and Caleb Evans during Thursday’s session.

Notes:

  • The Alouettes have added a pair of players to the roster, as they signed receiver John Brunner (Western Illinois) and offensive tackle Jauan Williams (Florida State).
  • Veteran receiver Regis Cibasu made an incredible one-handed catch during today’s practice. He scored a touchdown on the play.
  • Canadian defensive back Tysen-Otis Copeland picked off a pass in the end zone today. Copeland was the Alouettes’ fourth-round pick in 2022. He was cut after missing most of training camp with an injury last year, but he has been healthy this year and he’s looked good.