6 players to watch in first preseason game

The Alouettes will play their first preseason game on Saturday afternoon at Percival Molson Stadium when they take on the Ottawa Redblacks at 4pm ET (RDS, CFL+). Typically, you can expect to see many young players on the field, especially in the second half.

There isn’t much time for a newcomer to make an impression, as CFL teams only have two preseason games to evaluate their rosters.

So, who are some of the guys to keep an eye on Saturday afternoon? Obviously, we’ll be watching everyone, but there are some players we’re especially curious to see.

15 – Jonathan Senecal – QB:

The Alouettes’ seventh round pick in 2025 is coming off a spectacular career at the U Sports level with the University of Montreal. Through almost two full weeks of camp, Senecal hasn’t looked out of place on the field. He’ll need to show that he can manage the offence during the preseason while sprinkling in some of his big-play ability.

18 – Jordan Veasy – WR:

Veasy is a rookie only in the sense that he’s in his first year in the CFL, but he’s 29 years old (he’ll be 30 in June), and he has plenty of NFL experience. The Cal alum has had a strong training camp, as he’s come up with big catch after big catch. A pair of solid showings in the preseason could earn him a spot on the roster.

32 – Tiawan Mullen – DB:

Mullen has all the tools to develop into a strong defensive back in the CFL. Even though he isn’t the biggest player on the field (5-foot-10, 180 pounds), he shows good quickness and physicality. The Als have several talented young defensive backs in camp, so it will be interesting to see how many rookies they keep.

35 – Don Callis – DB:

Callis has been one of the more consistent rookies at training camp. The 24-year-old has been able to stick to receivers during team periods and in one-on-one battles. It’ll be interesting to see if that success on the practice field translates to the game.

73 – Phil Lutz Jr. – WR:

Lutz was brought in after the start of training camp, but he’s already shown an ability to get open. The Delaware product has put in some solid showings in camp, and he’ll now need to show some chemistry with whichever quarterback is at the helm on Saturday.

93 – M.J. Sherman – DE:

Sherman was a late addition to camp, but he’s shown an ability to get after the quarterback. The 23-year-old scooped up a fumble during the intra-squad game, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him make a big play or two on defence on Saturday.