Rookie Duncan-Busby set for first start with Roughriders

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There’s some buzz around Dhel Duncan-Busby this week.

With fellow Canadian rookie receiver Ajou Ajou out with a knee injury, the 24-year-old Duncan-Busby is set to make his first career CFL start on Saturday (1 p.m., CTV) as the Saskatchewan Roughriders host the Ottawa Redblacks in Week 17.

“It will mean the world,” the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Duncan-Busby said this week. “Just blessed to have the opportunity.

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“I’m not trying to make too big of a deal of it. Obviously, I understand the gravity of it but I’m just trying to make sure that I’m calm.

“Don’t want to get too riled up. When you get too riled up, that’s when you start making mistakes.”

After being selected by the Roughriders in the third round of this year’s draft, Duncan-Busby dealt with a hand injury to begin the season before making his CFL debut on Aug. 15 against the Montreal Alouettes.

In that game, he caught his first career pass for nine yards, before playing his second career game on Sept. 7 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“It was a lot of work but it kind of made me a better person,” Duncan-Busby said of his injury. “I was able to put a lot of things into perspective.”

Last week after Ajou went down with an injury in the first half, Duncan-Busby entered the game and caught two passes for 34 yards in a 37-29 victory over the Calgary Stampeders.

“It was nice to get out there (but) obviously I wasn’t a huge fan of how it happened,” said Duncan-Busby. “But I’m just glad that I got the opportunity and I did well enough that they want to keep me on.”

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Fellow Canadian receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker, a rookie in 2021, has been looking out for Duncan-Busby in his first year.

“Definitely wasn’t easy so it let me step in his shoes a little bit and just understand where he’s coming from,” said Schaffer-Baker. “It just helps me be on his side and make sure he’s caught up with everything.

“He’s done a phenomenal job. He’s a great guy to have in the locker room and we’re excited to see him keep flourishing into the player he’s becoming.”

Born in Vancouver, Duncan-Busby spent time growing up in Toronto before moving to Ohio for high school, where he played basketball.

After switching to the gridiron, Duncan-Busby earned a scholarship with the Bemidji State Beavers, an NCAA Division II school in Minnesota, where he racked up 2,839 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns in 476 games before being drafted by Saskatchewan.

Along with his ability to catch the ball, Riders’ head coach Corey Mace has noticed Duncan-Busby’s ability to block, as was evidenced last week on several occasions in front of running back Ryquell Armstead, who rumbled for 207 yards against Calgary.

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“I’m really pleased with his play to this point,” said Mace. “Certainly, looking back at his college film, that was one of the things that you starred next to his name is his ability to block in the perimeter.

“The game doesn’t look too big for him and neither to the (defensive backs). He’s willing to mix it up for the greater good of the team.”

This week, Duncan-Busby will have more opportunities to block in his first CFL start, but potentially see more targets from quarterback Trevor Harris, who has also noticed the work the rookie has put in.

“I’m excited for him,” said Harris. “I’m excited for his future.

“He’s got all the physical tools and he’s got the ‘want-to’.

“The ‘want-to’ is the main thing and a lot of people day they do; they talk the big game, but he backs it up with his preparation, with his care-factor, the things that he’s doing out throughout the week, the perfectionism that he’s demanding of himself.

“I think he’s got a super bright future.”

Hearing those words from Harris, Duncan-Busby was appreciative.

“I hold myself to a pretty high standard so when I don’t meet that standard, I usually try to find a way to get to what I want to be able to do,” he said. “It’s super cool that Trevor thinks of me on such a high level and obviously I just want to prove him right, prove myself right and prove the organization right that I was the right choice.”

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Injury report

Linebackers C.J. Reavis (knee) and Jordan Herdman-Reed (leg) along with defensive lineman Bryan Cox Jr. (illness) are all questionable for Saturday’s game.

Meanwhile, offensive lineman Jacob Brammer (knee) and defensive lineman Anthony Lanier II (knee) are both available to make their return from the six-game injured list this week.

The Riders will release their official depth chart on Friday morning.

Emilus fined

Roughriders receiver Samuel Emilus has been fined an undisclosed amount by the CFL for delivering a blindside block on Calgary defensive back Demerio Houston.

Emilus was flagged for unnecessary roughness for the hit in the second quarter of last week’s game after making a block on Houston during a 35-yard catch by KeeSean Johnson.

tshire@postmedia.com

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