2000 Rams to be honoured at 2026 Hall of Fame event
The Regina Rams spring camp has come and gone but it was a memorable event and the football team is still buzzing.
Rams recruits came and flooded the practice turf at the U of R on the weekend of May 2.
Head coach Mark McConkey says he’s optimistic heading into the 2026-27 season and enjoyed his favourite weekend of the year.
“All the [newly signed] recruits here practising, wearing Rams helmets. And yeah, just kind of confirms what we thought about them as recruits,” McConley said.
For our money, the most interesting part of spring camp this season was the guest coaches on the sideline. Luke Willson, a retired National Football League (NFL) athlete and current TSN analyst, took off his analyst hat and donned his coaching hat.
Superbowl winner, podcaster
Willson played eight years in the NFL, winning a Superbowl ring in 2014. Originally from LaSalle, Ont., Willson is one of only 17 Canadians to win the Lombardi Trophy.
These days Willson also has a podcast called Film Never Lies. Back in November, Rams’ offensive line coach Brett Jones came on the podcast as a guest. During the episode, Willson said he potentially would come out for spring camp to coach the tight ends and full back positions. Evidently, Willson is a man of his word.
Willson joked about his “bromance’ with Jones, but he also credits his time in Regina spurring him to come back this spring. Willson noticed the love of the game around the city both at the CFL level and at a youth grassroots level.
“They put this much time and effort into youth grassroots football, you know, and it kind of translates right through to the Riders and the support they get,” he said.
Willson not only helped McConkey with the Rams’ main camp, he also had a “fireside chat” style event with the Jones, held a flag camp for kids, and attended the team’s end-of-camp barbeque.
Behind the Helmets
The fireside chat event, called Behind the Helmets, included light appetizers and refreshments and began with a panel of alumni players.
The next panel was of current players on the Rams roster: Ethan Graham, Noah Pelletier, Jacob Tkachuk and Anthony Montas-Leipert.
Following those panels, the headline event – Willson reflected on his time in the NFL, his work with TSN, and his time at Rice University.
“It was kind of more of an intimate group and you just got to chop it up, you know. It’s pretty authentic, [and a] little raw,” he told Jones.
The event also included a presentation of a cheque from the Saskatchewan Roughriders Foundation to the Rams club to help with their upcoming season.
Flag Camp
Sunday afternoon, the Rams and Willson ran the flag football camp for young people ages 5-18. The fields at the U of R were filled with excited kids who wanted to learn more. Kids came from as far away as Melfort, Sask., to attend.
The flag camp was also special to two Rams players who attended a camp in 2015 with Willson in B.C. – Brandon Wong and Alex Gagnon. This time they got to coach alongside him.
Willson praised the Rams’ athletes for their work coaching the youngsters during the camp, “Brandon Wong, [for example] he did the warm up with the eight and under kids. It was like, feral children running around, and [I went] up to him, like, buddy, you’re doing a phenomenal job.”
Willson hoped that the kids at camp had fun and learned lots. He said that the camps are meant to be fun and, so down the road, the kids can say that “A Regina Ram taught me ball security” or another skill.
Dream big and be resilient and believe in yourself at all costs. You dedicate your life to something that you really want, and you continue to improve and chase that, and are very internally motivated – like, the sky’s limit in any field. – Luke Willson
Willson eager to get active
Having a Superbowl-winning football player and the coach of the London Jr. Mustangs paid off in spades for the Rams. Coach McConkey notes that Willson made a point to actually be active on the sidelines for the weekend.
“Willson’s just unbelievable. Like, when we had our first meeting, he’s like, I don’t want to just be like a puppet and stand around. I want to coach. And he’s been right in on meetings, right in in practice, and he’s chopping it up with the coaches. Like, he’s kind of just like one of us, and [we] definitely appreciate him coming.”
Willson notes that he sees himself in the athletes on the Rams’ field. Willson knows the story of a lot of the Rams’ athletes because he lived the same story. Growing up in a town not really known for football and going all the way to the NFL is no small feat.
Willson said he was a tall and skinny kid when he started his post-secondary football journey and he imagined that some of our athletes at their first camp is probably what he looked like in his first few days at Rice, too. Although Willson did notice some key differences between his program in the U.S. versus ours here in Regina.
Willson said that having a side job while playing football in the U.S. was unheard of, yet many Rams athletes here are not only student-athletes, also part-time workers.
“None of us had jobs because we didn’t really need them. I mean, we might do a little summer thing to get a couple extra bucks, but like, the idea that you’d have, like, a full-time summer gig was not a real ordeal there,” he said.
“So the fact that, you know, they’re this good at football with smaller amounts of resources, and you’re this committed, the fact you’re still making money, and, for some of these guys, paying for school and tuition or whatever it is, I think, really adds a testament to the character of the players.”
So what was Willson’s biggest piece of advice for our young Rams athletes?
“My biggest thing would be to dream big and be resilient and believe in yourself at all costs. You dedicate your life to something that you really want, and you continue to improve and chase that, and are very internally motivated – like, the sky’s limit in any field.”
The Rams’ season opener is scheduled for Sept. 11 at Leibel Field. Fans are encouraged to come out and support the team. Who knows, there could be a third Hardy Cup appearance this season!
2026 Hall of Fame event
Meanwhile, coach Jones has another reason to get excited about this fall. He is slated to be awarded the U of R Young Alumni award at this year’s Alumni and Sports Hall of Fame Induction in September. Jones played for the Rams and convocated in 2019. He is an alum of both the CFL and NFL and is currently taking his PhD at the University of Saskatchewan. Other award winners include Jodi Metcalfe and Yiyu Yao. Inductees for the Sports Hall of Fame include the 2000 Regina Rams, Betty Hoffart Fornwald from the Women’s basketball program and Rick Uhrich. These award winners will receive their awards in late September.
