Taylor Shire, Regina Leader-Post
Although he may have needed a tour of the facility, once he stepped foot on the field at Mosaic Stadium, Saskatchewan Roughriders rookie kicker Alex Hale felt right at home.
“Obviously a different field, a few different rules but end of the day kicking is kicking,” said Hale, who will make his CFL debut on Saturday (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium) with the Roughriders host the B.C. Lions to open the 2026 CFL season. “It’s a little different ball but once you get used to it, it’s all the same.”
After the Roughriders released veteran Brett Lauther this season, the Green and White needed to find a new placekicker for the first time since 2018. After a three-week training camp and a pair of pre-season games, Hale, a 28-year-old Australian who played college football at Oklahoma State University from 2018-23 before a stint with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers from 2024-25, beat out American kickers Jonathan Kim and Michael Hughes for the job.
And Hale isn’t the only newcomer on Saskatchewan’s special teams unit as the club has a new long snapper in CFL veteran Aaron Crawford, who is replacing longtime Roughrider Jorgen Hus who announced his retirement this off-season, and a new punter in Australian rookie Oscar Chapman, who beat out fellow Aussie Jesse Mirco, Saskatchewan’s punter last season, for the job.
Despite having a new special teams trio, Roughriders head coach Corey Mace said he didn’t give guided tour of the stadium to the new group but instead let them find their way around together.
“They’re always together so they’ll figure it out,” said Mace. “And if they get lost, they’ll be lost together.
“I was never a specialist, but I heard they’re as weird as goalies. They’ve got to find their own routines and what they like to do. But these guys are pros, man. They’ve been doing this stuff for a long time.
“If nothing else, Crawford’s been around the league forever, so they can follow him.”
So far, the adjustment has been just fine for the two first-year CFLers who are paired with Crawford, a veteran of 166 career regular season games.
“We’ve got Aaron, the vet, coming in and bringing in some of that vet swag for us, and we got two guys that haven’t played yet, and we’re excited to get involved and have a great season,” said Chapman, 27, who spent time with the Minnesota Vikings last season after a college career with the Auburn Tigers from 2020-24. “Being new and getting to experience it all together has been really cool.”
While Lauther and Hus had been mainstays in Saskatchewan’s lineup since 2018 and 2015 respectively, the Roughriders have had somewhat of a revolving door at punter since Josh Bartel held the role from 2016-18.
Last year, Mirco finished the season with the team after replacing Joe Couch, who had previously replaced Adam Korsak (2023-24). Before him, Kaare Vedvik (2021-22) and Jon Ryan (2019-21) held down the punting role.
“Just getting to know all the guys and the schemes,” Chapman said when asked what the biggest adjustment has been. “And getting used to the footballs, that is just a little bit different to what I’m used to.
“I’m always asking (Crawford) what’s this mean or what’s this rule, and can we do this, can we do that? He’s got a lot of answers for me, so it’s been really good.”
For the 39-year-old Crawford, who has played for the Calgary Stampeders (2021-25) and Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2013-20) after being a draft pick by the Toronto Argonauts in 2012, even though he’s paired with a couple of CFL rookies, the special teams operations are already running like a well-oiled machine.
“They’re professional,” said Crawford. “They have questions about CFL-specific rules or something like that, sure, but when it comes to overall kicking, they’ve been doing it, they’re good at what they do (and) they’re here for reason.
“My job is really just to service them and try and give them a ball that they are comfortable with that doesn’t take them out of their rhythm.
“Like anywhere (new), there’s little nuances, but a lot of it’s similar. When it comes to the basics, I can bring in some experience.
“We can iron out the kinks. We try and figure out what everyone likes, and as time goes on, you get more and more dialled.
“There’s always room for improvement, especially when it comes to special teams, because it’s such minute details. But right now, I’d say we’re operating really well together and we’re still figuring each other out, so it’s a good starting point.”
Second stint
This is actually Crawford’s second time with the Green and White, although he didn’t play a game the first time around when he was signed to the practice roster late in the 2012 season before joining the team for camp in 2013.
“I’m just happy that it’s going to be on a game day that counts,” chuckled Crawford. “It was awesome being here before.
“It was a different position at the time and didn’t work out, but I was just pumped when I got the call back to come back here.”
Last year, Crawford was limited to five games with the Stampeders as he suffered a knee injury before undergoing surgery. He was released by the Stampeders in January but decided to continue to pursue his CFL career despite being 39 years old.
“Getting injured, my goals didn’t change,” said Crawford, who was on the Stamps in 2021 when Mace was the team’s defensive line coach. “I still wanted to achieve certain things and get a certain amount of games; those kind of things is are just milestones I’m looking forward to crossing.
“If I can maintain the level of skill required to do the job, then I want to do as long as I can.”
Once fully recovered, Crawford was able to find a “new” team in the Roughriders, who are coming off a Grey Cup championship, which is something the Medicine Hat native is still seeking after two appearances in the CFL’s title game (2014 and 2019 with Hamilton).
“You can feel a different energy and that kind of stuff with the veterans,” said Crawford. “I’ve been to the dance, but I haven’t won, so I’m excited to learn the next step to get to the actual championship and take it home.
“That’s what I’ve been chasing my whole career, so I’m hoping it’s here.”
