Ticats itching to hit someone else in pre-season opener against Argos

HAMILTON — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ first exhibition game comes at a good time for head coach Scott Milanovich.

The Ticats host the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Stadium in the first pre-season contest for both clubs. It comes almost two weeks after CFL teams opened their training camps.

Milanovich said the opportunity for players to hit someone in a different coloured jersey is welcomed.

“Yeah, I think so,” Milanovich said Thursday at Ron Joyce Stadium. “I mean, I know I’m getting irritable.

“We’re getting to that point in training camp where it’s been a lot of practices, legs are getting heavy, and things are getting to where they’re wrapping up. There’s still about three practices left and two pre-season games, but guys are running out of time to make the team.”

Milanovich said starters healthy enough to play will see up to a half of action Saturday. Incumbent Bo Levi Mitchell, Canadian Tre Ford and American Jake Dolegala — the latter two are battling for backup quarterback duties — will all take snaps in the contest.

Saturday’s game will be Mitchell’s only pre-season action as Milanovich said the East Division’s outstanding player the last two years won’t play when Hamilton visits Toronto at Guelph, Ont., on May 29. The Ticats open the ’26 season June 4 against the visiting Montreal Alouettes.

Toronto’s first regular-season contest will be June 12 in Montreal.

The opening exhibition contest will be veteran middle linebacker Wynton McManis’s first opportunity to face his former team. McManis helped Toronto win two Grey Cups over four seasons before signing with the Ticats as a free agent.

But whether McManis plays — and if so, how much — has yet to be determined.

“He’s been a little bit nicked up,” Milanovich said. “I assume he’ll play some, I don’t know if he’ll play a whole half.

“We’ll make sure he’s ready to go once the season starts.”

Both exhibition contests will be pivotal in determining who replaces Greg Bell at running back. Bell rushed for 1,038 yards and five TDs last season while adding 62 catches for 426 yards (one touchdown) before signing with Ottawa this off-season as a free agent.

Hamilton has six running backs in camp, including Americans Larry Rountree III, Avery Morrow, Nahree Biggins and Shane Watts. The others are veteran Canadians Johnny Augustine and Ante Milanovic-Litre.

“Wide open,” Milanovich said of Hamilton’s running back battle thus far. “I think they can all carry (the ball), it’s going to come down to how assignment-sound they are.

“Our offence is difficult, it’s difficult on the running back, and who I can trust to protect. That’s going to be a huge part of it.”

Rountree, 27, is Hamilton’s most experienced American running back. He’s a ’21 sixth-round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers and spent two seasons with the NFL team, as well as time on the Houston Texans’ practice squad.

The five-foot-11, 210-pounder joined the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions in 2024 and was a member of their championship squad.

“I’m just ready to play, I’m ready to go out there and do my job for my teammates and hit another defender,” Rountree said. “It’s a game of opportunity.

“This game is going to be seen by every team in the CFL, so it gives guys an opportunity to go out there and put their best film on the line. Any game, pre-season or regular season, you prepare the same way.”

Another interesting battle is at punter between Australians Nick Haberer and Mitch McCarthy. Hamilton selected both in the ’26 global draft (Haberer in the first round, fifth overall; McCarthy in the second, 14th overall).

Haberer, 25, played collegiately at Vanderbilt (2025) and Washington State (2021-24). The six-foot-five, 220-pound punter had a career 43.4-yard average over 55 NCAA games.

McCarthy, 28, registered a 41.6-yard average last season with NCAA-champion Indiana. The six-foot-five, 233-pound McCarthy previously played at the University of Central Florida (2022-24), appearing in 37 games and posting a 43-yard average.

“That’s a very close battle right now,” Milanovich said. “They’ve both had really good days, they’ve both had some inconsistent days … but I’m encouraged by both of them.”

McCarthy said while he and Haberer are battling for the same job, it’s been an amicable competition.

“You know you’re fighting for a spot, but there’s an element of respect between Nick and I,” he said. “He’s been fun to work with.

“We’ve had similar backgrounds, we’ve been through this before, and we’re having a good time doing it. Massive opportunity for both of us, whatever happens, happens, but we enjoy when we’re doing it.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2026.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press