Calgary Stampeders bench William Barnes against Argonauts

Photo: Blair Takahashi/COACHTAK/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

The Calgary Stampeders have made a change at right tackle ahead of their Thursday night matchup with the Toronto Argonauts, benching William Barnes. The team issued its official depth chart on Wednesday.

Bakyne Coly will make his first career start at right tackle after joining the Stampeders in mid-May. The six-foot-seven, 300-pound blocker played collegiately at Purdue University, where he made 12 starts at right tackle as a senior. He spent the first three games of the season on Calgary’s practice roster.

In a corresponding move, the Red and White have demoted Barnes to the practice roster. The 26-year-old native of Apopka, Fla. took over the starting role at right tackle late last season after Joshua Coker and Preston Nichols went down with injuries. Coker is no longer with the team, while Nichols is on the six-game injured list.

Calgary has allowed seven sacks through three games this season, which ranks eighth in the CFL.

“We didn’t feel we played as well as we need to. We’re going to promote competition, and I hope everyone is competing because this is the way we’re going this week. Who knows how it goes from there?” said head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson regarding the decision.

“I’m impressed with (Coly’s) athleticism, the way he’s learning our offence, but he’s going to be in the fire against a pretty darn good defensive line, so we’ll see how he holds up.”

The Stampeders will start Benny Sapp III at field-side halfback after moving Jaydon Grant to the one-game injured list. Sapp III joined the team a little over one week ago. He recorded 19 defensive tackles, three special teams tackles, and one forced fumble with the Saskatchewan Roughriders last season and previously played for the Green Bay Packers.

The rest of Calgary’s lineup has remained unchanged from Week 4 when they knocked off the B.C. Lions in Kelowna to notch their first win of the season.

The Calgary Stampeders (1-2) will host the Toronto Argonauts (2-1) at McMahon Stadium on Thursday, July 2 with kickoff scheduled for 9:00 p.m. EDT. The Argonauts are coming off a 40-34 upset victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, while the Stampeders beat the B.C. Lions in Kelowna by a score of 41-33.

The weather forecast in Calgary calls for a high of 19 degrees and a 40 percent chance of rain. The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on TSN 1050 in Toronto or 770 CHQR in Calgary.