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Saskatchewan Roughriders running back Ka’Deem Carey remembers being a rookie practice roster player with the Calgary Stampeders back in 2018 and noticing a young defensive line coach with a magnetic energy about him.

“Seeing him get after the defence and how he got the best out of his players is something I always admired,” Carey said this week of Corey Mace, now his head coach in Saskatchewan.

“He was always one of my favourite coaches. I would never tell him that or anything, but the way he handled his players and the way he got the best out of them…the defensive players would say nothing but great things about him – inside the meeting rooms and outside the meeting rooms.”

Mace remembers Carey as a talented young runner who showed early glimpses of star potential.

“Everything about him is infectious,” he said. “His personality, the guy’s smile, anything from that nature. He loves the game…our guys have the ultimate respect for the kind of [running] back that he was and the kind of player that he was.”

Carey was a late training camp cut for the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts despite rushing for more than 1,000 yards last season. He said that it stung to get cut, but that he had to “take it on the chin.”

“It’s a lot of emotions,” he said. “It’s a business.”

He also didn’t allow himself to be bitter.

“If you’re bitter when that happens, you’re in the wrong game,” he said with a chuckle. “I take it with a big smile…like Michael Jordan, use it as momentum. You go out there and you just ball out.”

Carey knew immediately that Saskatchewan was a possible landing spot after Toronto released him. Carey and Mace had talked in the off-season about a possible reunion during free agency this year.

“Me and Corey had built a relationship over the years,” he said. “He reached out and he let me know that I’ll always have a home [in Saskatchewan]. It just started there. Going into training camp and being released by Toronto, the first [coach] that came to mind was Corey…you want to play for an organization that wants you.”

Mace views Carey as a complement to A.J. Ouellette, a six-year CFL veteran, and a running back who can help in pass protection in front of veteran quarterback Trevor Harris. Carey will dress as Ouellette’s backup this week in his Saskatchewan debut.

Saskatchewan takes on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. MT on TSN1/3.

“Running the ball, I think we all understand what that looks like,” Mace explained. “But a big tick for us is what he does in the passing game. Not necessarily catching out of the backfield but protecting the quarterback. He’s one of the better blocking running backs in the league.”

Mace’s message to his young players around Carey is simple.

“Just close your mouth and open your ears,” he said. “Take some notes. There’s so much I think that they can learn from [running backs coach] Andrew Harris and Ka’Deem Carey…the young bucks are very fortunate to be in that room, specifically with Ka’Deem most recently winning a Grey Cup.”

Seven years after first meeting Mace, Carey knows his CFL career is closer to the end than the beginning. He’s 32 and coming off a championship and all-star selection, but still got released.

Carey allowed that life after 30 for a CFL running back is tough.

“I’m happy I understand that, over the years, I got to see how the league works and how they treat 30-year-olds,” he said. “I’m happy to see that before it happened to me…once you think you’re doing good, you had a successful season, they remind you that you’re 30 and they put you on the block.”

Mace and the Riders, however, are now benefiting from adding a player with that kind of experience.

“He felt that we’re on the verge of something special and he wants to help and be a part of that,” Mace said. “It was worth the call and we’re glad we made it.”