THREE’S COMPANY, ISN’T IT?

Plenty of room for defensive ends?

The way Tristan

Okpalaugo sees it, there’s plenty of room for everybody.

The 28-year-old from California is one of three veteran defensive ends vying for two starting spots with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers this season, along with Jackson Jeffcoat and freeagent signee Craig Roh.

The trio could be a force for the Bombers, if the coaching staff decides to keep all three and can find enough reps to go around.

“There’s enough reps and plays to be made out there for everybody,” Okpalaugo said Saturday. “I feel like we’re working toward something great here.”

To that end, Okpalaugo wasn’t about to wait for training camp to get started to begin working with his fellow rush ends.

“Me and Jackson were fired up over the offseason because we met up in Austin (Texas) and had a workout session with one of his coaches,” Okpalaugo said. “We invited Roh but he had another obligation and wasn’t able to make it, but we all stayed in touch and we’re all excited to be together.

“Our personalities mesh. It’s a really nice thing. It’s not always the case where you bring a guy in and everything just flows.”

It all sounds nice, but Okpalaugo, who signed a two-year deal with the Bombers in 2017 after trying his luck for a year in the NFL, realizes it’s not always going to be perfect.

“There’s going to be points in time where one of us is sitting,” he said. “It’s not going to be ideal but it’s going to happen and you deal with it.”