It was the best group of receivers to attend Edmonton Eskimos training camp in recent memory, hands down.
And that's what makes it tough for veteran Kamau Peterson to see some of them go as the team trimmed their roster Thursday before heading into the regular season this week.
CIRCUMSTANCE
"A guy like Alan Turner, a guy like Willie Thornton -- really just an unfortunate circumstance with Willie -- I've got a feeling with another week he would have really came on strong. And Alan did come on strong," said Peterson.
"Those are two guys that I'd be surprised if they weren't in another camp very soon.
"They're ready to go. Those guys can play right now. But when you've got (head scout) Ed Hervey and (receivers coach) Jason Tucker pulling the trigger on receivers, they're going to be some pretty good guys."
For as good as those two former Eskimos receivers were on the field, they are equally brilliant when it comes to recruiting.
"If anybody's got an eye for talent at that position, it's them," said Peterson.
"And those guys (at camp) were the most versatile group of good characters, speed, route runners, hands and athletic receivers I've ever seen at one camp. Ever. Four or five of them could have played. I never got to see Eric Ware, but I heard good things about him, too.
OPPORTUNITIES
"That's the thing, it comes down to opportunities and what you can do with them and it's unfortunate that we couldn't keep them all."
Now it's up to those who are left.
"We're going to be able to control our own destiny for sure," said Peterson. "At the end of this year, we won't be able to look back and say, 'We just didn't bring in enough talent in terms of the guys that made this team.'
"We can run with anybody and we should be able to play with anybody. It's going to be up to us how far we go, though."
