Moose Jaw's Levi Steinhauer rushes downfield against the Edmonton Eskimos during the Week 2 preseason. (Photo: Saskatchewan Roughriders)

Last season was a whirlwind for Levi Steinhauer as he navigated his way through his first season in the CFL, winning the Grey Cup in the process.

Everything has slowed down for the Moose Jaw native now as he prepares to open his second season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“(Training camp) was a lot better this year, you kind of knew what to expect and you knew everything that you had to do,” said Steinhauer.  “It was nice to come in and be a little bit more prepared.”

Steinhauer was a special teams standout for the Riders during his rookie season, making 11 special teams tackles and forcing two fumbles as he worked on the punt and kickoff units.

By the time the post-season hit, Steinhauer had worked his way into the starting long snapper role and played in the West Semi-Final, West Final and then made two special teams tackles in the Grey Cup.

He’s focused on building off that campaign now heading into his second year in Green and White.

“I focused a lot on long snapping (during the offseason) and I knew that was something coming into this year that I could step up and do,” said Steinhauer.  “I focused a lot on that and getting bigger and stronger.

“I felt like I had a good offseason, coming into camp there’s still a few things to finish up, but other than that the offseason went well and I’m feeling good so far.”

The offseason work looked like it paid off during the preseason as was regularly the first player to the ball after punts and on kickoffs, finishing with two special teams tackles in two games.

“Long snapping is my job, so I’ve got to get the ball back and that’s the first thing I’ve got to get done, but in my mind, as soon as I get done, I want to be the first man down field and I want to try and make that tackle,” said Steinhauer.

“I feel like I can make a big impact in that area.  Even if I don’t make the tackle or something happens, I can still force the returner to redirect or something like that.”

With a season under his belt, Steinhauer seems more confident in his abilities and much more like he belongs after being apart of the championship team last year.

“I know what to expect every week and nothing really surprises me at this point, so the readiness that’s what I understand more this year,” he said.

After reaching the pinnacle of the sport in his first season, Steinhauer added that’s just made him more hungry heading into this season.

“We’re hungry, we want to get another one, that’s the goal every year, so that’s what our goal is and that’s where we’re headed,” said Steinhauer.

The Riders will open their season on Sunday against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Mosaic Stadium.