By Erin Sue
Ticats rookie, Darcy Brown is continuing to impress the team as he fits into the CFL and his new position. His adjustment to training camp, teammates and with support from home, the 23-year-old is pushing through toward the final few spots that all the rookies have their eyes on.
“It’s going pretty well. The soreness from rookie camp is starting to wear off as well as the nervousness and thinking while you’re on the field worrying about where you’re supposed to be. Now you can make your plays with a little bit of confidence and doing what you’re supposed to be. This is definitely faster than the CIS, but you get used to it, and I think I’m starting to play better.”
As a rookie, coming into the CFL, many of these young guys are introduced to players who they have watched play for years or even idolize as moguls here in Canadian football.
“You’re looking around seeing people that you watched play on tv, and it’s a little hard not to get star-struck over the faces that you recognize.” Brown added that Kenton Keith and Kevin Glenn were the faces that he had most looked forward to seeing on his introduction to the veterans. Laughing he continued that, “They were all welcoming – rookie haze wasn’t too bad, we just had to sing a song on a chair in the cafeteria. It’s been pretty good.”
Meeting the veterans and playing on the same field as them can not only be inspirational to the 2009 CFL draft picks, but a learning experience that shapes them.
“They are being helpful, although we’re [rookies] are all competing for the few spots within our groups we’re all helping each other out, in whatever way we can. If there is something that you’re not doing the veterans are quick to step up and help us.”
The 6’4”, 251-pound fullback discussed his move from being a receiver in the CIS to entering into a new position here in the CFL. Learning the ropes with a pro-football team is one thing, doing it in a position you’ve never played, that’s talent.
“It was overwhelming at first, I’ve never played fullback before. All the terms were new and they were especially new to me, some of the guys can relate it to things they had been doing back in college, but I had nothing to go off of. It was pretty much starting from scratch, it was going to be a big learning curve no matter what position I was playing, so I’m certainly getting in now and really starting to feel it.”
Rookies are guaranteed to feel some heat when they first arrive in the CFL as well as breaking down the barriers to fit right in. As TigerTown knows, the Ticat veterans are all easy to get along with and welcoming to the new guys – if anything, practical jokes take the forefront. Off the field, Brown throws his serious game-face out the window and relies on his sense of humour to win over the team.
“I’m a bit of a goof. I’m pretty much always joking around. I don’t know – it might be distracting to some of the other guys. You usually get nervous but I try not to get too worked up. So I just joke, and it’s my way of getting through the nervousness.”
Nerves aside, Brown, compared to most of the players on the team is one of the lucky ones when it comes to being close to home. This definitely has its advantages when it comes to family support.
“My family has been out to a few practices, both of the afternoon practices during rookie camp. I’ve been getting a little taste of home every once and a while. My mom and my dad are huge fans so it was really good to see them up in the stands. They just keep reminding me why I’m here and about this good sport.”
With the pressure on and training camp in full swing, Ticats and Ticat fans look forward to what Darcy Brown will pull out of his sleeves in the next couple of weeks leading up to the start of the season.
