THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — It’s been more than 13 years since a Canadian-born quarterback started a game in the CFL but the Toronto Argonauts are giving Danny Brannagan a chance to end that drought.
The Argos have signed the former Queen’s star to a three-year deal and head coach Jim Barker feels the 23-year-old Brannagan, of Burlington, Ont., has the ability to make the team.
“He’s a very confident young man and from a physical standpoint has shown he can make all the throws you need to make to be successful,” Barker said Tuesday. “He just has a lot of the things I’m looking for and his knowledge of the Canadian game will put him ahead of a lot of the guys we’ve signed.”
The six-foot, Brannagan is the third quarterback acquired this off-season by Toronto. Last week, the Argos obtained backup Dalton Bell from a Saskatchewan and then signed Gibran Hamdan, who served as the Buffalo Bills’ third quarterback last season.
“It’s a chance to go try out,” Brannagan said matter of factly about the move. “Throughout my career at Queen’s I kind of felt once I was there that would be it for me for competitive football.
“But in the back of my mind I was always hoping I’d at least get the chance to try out, the chance to compete against anyone else they want to bring into camp, really just the chance to measure up and see how I compete against other great athletes.”
The last Canadian quarterback to start in the CFL was Toronto native Giulio Caravatta, who began under centre for the B.C. Lions on Oct. 27, 1996 against the Argonauts.
Jesse Palmer of Nepean, Ont., who played eight games in the NFL, spent some time in 2006 with the Montreal Alouettes but never took a snap.
Brannagan’s opportunity comes after Barker took over coaching duties from Bart Andrus, who was fired in December following a dismal 3-15 season. Barker is doing a complete overhaul under centre, having released veterans Kerry Joseph and Cody Pickett as well as youngster Stephen Reaves, who all saw playing time last year.
Toronto signed Brannagan as a free agent – he was bypassed in the 2009 CFL Canadian college draft – after he participated in the league’s evaluation camp last weekend. Barker was very impressed with what he saw.
“I’ve watched how he’s progressed as a quarterback at Queen’s and he played in a pro-style offence,” Barker said. “You don’t know a guy until you get a chance to work with him and we did last weekend and he has a personality and leadership qualities that will allow him to be successful at this level.”
Football success is nothing new for Brannagan.
He capped his collegiate career in style last year, leading Queen’s to a Vanier Cup title. Brannagan was named the game MVP after passing for 286 yards and three TDs in rallying the Gaels from an 18-point deficit to beat the Calgary Dinos 33-31.
The victory was the crowning achievement of a brilliant five-year career during which Brannagan passed for over 10,000 yards and was nominated for the Hec Crighton Trophy as Canada’s top collegiate player.
But Brannagan certainly faces challenges at the next level.
Canadian quarterbacks haven’t traditionally been given much of a chance to play in the CFL as head coaches, all under pressure to win immediately, look to Americans. Not only have they played the position longer than their Canadian counterparts, but have also done so against better competition.
Being able to bring a Canadian along slowly and make the investment of time and money required with no guarantees he’ll develop into a pro quarterback is a risk many coaches feel they can’t afford to take.
At six feet tall, Brannagan is regarded as being a bit on the short side for a pro quarterback. And there’s also adjusting to the overall speed of the pro game, which Barker says is huge.
“That’s the No. 1 thing because things happen faster here,” he said. “What you look for is his ability to make decisions quickly and get the ball out of his hand.
“We did some things to try and evaluate that at the evaluation camp and he seems like he’s going to be able to do that. In terms of what we ask our quarterback to do, he can do all those things. It’s just a question now of whether he can adapt to the speed of the game and be able to make decisions much faster than he had to at Queen’s.”
Brannagan said his time at Queen’s prepared him well for an opportunity to play in the CFL.
“Obviously there will still be a big adjustment a lot of learning that needs to take place,” he said. “But I think I’m going to be fairly well prepared.
“I know the overall speed will be a big adjustment . . . so you really have to make sure you understand the plays and where you’re going with the ball because if you’re thinking too much or are late at all, that’s when you’ll get into trouble.”
And there will be the added pressure of living life under a microscope as a Canadian quarterback trying to crack a CFL roster.
“That’s going to be a way people define me and that’s OK,” Brannagan said. “But I’m not looking to use that as a crutch.
“I’m just a quarterback, and I’m going to go out there to compete against other quarterbacks. All I’ve ever wanted was to go out and try to compete for a spot.”
And Barker was emphatic Brannagan wasn’t signed as a public relations move.
“If I didn’t think he could compete to be on our roster,” he said, “I wouldn’t have signed him.”
