CFL.ca
Bert Faibish
Ticats.ca
Suddenly just one play into the game, the player considered the corner of the future was needed as the corner of now.
As in right now.
“I was not ready for that to happen,” said Ticats defensive back Ryan Hinds. “I was getting ready to contribute on special teams, maybe get in there a little bit, and then the first play of the game, bang, your number’s called.”
When halfback Jason Shivers went down after the first play with an elbow injury, cornerback Will Heyward moved inside to take over for him and Hinds was called upon to man the corner.
Not quite the introduction that the rookie had envisioned.
“It was kind of like studying for a test, and then the second you flip that paper, you forget everything you’ve read,” said Hinds.
“But after a few plays I relaxed and just started to let my training take over,” he said.
Hinds would go on to play a pretty solid game, contributing three tackles filling in admirably.
Keep in mind that besides the preseason Hinds hasn’t played a meaningful down of football since his days at the University of New Hampshire, where he recorded 133 tackles and 10 interceptions over his four-year collegiate career.
The biggest difference for Ryan was the sustained focus that you need to bring game in and game out.
“In the CFL if you take even one play off you’re going to get burned,” said Hinds. “Guys bring their ‘A game’ on every single play and you have maintain that focus every second that you’re on the field,” he said.
Hinds is looked at as a potential “ratio buster” by management in Hamilton; a Canadian player skilled enough to start at a position uncommon for Non-Import players, therefore giving the team the opportunity to use an extra Import at another position.
Now that Hinds has had his first taste of CFL action, the day that he earns a full-time starting position may be close at hand.
The Ticats drafted Hinds in the second round, (13th overall) in the 2009 CFL draft and signed him to a contract earlier this year after he finished his senior season.
