Dave Campbell
CFL.ca
It was back on June 19 as training camp was taking the turn into its final week that the Edmonton Eskimos acquired Canadian running back Jerome Messam from the BC Lions.
Messam fell out of favour with BC head coach and general manager Wally Buono because of several off-field incidents which were determined to be detrimental to the team.
The Eskimos already had Calvin McCarty and Daniel Porter in the fold and Arkee Whitlock had just sustained a hamstring injury. At the time, it didn’t appear to be necessary for them to go out and acquire another tailback.
But it was Messam’s 6’3”, 245 lbs. frame that head coach Kavis Reed just couldn’t say no to.
Fast forward two games later and Messam has been a force in Eskimos’ first two wins of the season. He led all rushers in Regina with 37 yards on nine carries in the season-opening win over the Roughriders.
The following week in Hamilton, he then powered his way to 104 yards rushing and two touchdowns in a 28-10 home. The performance earned Messam the CFL’s Canadian Player of the Week Award.
Reed says Messam has come as advertised.
“I’m not surprised by him,” said Reed. “We expected him to be a major contributor and he’s contributed the last two weeks and hopefully he’ll contribute again this week.”
Messam’s performance is bringing attention again to his passport; he’s a Canadian running back. He’s the third non-import back being utilized by a CFL club on a regular basis – joining former teammate Andrew Harris from the Lions and Jon Cornish of the Calgary Stampeders.
If Messam keeps running and chewing up defences like he’s been doing through two games, it won’t matter what nationality he is.
Offensively, the Eskimos are using four linemen at the moment and one receiver in Andrew Nowacki.
Bottom line, there’s room for Messam to carry the rock out of the backfield from a ratio perspective.
Messam played his college ball at Graceland University; he enjoyed a solid final season in 2009 rushing for 1,075 yards and 12 touchdowns earning him All-Conference honours.
This was after suffering a serious knee injury the year before causing him to miss the entire 2008 season. Last year with the Lions, Messam carried the ball 23 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns. He caught five passes for 57 yards and chipped in eight special teams tackles.
He was supposed to be in the plans of the Lions this year but was essentially voted of the island by the leadership group of the team which opened the door for him to land in Edmonton.
It was a risky move by Eric Tillman, bringing in someone who has a history of causing and making trouble. Reed checked with his own leadership group of veteran players and they decided that bringing Messam in was the right thing to do.
So far, Messam has kept his nose clean. He doesn’t say much about really anybody. He’s reserved and simply goes about his business.
But most importantly, he’s letting his play do the talking.
Following Edmonton’s win over Hamilton, Messam said he’s starting to become comfortable with his new surroundings.
“I’m pretty comfortable with the offence right now,” said Messam. “I just got here, it’s still taking a little bit of time to adjust and get the feel of things, but it’s coming along pretty well, I’m pretty confident about our ability.”
The other aspect of Messam’s game that quite often goes unnoticed is his ability to protect or block out of the backfield. He played a key role in allowing Ricky Ray to pass for 388 yards against Hamilton.
Ray says the more Messam can do the better.
“We ask our running backs to do a lot of things here,”explained Ray. “They’re not just guys that carry the ball. They got to pass protect and they’re involved with the passing game. They got to be well rounded. (Messam) certainly had a great game for us.”
Next up for Messam is a date with the Lions on Saturday from Commonwealth Stadium. You know he’s looking forward to meeting some old friends.
“This game has been circled on my calendar since I got traded over here.”
Enough said.
NOTES: The Eskimos will be without two defensive starters for Saturday’s game. Nose tackle Etienne Legare is out with injured toe. Linebacker Rod Davis will miss likely the next two weeks with a hamstring injury. Offensive lineman Cliff Washburn and Bryan Ramsay will make their Eskimo debuts manning the tackle positions. Despite missing the first two days of the practice week, Calvin McCarty will start at running back.
