Justin Dunk
CFL.ca
It was a resurgent 2011 season for the Windsor Lancers football program. The team made the OUA playoffs, and produced a winning record for the first time since 2006.
And things continued to come up rosy for the program located in the ‘city of roses’. Three Lancers: defensive back Shea Pierre, defensive lineman Seamus Postma and most notably, receiver Jordan Brescacin all received invites to the CFL’s annual scouting combine – representing the highest number of Lancer players to ever be in attendance at a single Evaluation Camp – which will be held in Toronto from March 2-4.
One of the main reasons for the revival of the program is Brescacin, who has dressed and played in every game since arriving on the Windsor campus. The six-foot-four 195-pound receiver was the number one target in a prolific Lancer attack which averaged over 32 points per game during the 2011 CIS regular season and dropped 50 points in an OUA quarterfinal playoff win over Ottawa – a victory in which Brescacin had nine receptions for 198 yards and two scores.
Brescacin, a concurrent math major, put up some pretty large numbers in his fourth season wearing Lancer blue and yellow. He registered 50 receptions for 773 yards and seven major scores in eight regular season contests – top six totals among all pass catchers across the nation in those three statistical categories.
For his efforts in 2011, Brescacin, a quiet and true lead-by-example kind of guy, was named a 1st-team CIS All-Canadian for the first time in his career. The Tecumseh, Ontario native received recognition and accolades for his strong 2011 campaign, but his breakout season came one year prior.
Before the 2010 OUA football schedule kicked-off, Brescacin had totaled just 496 receiving yards, rather pedestrian totals, during his first two seasons with the Lancers. Enter current Windsor head coach Joe D’Amore, who was the receivers’ coach that year. D’Amore wanted to move his lanky pass catcher inside to the slotback position, closer to the quarterback where he could utilize the waggle towards the line of scrimmage and become more involved in the offence.
Well, sure enough the move paid off. Number 19 became comfortable and consistent in his new spot, snagging 47 balls for the Lancers, good for 588 yards and four touchdowns – surpassing his production from his first two years combined.
“Jordan played a little bit inside his second year, but he really became the go-to guy in his third year coming inside [fulltime],” D’Amore said.
Brescacin’s strong showing in 2010 caught the attention of many in the Canadian University football world and earned himself an invite to the 2011 CIS East West Bowl, something he flatly admits he didn’t see coming.
“To tell you the truth I wasn’t really expecting to be invited,” Brescacin said.
He didn’t blow anyone away with his testing results at East West, but when it came time to just play the game, that’s where Brescacin started peak the interest of CFL talent evaluators.
“I think he was noticed during the week of the East West Bowl that he was a top-flight receiver coming out of the OUA and CIS,” D’Amore said.
During D’Amore’s conversations with CFL scouts, doing their background work on Brescacin, he was told they liked the way his rangy pass catcher attacked the football while in the air, caught the ball naturally, ran routes and thought he adjusted to the football as well as anyone.
Those strengths were on full display during the East West Bowl game on May 7, 2011. Brescacin hauled in four passes for 79 yards, similar totals to Wilfrid Laurier receiver Shamawd Chambers, and caught five balls for 85 yards, who is widely thought to be the best pro prospect available at receiver among those in the 2012 CFL draft class.
Despite the success at the East West Bowl, and over his past two CIS campaigns, Brescacin was well aware of the areas he needed to improve.
“The consensus for me was I had to get stronger and faster. Those are two things I’ve been focused on,” he said.
“At the next level a lot Americans play the defensive back position and the receiver becomes a real physical position,” D’Amore said.
“They really get after it [in the CFL] and the [scouts] concerns are, can he get off the jam? At the slot position when guys sit on him at two-three yards and put their hands on him, can he get away from that quickly? Can he transition in and out of those jams into his routes and get up field. Those are things that [the scouts] are concerned about and want to see him be able to do.”
While working to squash those concerns and make the leap to the highest level of football in Canada, Brescacin has a skilled pro, and former Lancer, receiver to lean on. Arjei Franklin, a six-year CFL veteran, makes his off-season home in the Windsor area.
“Arjei is here all the time. He has had great success, he has played at the next level and has been a starter in Calgary,” D’Amore said. “He shows our players the ropes and what they need to do to get recognized.”
“You go to a camp and there [are] 50 guys there, you have to do something that makes you jump out.”
“For me I’m pretty lucky Arjei went to Windsor,” Brescacin said. “I get to see him workout a lot and it gives me a perspective of what being a professional receiver is all about.”
In the near future, Brescacin hopes he can call himself a professional, just like the CFL pass catchers he has watched from afar on television, and the one he has been learning from first hand.
