CFL.ca
Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
It is fitting that the position most often equated with a battlefield in football is the site of some of the Ticats’ fiercest competition.
The lines – routinely referred to as the trenches for their status as the flashpoints of hand-to-hand combat – boast many of the Black and Gold’s youngest and rawest recruits, each looking to make inroads toward a more permanent roster spot.
Two such Ticat hopefuls on the defensive side of the line battle, rookie tackles Ronnell Brown and Garlins Duclervil, find themselves in the midst of the team’s daily training grind and coping with a marked step up in the quality of their competition. Despite the added challenge of the professional ranks, both men stated their resolution to improve and battle for their place in the trenches.
“There’s definitely a jump, and there’s a lot of competition out here,” said Brown of the reality at the CFL level. “This is as talented a bunch of guys as I’ve been around and it’s physically tough. You’ve just got to bring your “A” game every day. More than anything for me it’s about getting acclimated to the game. You’ve got to be a yard off of the ball, and there are those certain principles that are different from the NFL and from the American game.
“The guys are a lot bigger and a lot faster,” conceded Duclervil. “The competition’s tough, but you’ve got to go hard on every play.”
A University of Montreal product, Duclervil is lent added motivation to impress during his time at training camp by his status as an undrafted free agent, who pounded the pavement to earn a professional opportunity. Ticats Defensive Coordinator Casey Creehan was the man to give the young lineman that shot, and he is not slow to remind Duclervil of that fact as the first-year endures the daily drills.
“I was an undrafted free agent and I went through every combine possible just to get a shot,” said the Montreal graduate.
“Coach Creehan saw me and gave me that shot. He reminds me every time that he pushed to get me here, and it gives me that motivation knowing that I’m here and I have to do it for him.”
Duclervil argues that his ability to fly under the proverbial radar is advantageous in that it allows him to avoid the expectation that accompanies a star signing.
“It means less pressure,” said the lineman of his free agent acquisition. “I don’t have to go through the same thing as other guys, hearing that you’re a big-name guy. I can just go out there and do what I have to do on every play.”
Both Brown and Duclervil had much praise for the coaching of Creehan, who they believe to have the perfect demeanor to maximize the potential of the Ticats’ defensive unit. They argue that the Defensive Coordinator’s outspoken and demanding approach to the game is one that maintains the players’ needed drive.
“I love it because it pushes you to go harder every play,” said Duclervil of Creehan’s brash style. “You know that you’ve got somebody who’s there and who’s watching and is going to push you. For me, I need that. Because if you don’t have it you start loafing around and taking plays off, and we can’t have that.
“If our Defensive Coordinator gets fired up and can cause us to do the same, then we’re going to have a great defence,” added Brown. “If we bring that level every day in practice, then we can bring it to a game and be very successful in games.”
Each and every rookie looks to add something new and unique to their team, and the line duo of Brown and Duclervil is no different. When asked what it is the separates him from the glut of talent in the trenches, the former emphasized his youth and technical skills.
“I think I bring a little youth to the team,” said Brown. “I’ve got a good get-off, good hands and I’m working to make those hands better. I think as a unit we all have those skills and Coach Creehan is bringing a lot of intensity to make sure that we have them.”
For his part, Duclervil argued that his greatest asset comes in the form of his mentality, a will to work and to push forward as he looks to make a permanent mark in Black and Gold.
“I bring intensity and effort,” said the Montreal product. “I go hard on every play. I don’t want to lose, so I keep going hard all the time. I’m trying to improve everything right now. I feel like I’m a little behind and I’m just trying to get to that level that Coach Creehan expects.”
Duclervil and his fellow trench warriors will continue to aspire for that level as training camp continues to rage on in the hope of extending their stay in Steeltown.
