Eyeball a roster sheet for just a moment and you’ll quickly realize the sheer depth and breadth of talent contained in the 2012 edition of the Ticats’ receiving corps. Young and untested a year ago, the unit has gained experience and been drastically overhauled since taking its first tentative steps of the previous campaign.
Add the athletic upside and credentials of Andy Fantuz and Sam Giguere. Tack a full and productive season of experience onto the resumes of the once raw Chris Williams, Bakari Grant and Aaron Kelly. Witness the return of battle-tested ball hawk Dave Stala and the arrival of a bevy of skilled and hungry first-years.
The end product is a veritable shark tank, a positional site of such talent that the toughest decision may be who to deny access to the limited distribution of the football.
Rather than viewing the heightened competition at their position as a threat however, both sophomore standout Chris Williams and rookie hopeful Chris Duvalt are embracing the challenge presented by the stacked receiving corps.
“You’ve always got to be pushing yourself hard to compete,” says Williams. “Obviously, when you have better players around you, you want to perform just as well if not better. You always have to have that chip on your shoulder, so it definitely gives you a little extra motivation.
“I come out here every day – I think everyone really does – with something to prove,” adds Duvalt. “Especially if you’re a rookie, you’re trying to learn from the vets and from the other guys who played here last year. But I’m definitely trying to prove myself every day.”
Regardless of their relative levels of experience, each of the Black and Gold’s receivers faces a steep learning curve this season with a fresh playbook to contend with and a new figure under centre. But both Williams and Duvalt argue that the combination of their teammates’ examples and the leadership of Burris continue to ease their path through training camp.
“I’m keeping up, and I’ve got guys like Chris in front of me to watch,” says Duvalt. “So I’m keeping up and studying my playbook as much as I can. I’m keeping my nose in that playbook and I keep asking questions so I’m doing just fine.
“You’ve got to be on the same page as your quarterback,” Williams stressed. “Nothing else really matters. There will be times in a game where things won’t go right, and you’ve got to be able to adjust and talk to the guy pulling all of the strings. He’s excellent, he’s the best that you can ask for in terms of communication. He knows this game through and through. He’s been doing this for many a year.
“He definitely tells us what we need to be doing, and the more that we study and the more that we pick it up and learn, the easier it gets. But we’ve just got to stay at it and keep asking questions.”
One advantage afforded to Williams is his familiarity with many of his fellow receivers, playing his first professional season last year alongside fellow sophomores Bakari Grant and Aaron Kelly. His comfort with the two is readily apparent, and he indicates that the group is constantly working to improve one another.
“We spent all of last year together and obviously befriended each other,” says Williams of his second-year receiving partners. “We just try to help each other out in any way that we can, making sure that we’re all on the same page in terms of learning our plays and doing the things that we need to do in order to make it through.”
For his part, Duvalt is attempting to translate his explosive style into a permanent place within the Ticats’ impressive receiving ranks. The rookie believes that his teammates have been very supportive thus far, providing an inclusive environment in which to learn and demonstrate his skills.
“I bring electricity and speed,” says Duvalt of his strengths on the football field. “We already have speed here, but I just bring a lot of energy. I’m a positive energy kind of guy and even though I’m still trying to find my role, I feel like I bring some excitement with me.
“We’re like a big family in this receiving corps. It’s a really good thing that we’ve got going on right now. Everybody helps each other, everybody asks each other questions and we just try to stick together.”
With the Ticats’ receivers looking to progress as a group, Williams reiterates that there is no time to rest on one’s laurels.
“You have to be trying to improve everything,” says the sophomore wide out. “You can never be satisfied. The day that you’re satisfied with where you are is the day that you need to quit, because this game gets challenging. It’ll challenge you in a bunch of different ways and the more that you can just keep pressing through and learning the most that you can, the better off you’ll be.”
How the Black and Gold’s stacked receiving corps comes together remains to be seen, but with talent abounding there will be no shortage of motivation or effort on the part of the team’s outstanding unit.
