Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
Looking to catch on in the CFL, Matt Bucknor hopes that a little home cooking can put him over the top and find him a place on the Ticats’ roster.
The rookie defensive back – who grew up on the East Mountain and attended high school at Hill Park – is enjoying a return to his roots with the Black and Gold as training camp rolls on. Without a team since taking part in training camp with the Blue Bombers a year ago, Bucknor was merely looking for any opportunity to prove his professional worth when another football season came into view.
When the Ticats came calling in May, it meant not only a second chance at football for the young defensive back, but a rare opportunity to suit up for the local squad in the process. Bucknor fondly recalls the Hamiltonian passion that surrounds the Tiger-Cats, and is eager to add his name to their ranks.
“I went to school all the way up from elementary here in Hamilton, and you’re always hearing about the Ticats,” says the defensive back. “Everybody’s a fan, and everybody wants to play for their home team. I honestly feel very honoured and very privileged to be here.”
After experiencing his first CFL training camp last year, Bucknor believes that he is much better equipped to challenge for a roster spot this time around. The rookie has absorbed a wealth of advice and information in the interim, having dedicated himself to the study of the game.
“I feel a lot more prepared this year,” says Bucknor. “I took that experience from last year and prepared myself a lot more mentally. I did a lot of things like watching film and coming to games to watch guys’ techniques. I’m picking guys’ brains and having an opportunity to be around guys like Ryan Hinds and Bo Smith and the other defensive backs. I’m getting little tips and pointers and it helps a lot.
“The guys here have been more than helpful, helping all of the rookies and even some of the vets. We’re a pretty good group and I love being a part of this.”
For a young defender looking to better himself, Bucknor could hardly have found a better environment in which to test his skills and improve. Matched up on a daily basis against a Ticat receiving corps brimming with talent, the rookie hopeful indicates that such fierce competition can only make him better.
“I’m having an opportunity to go up against guys like Sam Giguere and Glen MacKay,” says Bucknor. “I’m seeing guys like Stala, all pretty good veterans in the league. So it’s definitely making me better each day at camp, and I’m absorbing as much as I can.”
One of the pass catchers that he finds himself lined up against is very familiar to the former standout member of the Windsor Lancers. Fellow Lancer Jordan Brescacin is himself auditioning for a place with the Black and Gold, and Bucknor confirms that a healthy rivalry exists between the two.
“We’re both competitive, so any time we go up against one another we’re letting the other guy know,” says the defensive back of his ex-teammate. “I got you, or you got me, whatever it is. But we want to make each other better, so that’s the goal.”
His work ethic is something that the rookie Bucknor prides himself upon, and he hopes that such an attitude can make him a valuable member of the Ticats’ squad this season.
“I’m a hard worker,” says the first-year defensive back. “I consider myself to be a ball hawk. When the ball’s up in the air I want to get up and get after it. I’m a guy who wants to get better, and I want to be the best teammate that I can be for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.”
With the team’s first preseason action looming on Wednesday and pitting the Black and Gold against their fiercest rivals from Toronto, Bucknor believes there is no better time to be plying his trade in Steeltown.
“You can’t really script this,” says the defensive back. “This is honestly a dream come true to be a part of this. I’ve got to keep working and correct a few errors here and there, and hopefully I can crack the squad.”
