CFL.ca
Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
One’s first taste of professional football can sometimes be a sobering experience. Blinding speed, heightened physicality and tactical difficulty combine to make the CFL a significant step up from the collegiate game.
But for the Black and Gold’s rookie receivers Simon Charbonneau-Campeau and Jordan Brescacin, Wednesday night’s preseason opener served as an encouraging sign that transitioning from CIS stardom to CFL contribution may be well within the realm of possibility.
The two former All-Canadian pass catchers – who dominated the university circuit during their careers with Sherbrooke and Windsor respectively – each spoke glowingly of their exhibition experiences from midweek.
In Charbonneau-Campeau’s case, the Wednesday match up proved to be a reassurance that the Ticats’ fourth round draft choice (25th overall) was physically capable of performing in the pressure-cooker that is game action.
“It was nice, especially since I had just come back from an injury last week and didn’t practice through the first week of training camp,” said the rookie wide out. “I was a bit stressed about that, about how my body would react. But it went pretty good, and that’s the part that I’m really glad about.”
Brescacin viewed the outing against the Argos as an important opening milestone, and a welcome return to the excitement and challenge of the competitive playing field.
“It was good to get that out of the way,” said the first-year Ticat. “We’ve had two weeks of practice, and even though that practice is definitely faster than what I’ve been used to, the game was even more so. It was good to get out there and get a feel for things and kind of shake the cobwebs out.
“You learn a lot in practice, but I think you learn even more in the games, with everything happening so much faster. There aren’t any coaches out on the field with you to clarify if you’re not sure about anything. So it’s definitely more of a learning experience than practice has been.”
Both men gave fans a glimpse of their talent on Wednesday night, with Charbonneau-Campeau reeling in a fourth quarter touchdown pass from Dan LeFevour and Brescacin notching a 31-yard reception earlier in the frame.
LeFevour looked to the Sherbrooke product often in his quarter and change at the helm of the Ticats offence, and while their timing looked to be slightly off, the display hinted at an early rapport between the two. For his part, Charbonneau-Campeau downplayed that reliance, and argued that his prominence in the fourth stemmed largely from the Argos’ defensive choices.
“Maybe there was some confidence there, but a lot of it has to do with the type of coverage the defence brings,” said the rookie receiver. “I had the chance to play where I’m comfortable, the short side wide. I’ve been there all through my college career and that’s where I’m most comfortable. So I was really happy with that.”
Brescacin spoke of his impressive big gainer as yet another important milestone to be passed as a young player, and one that helped him become engaged with the Wednesday night contest.
“It was a great feeling to get that one out of the way,” said the former Lancer of his 31-yard reception. “You don’t feel like you’re really in a game until you get hit that first time. From there you can really go on and just play through it. The quarterbacks do a really good job of spreading the ball to everyone to get their touches, so it was definitely a good start.”
Having returned to the training field with the beginning of the regular season quickly coming into view, the two rookie pass catchers indicated that their focus remains on hammering out the details of the offensive playbook.
His time on the sidelines due to injury lent Charbonneau-Campeau added time to read the schematics, but placed greater importance on his on-field exposure to his teammates since his return.
“I feel pretty good,” said the Ticat draft pick. “Because I didn’t practice until last week, I had time to study the plays a lot but I didn’t have the opportunity to feel the plays out on the field. That’s always a little bit different than seeing it in the book, because it’s all moving at full speed. I need to adapt to those things and use the next few weeks to my advantage.”
“I really need to get some time in with the quarterbacks, since I missed that practice time. I will try to get in some special teams and get involved with the offence and show that I can be a physical guy out there.”
For his part, Brescacin indicated that his playbook journey had been well prepared by the team’s initial rookie camp, but would continue until the offense’s schemes were second nature to him.
“The rookie camp really helped,” said Brescacin of his installation process. “It gave us a basis to go by when the vets got here. When training camp actually started there were still some hiccups there, but rookie camp was huge for learning and understanding everything.
“I think I just need to keep getting comfortable with the system. You need to know your assignments, because when you have them down stone cold it allows you to play so much faster because you don’t have to think anymore. That’s definitely the priority, getting the playbook down pat.”
While it remains to be seen exactly where Charbonneau-Campeau and Brescacin fit within the logjam that is the Ticats’ current receiving corps, early indicators are that both Canadian rookies have the skills and knowledge to hold their own going forward.
