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Don’t let a slow start to the Year of the Hawk mask what really is emerging in Montreal. The Alouettes are entering the Dinosaur Age.
Winnipeg found the Als’ defence and special teams about as laid back as a weekend at Jurassic Park.
Top draft pick (3rd overall) Mike Edem strikes without hesitation, like a velociraptor. Not the most monstrous size in the secondary, but he picked off a pass in his CFL debut and in the opening minutes of a Week 2 loss came up with a special-teams tackle, a fumble recovery and would end the night with a sack as well.
Michael Klassen, pushing through blocks like a triceratops rotating in at defensive tackle, registered his first CFL sack against Buck Pierce, though easily overlooked during Winnipeg’s piñata party laying into Anthony Calvillo.
Jordan Verdone has the killer instincts of T-Rex, tied for second on the Alouettes in special teams tackles.
| Not panicking just yet |
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Win or lose, Dan Hawkins carries the same philosophy after Week 2 as he did in Week 1, especially when talking with his quarterback, Anthony Calvillo. |
Next on that hit parade is Steven Lumbala – built for speed and pterodactyl-power – who has already had his first CFL carry (for a modest 3 yards).
You don’t have to be a palaeontologist to figure out that dinosaurs are far from extinct.
“How about my Fatheads,” chuckles Dinos Coach Blake Nill over the line from the University of Calgary.
No CIS head coach has sent more players to the CFL since 2007 than Nill, a brontosaurus of a man out of – you guessed it – the Dinos football program drafted back in 1983 by Montreal where he became fast friends with 2013 Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee Miles Gorrell who laughs while saying “I learned a lot…I don’t know if it was all good.”
“You just stole the heart off my team,” Nill protests, though his voice swells with pride on the Dinos’ young men who’ve gone east.
“Edem and Lumbala were no-brainers (both 1st round draft choices of GM Jim Popp) but Verdone should have been MVP the last 2 years. Coaches are glad he’s out of our conference.
Klassen, on the other hand, has only played football a few years—that’s vision.”
“I told Blake after the draft ‘your guys are very well coached and it’s a credit to you and your staff.’ I also apologized for depleting his team,” responds Popp, whose Western scout Al Ford is a former Roughrider player turned GM.
In fact the Als had seven Dinos roaming the field at training camp. Jamahl Knowles is on the practice roster and Josh Symons may come off the retired list.
Montreal has more Alberta Dinos than Calgary and Edmonton combined.
“At St. Mary’s (Nill’s previous coaching home) I had a lot of kids from junior football and Miles (Gorrell) told me some were too old to be drafted,” Nill recalls. “Now our philosophical approach is suited to the CFL and they’re drafting kids even with 2 years of eligibility left. I’m actually talking to some CFL GMs about pushing draft year back, delaying one year.”
The Dinos approach is get them young and coach them stronger and smarter. Nill credits academic advisor Sandra Wigg.
“She keeps my guys in school”, he said.
Mac Read puts meat on the Dinosaur bones. He’s a former Stanford (NCAA) and San Jose’ Sharks (NHL) strength coach.
“Then my assistants are as good as you can get.”
Dinosaurs must of course be willing to learn. Edem had misspent one year at McGill before transferring.
“When I got in there I had to mature quickly,” the Als rookie safety admits. “Blake Nill told me to man-up and kept telling me ‘transfers never work out.’ That’s one thing I heard every practice. So I had a personal vendetta to prove him wrong – that transfers DO work.”
Edem says the Dinos have a special bond.
“You need each other to survive. You need each other to bounce ideas off, to calm each other down. There’ve been times things are going the worst they could possibly go. I’m frustrated and my brain’s all racked up and Steven comes over and calms me down and tells me ‘It’s just one day, tomorrow’s a fresh day.’
“Then in film we see Klassen make a great play and I turn around to give him that look – it boosts morale.”
“We were tight in Calgary and now we’re friends in Montreal.”
“It felt awesome to be in and contribute,” Klassen said in the aftermath of the home opener loss and preparing for the Calgary Stampeders.
“I thought I’d be on special teams, but I wasn’t expecting this many snaps on defence.
“I was way under-sized and lacked experience coming out of high school…Calgary was the only school that wanted me. I can honestly say I’m the player I am today because of Blake Nill, as with the other 20 or so Dinosaurs who are in the CFL today.
“To have these guys for support and just hanging out on days off, it’s great.”
Nill is caught up in mixed emotions again.
“Klassen will be an impact player, but I was so happy for Jordan (Verdone) that he got another shot until I realized – ‘(expletive) I lost my Killer’! Verdone is mean. He made BC last year but they wanted him as a fullback so he came back to school. Popp should be thrilled. Verdone will hang for a long time and he’ll be a leader on the field and in the room.”
Then again, he’s no paleontologist. Then again, the 2013 Als could make Popp eligible for an honorary degree.
