CFL.ca
One finger-freezing day this week a light snow swirled around the Edmonton Eskimos during practice.
It was another first for rookie cornerback John Ojo.
“This is my first time,” the native of Tallahassee, Fla., said when asked if he’d ever practiced football in the snow before. “They told me (it might happen) even before I got here.
“I kind of prepared my mind for that.”
Rookie wide receiver Derel Walker has experienced some cold temperatures in his native Hillsboro, Tex., but snow was something new.
“It was really beautiful when it was falling down,” said the ever optimistic Walker. “I really enjoyed it. It was very pretty with everything covered up in white.
“When I see snow I get excited. I don’t like the cold.”
Ojo and Walker have injected some excitement of their own into the Eskimos. They both have played a role in Edmonton’s 14-4 season and will be a factor when the Eskimos face the Ottawa REDBLACKS in Sunday’s 103rd Grey Cup presented by Shaw.
Walker added to his already brilliant season when he was named the CFL’s Rookie of the Year Thursday night. The glue-fingered receiver from Texas A&M set an Edmonton reception record with 89 catches for 1,110 yards and six touchdowns in just 12 games.
Ojo was part of an Eskimo defence that allowed the least points and fewest passing yards in the CFL. The Florida A&M product led the Eskimos with five interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He also had 43 tackles and two tackles for losses.
Both players faced steep learning curves in their first CFL season but graduated with honours.
“It was a challenge, the angles and the measurements of the field,” said Ojo, 25. “That was the biggest difference for me.”
Walker, who caught passes from NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel at college, still can’t believe he’s playing professional football.
“When you are a kid you have big dreams,” he said. “Sometimes your dreams don’t come true so you have to find an alternative.
“Playing football as a career, I still can’t believe it. At the end of the day I’m just blessed.”
Walker started the season on the Edmonton practice roster. He announced himself to the league on Aug.13 when, in his first game, he had 10 catches for 125 yards against the Montreal Alouettes.
Walker showed that was no fluke a week later making 14 grabs for 183 yards against Hamilton.
Missing the first six games of the season actually proved to be a benefit.
“It gave me more time to get the playbook down,” he said. “It made me hungry, kept me working and more determined to get out there on the field.
“I was glad I was able to be productive.”
At six-foot-two and 185-pounds Walker combines size with speed. He is shifty when running his routes, can reach over smaller defenders, and his sure hands allowed him to hang onto balls.
Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly said Walker was hard to miss in training camp.
“I didn’t know what this guy’s name was,” Reilly said. “I knew he was No.87. You started to see little things. He would always make a big play. Every day there would be some big play.
“Physically he’s extremely talented. The part that maybe I am a little surprised about is how mentally he has really picked it up and learned and understands the game.”
Ojo went unclaimed in the NFL draft. He attended a Seattle Seahawks rookie mini-camp but wasn’t invited back, so he paid $200 to attend an Edmonton tryout camp in Atlanta.
“It definitely paid off,” he said.
What Ojo lacks in speed he compensates with a six-foot-three, 205-pound frame. His height makes him difficult to throw over and his long reach means he can bat balls away.
He also is a quick learner.
“He’s a very smart guy,” said defensive halfback Aaron Grymes. “It was easy communicating to him because he trusted me and the other guys who had been here before. He listened to us and it’s helped him a lot.
“You don’t have to worry about him messing up because he soaked it all in so quick.”
Ojo always was confident that, if given a chance, he could earn a starting job.
“I have listed a lot of goals and expectations,” he said. “A few of them I haven’t met.
“I wouldn’t say I have surprised myself but I have been ready thankful to God for the things I have been able to do.”
Head coach Chris Jones likes the skill the two have demonstrated while playing. He is even more impressed with their maturity off the field.
“Those are two quality character young guys,” said Jones. “They’re always going to be exactly where they’re supposed to be.
“They’re tremendous athletes. But more than that, each one of them would do anything they could do to win this this game. They don’t worry about their stats or anything like that.”
Facing each other in practice has also made the rookies better.
“We’ve been kind of going at it since training camp, a lot of one-on-ones,” said Ojo. “It’s kind of like iron sharpening iron.
“He’s helped me and I believe I have helped him as well.”
