The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have made him no promises other than a plane ticket and a hotel room during training camp.
But Bryan Randall knows this much about the Bombers and their offer to come north to the CFL: Unlike his last few gigs -- he's bounced from the Atlanta Falcons to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Tennessee Something-or-others in the ill-fated All-American Football League that folded before kicking off -- this opportunity is as good as it gets in pro football.
Bryan Randall was the ACC's Offensive Player of the Year at Virginia Tech.
Translation? He won't just be another arm in an NFL camp and, even better, the team he's about to sign with has been around for 77 years, not 77 minutes.
"It's pretty close to being done," said Randall when reached by the Free Press in Virginia on Wednesday. "I've been talking with (Bomber GM) Brendan (Taman) about getting something done so I can come up there this year.
"There's just a couple of things to work out but, hopefully, it can get done as soon as (Thursday). For me, the sooner the better. All I want to do is get back on the field and play. I love playing football and I'm really at a point in time right now where I just can't wait to get back out there and play again."
One of the most beloved players in Virginia Tech history, the 6-foot-1, 218-pound Randall has been seeking a football home since his senior season with the Hokies -- a campaign in which he was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Year and became the school's career passing leader. It was Atlanta first, then the Bucs and finally the Steelers before he hooked up with the AAFL.
All along the Bombers have been patiently following his travels hoping one day the player they slapped on their negotiation list prior to his senior season would consider coming to the CFL. And if the fine points of a new contract are worked out over the next few days as he expects, Randall will be in Winnipeg for rookie camp on May 28.
"I'm not at the point of typing out the contract yet, but I'm working on it," said Taman Wednesday before hopping on a plane for a scouting trip. "Saying that, I think he'll be in camp simply because he wants to be. It'll happen, it's just taken longer than both parties wanted."
Randall would join starter Kevin Glenn and returning No. 2 man Ryan Dinwiddie -- along with South Carolina State rookie Cleve McCoy, who has agreed to terms -- on the Bomber training camp depth chart. Rookies will have five practice sessions to impress before main camp opens on June 1.
"He's still got to come in and earn a job -- even though he's been on our neg list for four years it doesn't mean anything is guaranteed," Taman said. "I'm optimistic he'll come in and show well, but as we also know our camps are very short. That's his challenge and that's why we have to be careful about how we structure this contractually."
That seemed of little concern to Randall on Wednesday. After talking regularly to Bomber linebacker Ike Charlton -- also a product of Virgina Tech -- the 24-year-old Charleston, W.Va., product is simply eager to get on the field and get his jersey dirty.
"I talked to Ike about two weeks ago and he was telling me about how nice it is up there and how it reminded him a little bit of Blacksburg (Virginia, home of Virginia Tech)," said Randall. "I've done the NFL off-season and training camp thing. It was a great opportunity and a blessing to be able to do that, but I just don't want to settle for that any more. I've had great experiences with the NFL, but I need to be playing somewhere.
ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca
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