Size isn’t everything, but it is a big asset

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This article was published 13/04/2011 (5605 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT’S basic biology and physics. And it’s been on full display during the first two days of Winnipeg Blue Bomber mini-camp:

Big, tall and speedy receivers are not only difficult for defensive backs to cover, but to tackle. They also make for very juicy targets for quarterbacks.

And so while the quickness of a newcomer like the diminutive Tim Brown, who stands 5-foot-7, was obvious before he pulled up lame Monday, it’s been the play of the Bombers collection of tall dudes — vets Greg Carr (6-foot-6), Cory Watson (6-foot-2), Aaron Hargreaves (6-foot-4) and rookie Damian Sherman (6-foot-4) — that has left observers whistling.

“Those big targets are easy to throw to,” said Bomber head coach Paul LaPolice after Tuesday’s session. “Quarterbacks love a big receiver because you have an opportunity to spot the ball. It’s very hard with all the little guys to put it exactly where you need to. You saw a couple times with Greg Carr or Damian where you throw it on the outside and those guys come back and adjust to the ball.”

Both Carr — who pulled in 31 passes for 568 yards and four TDs in just seven games after arriving in Winnipeg last season — and Sherman, a former 200-metre sprinter who attended mini-camp with the Detroit Lions in 2009, dominated the proceedings on Tuesday.

The Bombers made the addition of three receivers previously reported on — Brown, Sherman and Bobby Guillory — official Tuesday.

Sherman had missed the first day of mini-camp because of flight issues.

PROSPECT WATCH: Bomber coaches took a quick look at three prospects on Tuesday — former University of Manitoba fullback Chad Young, Mayville State product Lance Sillborn, also a fullback, and York University cornerback Andre Clarke.

BLUE NOTES: Hargreaves, entering his fourth year with the Bombers, has dropped 10 pounds or so to improve his quickness… Brown, the receiver, spent the morning watching after having his left foot put in a walking boot. The club was awaiting word on what the X-rays show to determine the extent of the damage… CB Deon Beasely arrived after missing Monday and stood out among the defensive backs along with vets Jovon Johnson and Jonathan Hefney… The Bombers are on the field for the final mini-camp session this morning at 11 at the Winnipeg Soccer Complex.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca; Twitter: @WFPEdTait