Rookie receiver has lots to learn

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/06/2011 (5565 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT turns out a four-hour sleep isn’t the best way to prepare for your first day of professional football.

That’s the lesson wide receiver Jade Etienne picked up as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers opened preparations for the 2011 season with the first day of rookie camp Wednesday.

Etienne — the fourth overall pick in the 2011 CFL Draft last month who just signed a multi-year deal — arrived in Winnipeg early Wednesday morning. A quick four-hour nap later, the wiry 6-foot-3, 184-pound receiver out of Saskatchewan was into the Bombers playbook, trying to absorb as much information as he could before taking the field.

But such is the life for a high draft pick in any sport. With a lofty draft number comes great expectations and an urgency to get on the field and show your value.

“I’m a little overwhelmed right now — maybe it’s just because I’m tired,” he said of the pressure surrounding his draft number, as dozens of Bombers fans stood above him at the Winnipeg Indoor Soccer Complex. “I walked in here and saw all these people here, and I’m like ‘Whoa, this is definitely the real deal. And I’m the No. 4 pick?’ I feel like I have something to prove now.”

Etienne might not want to read this, but that feeling might stick with the Regina-product for the rest of his career. The general consensus around the CFL was that Winnipeg management went a bit off the draft board when they selected Etienne with their second pick of the first round, so the naysayers are ready with the “I told you so” comment should he not carry the weight of his draft position.

He’ll be measured against guys like Calgary’s Anthony Parker, Edmonton’s Nate Coehoorn and Bombers supplemental draft pick Kito Poblah (who is still without a contract and not at camp Wednesday) — three Canadian receivers who are also considered top-level talents.

“A lot of people think Winnipeg took a chance on me,” Etienne said. “They think the Bombers made a mistake and reached too far with me. That’s my motivation to prove those guys wrong. Once I get comfortable, with the playbook and the quarterbacks, I’ll have some better days.”

Wednesday wasn’t one of those days and to be honest, it wasn’t a banner start for any of the new Bomber receivers. Not many balls were caught the first day, as the new contingent of pass catchers struggled with things like the ‘waggle’ (motion at the line of scrimmage) and the physicality of the press-man coverage, a favourite of new defensive co-ordinator Tim Burke.

“Wide receivers last year in one-on-ones, they had it much easier,” Bombers coach Paul LaPolice quipped, noting imports Greg Betterson, Damian Sherman and Perry Floyd as guys who caught his eye on Day 1.

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Etienne, 21, says he trying to manage his own expectations on a daily basis now — don’t get too down when he has a poor workout and don’t get too high when he shows well.

On that expectation front, get ready for this, Bomber fans: He’s not looking to challenge for a starting spot this year.

“Look, I know I’m not ready yet; I just want to make the roster,” he said. “If they want me to go back to Saskatoon, then I’ll do that. I have a lot to learn out here.”

The Bombers continue rookie camp at Canad Inns Stadium this morning.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca