Bighill a sure thing

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This article was published 21/05/2018 (2698 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When players arrive for training camp, Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea makes it clear to all every job is a competition. Some of those spots, however, appear less up for grabs than others.

For instance, it’s hard to imagine when Adam Bighill, a hulking linebacker fresh off signing a one-year deal with Winnipeg following his release from the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, arrives Thursday he won’t be granted a starting role. Where exactly that will be, though, is tougher to figure out.

The feeling is the Bombers will put Bighill, who spent six seasons with the B.C. Lions (2011-16), at middle linebacker – a position the team has struggled to adequately fill for much of O’Shea’s previous four years in Winnipeg.

The move would make sense given Bighill is the most experienced of the current group vying for the spot. Three other players – Quentin Gause, Kyrie Wilson and Jevaris Jones – have taken most of the reps through the first two days of camp but have a combined experience of just one CFL game. Bighill was named the CFL’s most outstanding defensive player in 2015 while playing the middle and he appears to be the obvious choice.

But talk to others around the league and Bighill’s size – 5-10, 230 pounds – and skill set is better suited for weak-side linebacker. That’s where he played for most of his time with the Lions. If Bighill is to be put at weak-side, he’ll enter a battle that’s mostly been between veteran Ian Wild and Jovan Santos-Knox.

While the debate of where Bighill should play will surely continue well into camp, what is clear is that it’s not often a player of his calibre becomes available so late.

“You don’t expect that to happen, that’s for sure,” O’Shea said Sunday, following Day 1 of training camp at Investors Group Field. “It says something, him choosing us.”

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The buzz created by the signing of Bighill had hardly settled in with fans before the team inked another key player, extending running back Andrew Harris to a two-year extension Sunday. Harris’ current three-year deal was set to expire by the end of the season; he’ll now be wearing blue and gold through the 2020 campaign.

“When I first came here, being part of this organization, being at home, it was a dream come true,” said Harris, who grew up in Winnipeg but had played in B.C. for seven years before joining Winnipeg in 2016. “To kind of fit the mould and be one of the guys on this team, and be a leader on this team it just feels good to secure myself for a few more years. I wanted to come here and start creating winning ways and bring that culture. I feel like our team is going in the right direction and being a part of that is a great fit for me.”

Harris had approached the team earlier this month in hope of getting a contract done. He is coming off one of his most productive seasons, where he was named the CFL’s most outstanding Canadian after leading the league in rushing, with 1,035 yards, and accounting for 857 more through the air on 105 receptions – a CFL single-season record for running backs.

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Nic Demski, another local product who spent the last three years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, is looking everything like the Bombers expected him to be when they signed him in February.

Despite an off-season hampered by a broken foot that limited him to just nine games with the Riders last season, Demski has been one of the standouts so far in camp. His unique skillset is also being used early on in Paul LaPolice’s offense, with Demski lining up both as a receiver and tailback.

Being used in multiple roles is exactly what attracted Demski to the Bombers and why he ultimately decided to sign a one-year deal.

“It wasn’t about coming home for me to come here. It was about being in an offence that’s well suited for me and my versatility and what I can bring to the table,” he said. “LaPo has done a wonderful job of doing that with players in the past and he told me straight up that he wants to use my versatility to every strength that he can and I’m with it.”

Other receivers currently working with the No. 1 offence include Adarius Bowman, Weston Dressler, Darvin Adams and Drew Wolitarsky, with Wolitarsky being the second Canadian along with Demski.

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No more than in Winnipeg is there a concern that the season could quickly turn sour with the loss of a starting quarterback. While Matt Nichols is certainly the undisputed No. 1, O’Shea has seen a level of comfort in Alex Ross that will have the team likely stay with the current crew of pivots heading into the regular season.

O’Shea said Ross, whose 12 passing attempts with the B.C. Lions last year makes him the most experienced quarterback behind Nichols, has shown a steady calm through camp so far.

“Whether he threw 12 plays in games, he’s been with a team for an entire year,” said O’Shea. “Now it’s just a matter of adjusting to our play-calling, our system, our playbook and the people around him. I say it about every position that when a guy comes in for his second year things just manage to slow down. Is it a little bit different because he’s got to absorb a whole new playbook? Yeah, probably, but I think just going through a camp a second time just makes it a little easier.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton