Fame comes with the game

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This article was published 10/06/2010 (5921 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The spotlight first came with being a high draft choice, a ninth-overall selection by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL’s most recent college pick-’em in May.

Since then, the attention has increased twofold for Cory Watson.

Radio mics and TV cameras came looking for a few words during rookie camp last week, not to mention newspaper mentions of Watson, wondering where he fits in the grand scheme of all things receiver in the Bombers’ offensive game plan as they ready for another season under the Manitoba microscope.

Watson’s run in the spotlight was followed by the expected barbs from his teammates, comical efforts to rattle his cage while he settles into his new surroundings.

To Watson, an aspiring rookie receiver who hopes to justify Winnipeg’s latest attempt at CFL draft prosperity, the fuss is no big deal.

"I’m getting used to it, but it’s still a little surprising when I’m asked to do these kinds of things," he said after Day 4 of training camp at Canad Inns Stadium. "It’s one of those things that you really can’t prepare for in the CIS.

"I think I’m doing all right, though," he laughed.

At Concordia University, the 6-foot-2, 204-pound wideout rarely had to deal with the media and the various distractions associated with being a recognized football player, but as a standout receiver with a nose for the ball (he caught 52 passes for 821 yards for the Stingers in 2009), the 26-year-old aspires to be a rare gem unearthed by Winnipeg’s football prospectors.

History is not on his side, however.

Other than punter Jon Ryan (2004) or any of the six from the 2008 Canadian draft, Bomber draft picks have usually been afterthoughts or the answer to a "Whatever happened to that guy?" trivia question.

Five of those six players — OL Brendon LaBatte, WR Aaron Hargreaves, RB Daryl Stephenson, DL Don Oramasionwu, and LB Pierre-Luc Labbe — are still with the Blue and Gold.

Watson hopes to avoid the usual draftee fate.

"There maybe is a little pressure of being a high pick, but I really don’t feel any here," he coolly explained Wednesday. "I know I haven’t put any on myself. For me, I just need to be consistent in everything I do. Run my routes the best I can and catch the ball when it comes my way. All that other stuff, that pressure… that’s not my concern right now."

Watson’s composure comes from his childhood, where he had to assume a more responsible role as one of the oldest in the family. He moved to Montreal from Jamaica in 1993, and as the second-oldest of nine siblings with only his mother to support them, he had to be a pillar of strength in the home.

On top of that assignment, there was football and education. Watson was a football star through the Quebec CEGEP school system, but his grades in the classroom suffered, and nibbles from NCAA programs at Michigan State and Syracuse came off the hook because of it.

"It was hard… but it wasn’t that bad," Watson said of his formative years. "It taught me a lot about what it means to be strong and it taught me how important it is to be consistent."

During training camp, Blue Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice, no stranger to having quality Canadian receivers at his disposal during his time as offensive co-ordinator in Saskatchewan, has been fairly guarded in dishing out praise or complaint regarding a player, especially when it pertains to rookies trying to make his team.

His evaluation of Watson: Guarded optimism.

"He’s a strong kid. He catches the ball well," LaPolice said. "We just have to get him to sit in the right spots. We’ve moved him around position-wise the last couple days, so hopefully he can pick up the volume of stuff. I’m sure we have a lot more systems in offence then he did in college.

"He’s been a good football player."

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca