Willy is either made of metal, or he’s tougher than a $2 steak

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This article was published 27/07/2015 (3758 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Maybe he’s been assembled differently than the rest of us. Or maybe he’s just the living embodiment of the word “tough.”

Whatever the reason, what has become readily apparent in Drew Willy’s one-plus seasons as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers starting quarterback is his ability to recover from hellacious beatings quicker than you’d think possible.

When he goes down, he seldom stays down. On the rare occasions he does stay down and has to leave a game, Willy is Phoenix-like in his quick recoveries.

Willy’s latest Lazarus impression comes this week as he attempts — in a very short week of practise — to return from a savage hit he took Saturday in a 32-3 Bombers loss to the Edmonton Eskimos. Willy’s knee appeared to buckle at a sickening angle as he got simultaneously hit high and low by two Esks defenders.

He lay crumpled on the field for several minutes and watched the rest of the game from the trainer’s table, a pack of ice wrapped around his right knee. He limped badly when he left the field at the end of the game and it seemed the best Bombers Nation could hope for was that he wouldn’t be out of action long.

It turns out he might not miss any action at all and could be back on the practice field as early as today in preparation to play Thursday night at Investors Group Field when the Bombers face the B.C. Lions.

“He’s seen a doctor, had the tests done and we’re hopeful he’ll get a chance to play,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea told a news conference Monday afternoon. “We’ll know more (Tuesday). We’ll see if he can practise and we’ll go from there.”

O’Shea was asked what he needs to see out of Willy this week to give him the starting nod Thursday night.

“Just good enough mobility to make sure he’s safe and can execute the offence,” said O’Shea.

While that might seem an optimistic prognosis from a head coach who desperately needs his starter back on the field, it bears noting Willy had a similarly quick recovery earlier this season. A brutal hit to the head in Week 2 knocked him out of a 52-26 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but Willy never didn’t miss a practice the following week and was right back at the controls in Week 3 in a 25-23 win over the Montreal Alouettes.

O’Shea was asked what it is about Willy that seems to allow him to recover more quickly from big hits than most players.

“I think it’s tough(ness),” replied O’Shea. “Everyone has their own pain threshold, their own elasticity… I just know when he looks me in the eye and says, ‘You know what? I think I’ll be alright,’ that’s good enough for me.”

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If Willy cannot go on Thursday, O’Shea said Brian Brohm will start. Brohm has been woefully ineffective in his two relief appearances of Willy this season — he’s thrown four interceptions in two games and is still looking for his first touchdown pass — and fans continue to clamour for O’Shea to give third-string QB Robert Marve a chance.

But O’Shea continues to insist Marve is hurt — the club has kept the origin and nature of Marve’s injury murky, even while continuing to dress him for games — and O’Shea says there is nothing Marve could show in practice this week to earn the starting job ahead of Brohm if Willy cannot go.

“Robert Marve hasn’t been able to take reps for the last two weeks,” said O’Shea.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek