Honeymoon period

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This article was published 11/06/2016 (3403 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new marriage, a honeymoon put on hold and a late start to training camp.

It’s among the things receiver Fred Williams is trying to juggle along with, oh, you know, the challenge of making the Winnipeg Blue Bombers roster. It’s a good thing, then, that he’s good with his hands.

His extremities and co-ordination as a receiver were on display during the Bombers’ first pre-season game on Wednesday. Williams, a product of Milwaukee, Wis., hauled in a ball that required a high level of athleticism as he twisted to make the snag inches from the sideline in the end zone.

“I saw it and I seized it and I made a play,” he said

In the words of head coach Mike O’Shea, Williams adjusted “very well” on the play while throwing in other adjectives such as polished — high praise for a guy trying to play catch up.

“I definitely am,” Williams said. “There are receivers before me, but I’m studying. I’m always going to be a student-athlete before any game. I’m studying. I’m picking up on the offence and the plays. I’m going to get there.”

It’s Williams’ first foray into the Canadian game and he readily admitted he’s fresh. The obvious differences every American player points out are there: bigger field, waggle, three downs, but it’s the atmosphere that surprised Williams the most.

“It’s great. It’s welcoming, and I didn’t think it was going to be like that, me being from the States and what not,” he said. “I like it. It’s so laid back. It’s friendly. You don’t really get that back home.”

Williams said he was planning to be at training camp from the beginning, suggesting the team already had its eyes on him before they signed him on June 5.

“It’s stressful. I had to reschedule my honeymoon, and my wife, she didn’t like that,” Williams said.

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Winnipeg wasn’t the destination his wife wanted as the place to celebrate their marriage back in March. Their trip to the Dominican Republic will have to wait, Williams said.

If all goes according to plan for Williams and the club, it won’t be until late November at the earliest.

“I’m hoping Winnipeg can be the new home for us,” he said. “I’m happy to be out here because this is a great opportunity to come out here and learn something new and help the team win the Grey Cup.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @ScottBilleck

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.