Mini-camp provides early auditions at linebacker

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This article was published 26/04/2017 (3436 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lined up next to one another on the sidelines near the north end zone at Investors Group Field, Kyle Knox and Nick Temple wait patiently for their cue.

Just feet in front of them stands Glenn Young, linebackers coach for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who waits a moment to ensure a fair start. When the whistle blows, Knox and Temple dig their feet into the turf and three strong strides later the drill is over, with each man neck and neck as they curl back to do it all over again.

In what was a relatively meaningless drill on Day 1 of the Bombers’ spring mini-camp Wednesday emerged the perfect metaphor for what will be one of the tightest position battles for the team come main training camp next month.

With Khalil Bass and his team-leading number of tackles in each of the past two seasons lost in free agency to the Ottawa Redblacks, an opening at middle linebacker is among the more notable voids still in need of being filled. The early front-runners are Knox and Temple.

The Bombers used both Knox and Temple sparingly last season and neither has a great amount of experience — at least at the CFL level — at the spot they’re now battling for. Knox appeared in 11 games with the Bombers in 2016, but made most of his impact on special teams, with only a few reps at middle linebacker. Temple joined the Bombers midway through the year and, other than one game late in the season, spent most of it on the practice roster.

If that gives Knox the edge, it’s a slim one.

“I think the incumbent always has a bit of an edge, right?” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea, a former linebacker. “The spot has opened up and it’s going to be a competitive battle right to the end to see who’s going to help us win games.”

With months still to go before the start of the regular season, a lot can happen between now and then. But two things can be said for sure at this point: if either Knox or Temple is to win the job, it won’t be by the end of this week; and however the battle between the two takes shape by the time camp wraps up on Friday, it’s only going to heat up when the veterans roll into town May 28.

“How they move, their skill set, their understanding of the game is sort of what you’re checking out right now,” O’Shea said. “When the pads are on and you’re controlling the run game, then you get a better glimpse of what the athlete is all about. And then in that setting, when you’re late in training camp and the leaders start to emerge, that’s what’s going to be the big indicator as to who’s going to win the job.”

Both Knox and Temple have claimed they’re up for the challenge and seem driven by the opportunity. They also know there will be plenty of work ahead, including hours of digesting film and late nights reading through the playbook.

What’s clear, however, is the understanding that O’Shea, a Hall of Fame middle linebacker over his 16-year CFL career, isn’t about to hand out the job to just anybody.

“That’s just the life and you have to love it,” Knox said. “Every play you’re literally competing against the other man and you’re competing for your position. If you don’t like that mindset of wanting to stay at the top, then there’s no point for you to play.”

“It’s about coming in and showing what you got,” Temple added. “It’s still an interview at the end of the day — every day — for anybody on the team.”

Like any job interview, O’Shea will pick the best candidate. What will make the decision all that more interesting is that Knox and Temple aren’t all that alike, besides a strong passion for football and the fact each played Division I football in the U.S.

Knox was able to sign with four NFL teams — Seattle, Jacksonville, New Orleans and Dallas — and saw action with the Saints. But at 28 years old, the wear and tear of the game may be starting to catch up to him.

Knox missed time last year with an injured knee, which he said still isn’t 100 per cent but will be “at 110 per cent come training camp.” If he can stay healthy, his experience could very well be the deciding factor when it comes time to announce the opening-day roster.

“Every off-season I make sure I train to the fullest of my potential so when I come back I can make sure my teammates get the best out of me and I won’t let nobody down,” Knox said. “I know it’s one of the most physical positions and I’m here to set the physicality, to show that to my teammates so we can all play at a high level.”

Temple took a swing at the NFL, which included a tryout with the Cincinnati Bengals, before heading to the CFL. But at 24 years old and only two years removed from his senior season with the Bearcats at the University of Cincinnati, he’s yet to hit his prime. Having joined the Bombers late in the season, Temple feels like he’s still playing catch-up with the playbook, but is confident he will be comfortable by the time he returns for camp.

Perhaps the most intriguing variance between Knox and Temple is their difference in size. Knox, at six-foot-one, 220 pounds, is a full three inches taller than Temple, who stands five-foot-10 but is heavier at 224 pounds.

“Physical. Mean. Confident,” Temple said. “I’m not the tallest linebacker, but I give it my all. That’s what I’m all about.”

Given his experience at the position, O’Shea was asked if there was a prototypical body type needed to succeed at middle linebacker.

“I was looking at them today and in my head I asked myself the same question and the answer is I don’t know. It doesn’t matter to me,” the coach said.

“Throw the pads on, let them get hit a little bit, let them get tired and then see who emerges as a true leader. I think that’s one of the big roles that the middle linebacker has to fill.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca 

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton