Wolitarsky a source of calm for Blue and Gold

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This article was published 20/06/2023 (834 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There are times when Willie Jefferson, needing that little extra something to get his mind right just before game time, will look over at Drew Wolitarsky and suddenly feel locked in. Their eyes will meet, no words need to be spoken, but the message is clear.

“Wolly is never going to be too excited, or too amped up. He’s always going to be locked in and in the moment,” Jefferson, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers bruising defensive end, said following Tuesday’s closed workout. “It’s always there, whether we’re on the field or in the room, or even out in the city. Whenever there’s a good vibe, Wolly is there.”

It’s difficult to put into words just how impactful Wolitarsky is to Jefferson and the rest of his Winnipeg teammates, but it’s little stories like this that help better understand what the Bombers receiver brings to the table beyond what you see in games. Wolitarsky is somewhat of a renaissance man, his wide range of interests, including music and philosophy, separating him from your average professional athlete.

The Bombers have long preached the importance of expressing gratitude and perhaps nobody embodies that more than the 28-year-old California native. Wolitarsky brings a certain love for the game and the adoration he has for his teammates is both unmatched and contagious to those around him.

“Seeing his growth from when he first got here in 2017, him opening up and truly being himself and not being afraid of letting people know how he feels, I think that translates to his ability to just do what’s required of him on the field,” Bombers offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld said. “He’s not afraid of ego. He’s not worried about stats. He’s not worried about who’s getting the ball. He’s worried about doing his job to make sure everyone on offence is doing the right thing. He’s just incredibly selfless.”

Picked up in the CFL’s supplementary draft in 2017, his Canadian eligibility the result of his mother being from Montreal, Wolitarsky has developed into a reliable receiver, even if his stats don’t always pop out. His most productive season came during his second year in Winnipeg, in 2018, when Wolitarsky, playing in all 18 regular season games after playing in just five his rookie year, registered 45 catches for 650 yards and five touchdowns.

Since then, however, his numbers have dipped. Wolitarsky has averaged around 34 receptions and 400 yards the last three years, along with a combined six touchdowns, including just one in each of his last two seasons.

“Whatever Drew’s stats showed last year, I don’t think that should be used to… I think he was good last year, too,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “And good right from the get-go, it just maybe didn’t turn out to be a stat. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t doing all the things to get other people open or to make the quarterback more comfortable or to fix things that happened on the field. He’s been doing that for a number of years.”

Part of Wolitarsky’s decrease in production, at least as far as traditional stats go, is the result of opportunity and circumstance. As better-skilled receivers have signed on with the Bombers, the chance to be the first, second or even third read on a play has depleted, with Wolitarsky instead asked to provide added blocking power at the line of scrimmage or further up in the play, while also acting as a decoy.

That hasn’t exactly been the case through two games this season. Instead, Wolitarsky has seen his number called more than usual, resulting in eight catches on 10 targets, for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

That’s third best on the team this season, behind Dalton Schoen and Nic Demski. It’s also a pace of 1,107 yards and 18 touchdowns over a full regular season — numbers, while difficult to maintain, would smash his previous highs.

With an offence as prolific as the Bombers’, led by quarterback Zach Collaros, it’s also not impossible for Wolitarsky to have a breakout year. He certainly has no interest in slowing down.

“I really am just not trying to take no for an answer this year,” Wolitarsky said. “I want to play well. I want to have fun out there, too. I want to be scoring touchdowns. For me to put myself in that position, I’m going to go above and beyond what it says on paper. I think it’s easy to say, ‘Oh, well this ain’t going to happen for me this week.’ All because it’s not drawn up that way. These last two weeks, it’s just happened. It’s just happened because I’ve been in the right place at the right time. And it’s happened because I’ve earned that trust.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

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