Intangibles endear RB Chris-Ike to Blue Bombers brass

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This article was published 14/05/2024 (523 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Michael Chris-Ike was a backup running back in college.

In four seasons at Delaware State, the Hamilton, Ont., product rushed 114 times for 486 yards and three touchdowns. As a senior, he saw just 14 carries for 94 carries on a Hornets team that went 1-10.

Those weren’t the numbers that made the Winnipeg Blue Bombers fall in love with the 6-1, 225-pounder — it’s the ones he had at the CFL Combine.

Chris-Ike tested off the charts with the fastest 40-yard dash (4.51 seconds), three-cone drill (6.71 seconds) and short shuttle (4.19 seconds). With his size and speed, the Bombers drafted him in the second round, 14th overall, to take a shot at developing him behind what is already an impressive Canadian backfield featuring Brady Oliveira and Johnny Augustine.

He could also be a strong candidate at fullback and an asset on special teams.

“It was probably just unfortunate circumstances last year with the number of carries he was going to get. It happens,” said head coach Mike O’Shea after Day 3 of training camp. “But I like when you hear the stories and you find out a guy knows he might not be as involved and he sticks it out and he finds other ways to help his team. Those kind of things carry a lot of weight in our minds… It’s the intangibles; the decisions he’s made that endear us to him, besides his physicality. He can do a lot of different things — it’s up to us to put him in those positions.”

The 25-year-old suited up in blue and gold for the first time Tuesday after attending rookie mini-camps with the NFL’s New York Jets and New Orleans Saints.

“It prepared me for what I’m coming into,” said Chris-Ike. “Before doing that I wouldn’t have had any idea of what training camp with a pro-level team would be like. But after doing that, I feel like it prepared me more for this now. But I have to catch up.”

The Bombers are strong at tailback already so he has time, but with Augustine turning 31 in July and playing on a one-year deal, Chris-Ike could be a future compliment to Oliveira.

“The goal is to be the best I can be and help the team win — whatever that can be, wherever I can show my value, that’s my goal,” said Chris-Ike.

O’Shea on gambling in the CFL

Veteran Montreal Alouettes defensive lineman Shawn Lemon is suspended indefinitely for betting on games, including one he played in.

Before the story came out in April, Lemon, 35, announced he was retiring. That appears to no longer be the case as he is appealing the suspension, which makes him elgible to practise and play until an arbitrator makes a decision.

The three-time Grey Cup champion was at Als training camp on Tuesday.

“The CFL is disappointed that the Players’ Association would challenge a decision so fundamental to the integrity of our league,” said CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie in a statement. “The league’s rules prohibiting CFL-related gambling in 2021 were made abundantly clear to all players at the time, yet Mr. Lemon knowingly ignored those rules.

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“The prohibition of wagering on the CFL by CFL personnel, including players, is critical to the reputation and standing of the league. The CFL will vigorously defend its position at the arbitration hearing.”

O’Shea was asked for his stance on the situation.

“I prefer to go forward keeping the integrity of the league intact. So I don’t see any place in this league for people that bet on our football games, bet on their own football games. I think that’s just the way I feel. I really take a lot of pride in this league and the integrity of this league has had and for the length this league has been around. It’s an iconic Canadian organization. I don’t think it should be called into question with this new wave of gambling that’s going on.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

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Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor 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.