Understudy thrilled to star

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/07/2010 (5799 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The words seem eerily prophetic now, although they were simply meant as encouragement to Steven Jyles when delivered by a Winnipeg Blue Bomber hall of famer last Friday.

The scene: Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, less than an hour before the Bombers would lose to the Tiger-Cats. And right there during the warm-up, Jyles, who began the night as Buck Pierce’s understudy but finished as the team’s starting quarterback, is kibitzing with Khari Jones, the last Bomber QB to be named a CFL all-star and now a Ticat assistant coach.

"I was just talking to him before the game," Jyles said, "and he told me, ‘Just be patient. You’ll get a chance to play sooner or later.’ "

Nobody — not Jyles, Pierce or Jones — knew that "sooner or later" would be the third quarter that very night. And now with Pierce down for a spell with a knee sprain, this Saturday against the Edmonton Eskimos, Jyles will get what every member of the backup QB fraternity so desperately covets but doesn’t always receive: an opportunity.

"This is big," Jyles said. "I came here this year to start. I’m finally getting a chance to start and it paid off. I can’t wait to play.

"I knew one day they’d call on me… I mean, it’s bad that Buck is hurt, but they could have given me a series or two in the ball game because I was ready to play. I’m pretty fired up about it. Like I say, I knew I was going to play one day and it’s here now."

That’s an easy line to spit out now. But consider that it’s been three years since Jyles last started a game. It was for the Saskatchewan Roughriders against the Edmonton Eskimos, a contest in which he was pulled at halftime. In the interim, the man couldn’t help but have his patience severely tested and his confidence do the occasional swan dive.

Starting gig

And here’s the kicker: Jyles followed head coach Paul LaPolice to Winnipeg as a free agent in February with the starting gig dangled in front of him, only to see Pierce hailed as the starter upon his arrival two months later.

"I’ve talked to a lot of veteran guys who were in the same situation as me — Kevin Glenn, Khari Jones, Marcus Crandell, Darian Durant," Jyles said. "All these guys told me it takes four to five years to get this game down pat.

"I’ve been pretty patient. I’ve learned a lot from all those guys and I think it’s been beneficial to learn this way rather than be thrown to the fire.

"You have to persevere with everything when it comes to CFL football. A lot of guys come here and get out there early and they end up getting thrown under the bus. I started my last game against Edmonton back in ’07… You can get overwhelmed with being the starter and trying to win. I realized afterward it’s just about relaxing and playing. I learned from that game. Now I’m fired up and ready to play."

Interestingly, although it was Jones who offered that prophetic advice to Jyles last Friday, it was another ex-Bomber and another Jones — former director of player personnel Paul Jones, now the Eskimos’ assistant GM — who first suggested to the 27-year-old product of Independence, La., that he head north to Canada to play.

"I was like, ‘Canada?’ " Jyles recalled with a grin.

"The first thought that came into my mind was, ‘Man, it’s cold there year-round, isn’t it?’

"Look, I love Canada now. I love being here. But back then… I didn’t know anything about the CFL."

Frankly, the CFL still knows little about Jyles. He’s been north of the 49th for four-plus years, has thrown all of 165 passes and made just one start.

Patience may be the likable Louisianan’s best attribute, but the clock is ticking on his career, too.

Step up now and all those years waiting will seem worth it — both to Jyles and the Bombers.

But a step back and management may come to this abrupt conclusion on Jyles and his ability to morph into a starter: Next.

"I still need to find the things I can and can’t do when I’m out there," Jyles said. "That’s why it’s so big to get the chance to start now. You learn a little bit here and there getting into games over the years, but getting the chance to start is different. I’m still trying to get out here and see if I can bring my full potential out.

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"I’m waiting to see, come Saturday."

No pressure or anything, Steven, but so is everybody else in Bomberland.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

today’s bomber report C3