Receiver Reaves finding his footing in new sport

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This article was published 30/05/2015 (3764 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea was understandably tempering his enthusiasm during rookie camp this week because neither he nor anyone else knows how the Jordan Reaves story is going to turn out.

“Still quite a ways to go,” O’Shea said during camp on the University of Manitoba campus this week, but also implying the wide-receiver hopeful may have some extra wiggle room in his bid to become a professional football player after a university and European pro career in basketball.

“We knew from the get-go that it was going to take Jordan some time,” O’Shea said.

Reaves, the 25-year-old son of former Bombers running back Willard Reaves, said Friday he’s asking for no special treatment and is ready to go when the CFL team’s main camp opens Sunday.

“I feel even better than I did yesterday,” the former Brandon University basketball regular said after Friday’s final rookie-camp workout. “I’ve come out here feeling more confident. The more balls I catch, the more defenders I make miss me, I just get that much more confidence. I feel like I’m ready for the vets to come in and to prove I can play with the vets.

“My goal is to come here on Sunday, and if the coaches didn’t know who I was, to make them think of me not as a rookie, but to see that I have improved and I do have the capability to play with the vets.”

Reaves’ future changed last February when his basketball options appeared to be at an end. He decided it was worth finding out if his 6-5, 220-pound frame could change sports.

There hasn’t been a single moment of second-guessing, he said Friday.

“Not one bit,” he said. “I won’t look back. I haven’t looked back. Football is my sport now. This is my life now and the career is what I want. Basketball is in my past. I loved playing basketball but I’ve got other things to focus on, this career.”

There has been progress since some workouts for teams, combines, the Bombers’ mini-camp in Florida and this week at the U of M.

The Bombers brought him into the fold by signing him in April and Reaves said this week he’s finding out he’s a fast learner.

He told reporters mid-week learning the playbook is actually easier in football than basketball.

“The difference is that when I’m learning a play for football, I have to know five routes and the general concept of what the running backs and the linemen are doing,” he said. “Whereas in basketball, you have one play but you have about 50 motions to that one play and you’ve got 24 seconds to do it.

“This is all bang-bang-bang so everything happens one after another. In basketball, you have to wait for things to develop, to open up. In terms of learning the playbook, these are more basic set plays. In basketball, you have to read everything, everything. Nothing’s ever set in stone.

“So when I got the playbook, it’s a little overwhelming at first, but once I read it and slowed everything down in my mind, it just came to me naturally.”

Another thing that comes to him naturally is his upbeat attitude.

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“It’s something I’ve always grown up doing,” he said. “I’ve always been a good teammate. I’ve always tried to bring someone up who’s down. It’s just natural for me. My brother (NHLer Ryan) was the same. My dad was the same. It’s something I’ve always had.”

Ryan, the St. Louis Blues forward, was watching from the sidelines Thursday. Friday, it was his dad’s turn as spectator.

“It’s good,” Reaves beamed. “I love the support I’ve gotten from my family, so nice to see them come out here, especially for what he (his dad) did for the organization.

“It’s a good feeling. Same with my brother, my mom and all my friends.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca