Speedy Gordon has flash

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This article was published 06/06/2015 (3995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

These are, unofficially, the dog days of Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp. That initial rah-rah-rah enthusiasm has completely evaporated for some, and sick bay is now overflowing with players nursing pulls and cramps, bumps and bruises.

So Day 6 is about to wrap up when receiver Jhomo Gordon explodes off the line of scrimmage, runs his route and finds himself open — again — to pull in a perfect toss from Brian Brohm for a touchdown.

Again.

You see, what Gordon did on the last play from scrimmage Friday mirrored his handiwork on Thursday. He also jumped off the page on Wednesday, on Tuesday, on Monday… heck, dating back to the start of rookie camp on May 27. He did the exact same thing in Florida at the team’s mini-camp in April.

And he was easily the best player on the field at the club’s play-in camp that preceded the mini-camp — the one that cost him $100 to enter and promised him absolutely, positively nothing other than a look-see from the brass.

Interestingly, here’s what the Bombers knew of Gordon the moment he arrived virtually unannounced in Bradenton, Fla., after making the 21/2-hour drive from Palm Bay on Florida’s east coast:

Absolutely, positively nothing.

And now?

Asked Friday how Gordon has looked, head coach Mike O’Shea was to the point: “Fast. And alone. I’m glad we got him.”

Look, coaches can break down film on every player, receivers included, until their eyes are bleary. They can study a guy’s footwork, the precision of his routes, his hands, his “waggle” — how he attacks the line of scrimmage pre-snap — and what he does after the ball is tucked away after a catch.

But “fast” and “alone” also says a heckuva lot. And with each passing day Gordon, the youngest player trying out for the Bombers at 21, becomes one of camp’s more intriguing stories.

Born in Jamaica on Nov. 10, 1993, Gordon moved to Florida when he was in Grade 6. He attended Bethune-Cookman University in Florida — the same school that produced former Bomber Stevie Baggs — this past winter and still needs three credits for his computer engineering degree.

Just for the record, he’s hoping he’ll have to skip the fall term while he chases this pro football thing in Canada.

“I like to travel, but I had never been to Canada before until last week,” said Gordon.

“I guess, technically, my first stop was in Toronto, but the first place I ever got outside of an airport was here in Winnipeg. It’s nice.

“It’s funny, I talk to my mom, my sister, my little brother, my nephew and my girlfriend every day on my iPad, on Facetime, and they want to know what the scenery is like, what the city is like.

“I tell them, ‘I don’t know. I’ve just been to the football field, to meetings and then I go back home.’ I haven’t seen much yet.”

‘You know, I guess I’m a little bit faster than others. And so I just try to run by everybody and if not, when I get the ball I just try to run as fast as I can and make plays’

— camp hopeful Jhomo Gordon

The Bombers have seen enough to know they potentially have something special in Gordon.

A track/football star in high school, Gordon started 11 games for Bethune-Cookman last year, pulling in 36 passes for 527 yards and five TDs. Nice totals, but with the NCAA pumping out thousands of footballers every year, hardly anything to make pro scouts anywhere really take notice.

Gordon, admittedly, is still trying to soak up as much as possible.

He’s not only new to the three-down game, he’s new to being a pro, new to the grind of training camp… he’s new to everything. Over and over again on Friday he spoke of just simply trying to take advantage of the opportunity this Bomber tryout has presented to him.

He’s certainly not going to over-complicate matters.

An example: asked to provide a bit of a self-scouting report — his strengths, areas he needs to work on, etc. — Gordon shrugged.

“You know, I guess I’m a little bit faster than others,” he said.

“And so I just try to run by everybody and if not, when I get the ball I just try to run as fast as I can and make plays. I’m just trying to take advantage of any opportunity I get and help the team. Whatever they want me to do, I’ll do it.

“This is definitely something worth chasing. Chasing something is what I do. I like a challenge. I like to get better.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait