The run stops with Nevis

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This article was published 07/09/2019 (2194 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive tackle Drake Nevis, a man of few words and modest numbers, is in the midst of an all-star-calibre season.

Don’t believe it? Just ask his teammates.

“When you look at it from a run-defence perspective, I mean, he’s a top-tier, top-of-the-line-type guy,” Bombers defensive end Craig Roh said after the team’s walk-through Friday in preparation for today’s sold out Banjo Bowl at IG Field.

“He can’t be moved. I think everyone’s seen how vicious his club (move) is. He’s a got a couple of tools that make him really hard to move on the inside. And with our packages, he doesn’t get as much of a chance to pass rush, unfortunately. But he’s a guy who’s just through-the-roof good and he’s also an amazing team guy and leader. So you’ve got that unseen leadership ability, as well.”

The six-foot, 300-pounder from Marrero, La., will make his 58th start in his 58th CFL game today and has 17 tackles and one sack in 2019. He’s durable and dangerous.

Nevis’s game is more about occupying blockers and stuffing the run, which has a lot to do with the Winnipeg D’s lofty status as the league’s best defence against the run — opponents are averaging only 69.2 yards along the ground per game.

Nevis’s power game is key to his success.

“For Drake, he’s exponentially stronger than a lot of guys. I’ve always said to him, ‘You don’t need to use that many moves,’” Roh said. “Like me, I’m not exponential in any way. I’m above average in a couple of categories and so I can bring out a couple of things and play more of a mind game.

“Whereas with him, he’s so strong, all he’s gotta do is rip. And if a guy oversets him, he just rips and clubs. That’s all he’s gotta do.”

Rookie defensive tackle Steven Richardson, who clocks in at 5-11, 298 pounds, also takes a measure of his teammate off the field.

“I think his biggest thing is he’s a great leader, when he’s in the room and you feel his presence on the D-line,” Richardson said. “He’s eager to learn as much as he’s eager to teach. With me, he taught me a lot.”

Richardson made certain to tap into Nevis’s experience, focusing on his teammate’s go-to move.

“I saw him do it in the one-on-ones and I was like, ‘Can you teach me how to do it?’” Richardson said. “You’re running up the field, selling that you’re going one way and then coming the other. He’s a master at it. Since we had the same body type, I felt like I would be able to use it. Certain ones are hard to use. Willie (Jefferson) has a good long-arm (move) and my arms aren’t as long as his and I can’t do that.”

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Richardson also appreciates Nevis’s stoic on-field approach.

“Me and him on the field are pretty much alike,” Richardson said. “We don’t say a whole lot. The offence could be chirpin’ us or whatever and we don’t pay it no mind. We focus on what we have to do and focus on the next play.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14