G-man wants to bring spark

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/09/2009 (5858 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Often a person with a G in their name, first or last, will pick up the nickname, G. As in, “What’s up, G?”

For Dudley Guice, Jr., there’s the obvious leap to G. But there’s even more of a connection when you consider the fact the newest Blue Bombers receiver is also a junior G-man. As in Federal Bureau of Investigation kind of G-man.

“I was offered a criminal internship with the FBI but I’ve put it on hold to pursue football for a while,” said the 23-year-old Guice, who will see action with the Bombers for the first time this weekend. “I have a bachelor’s in criminal justice and I’m just a few hours short of a master’s in global terrorism. I want to fight the bad guys. That’s the plan.”

Guice was recently released by the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.

“I had a great opportunity in Tennessee but unfortunately they drafted some receivers ahead of me. It was nothing I did wrong, it was more of a numbers game and then I got the chance to come here.”

Guice attended Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La., and on top of being an all-academic player put up some strong numbers.

In 2007, his last season of college football, Guice led Northwestern State with 470 receiving yards and four touchdown catches.

“The intention is to get a lot of reps this week, learn the playbook and try to contribute and provide some spark for this offence,” said Guice.

After football, Guice says he’s headed back to the FBI.

“A lot of people get global terrorism confused with just foreign invasions but it’s more than that,” said Guice. “It spreads out to white-collar crime and tax evasion as well.”

Bombers receivers coach Bob Dyce says Guice brings some nice attributes to the table.

“Dudley’s a nice-sized target,” said Dyce. “And he runs well for a guy his size. I look forward to seeing how he develops and how he picks up the schemes. But the initial impressions are that he can play at this level and he’s a smart individual.”

Dyce says timing is the biggest change for a player schooled in the American game when trying to understand all things passing Canadian-style.

“His waggle, coming to the line of scrimmage is key; you want to be at full speed but you want to be in control. He was offside on about 30 per cent of the plays in practice but that’s the biggest thing to get used to,” said Dyce, who explained the term ‘waggle’ to be a receiver’s motion before hitting the line of scrimmage at the same time the ball is snapped. “The receiver wants to use that waggle to set up the defender. It takes a while to be able to use that waggle to one’s advantage.”

Guice is listed at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds.

“Big receivers have an advantage in the CFL because most tall DBs are playing in the NFL. A guy like Lenny Walls is unusual here,” said Dyce. “Dudley’s size and aggressiveness to the football will bring another element to our team. And when he’s downfield and stretching his legs out he looks like he can roll.”

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca