DIFFERENCE-MAKER

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This article was published 01/06/2013 (4775 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He’s big, he’s strong, he’s tough, he’s bright and his position — offensive tackle — and passport — Canadian — make him a potential ratio-changer for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Those are the known facts about Tyson Pencer.

What isn’t known is whether the 6-7, 317-pound behemoth has the durability to engage in the trench warfare that is the line of scrimmage.

But we’re about to find out. The Bombers are giving the third overall pick in the 2012 CFL draft a complete do-over this spring after Pencer’s rookie season was a washout thanks to a season-ending shoulder injury sustained during Winnipeg’s second pre-season game.

It was the same shoulder that Pencer injured while at Washington State and which ultimately forced him to abandon the highly regarded Cougars program and return home to B.C.

So when the same injury happened again so soon into his pro career last year, the obvious question at the time — and still today — is whether this is a chronic problem?

Not so, said Pencer: “Talking to the doctors here who did my surgery (last year), they say it could have been the first surgery that caused the problem. They say possibly the doctors who did the prior surgery didn’t do it properly.

“Prior to getting hurt (in 2012), I was told that I was good, it would never happen again, it was a one-time injury and everything was sewed up and ready to go. So to have it happen again like it did, everyone was surprised.

“So that kind of also makes me question the prior surgeon’s surgery, to be honest with you.”

Pencer said losing his entire rookie season, especially after what he felt had been a good training camp to that point, was devastating.

“It was just a disaster for me,” he said. “I definitely wasn’t expecting it, but those kinds of things you never expect. So you just have to deal with it as it comes.”

The good news for Pencer is that while the 2012 season was a write-off, it’s not like he’s having to start from scratch this year.

“At least having the camp last year, I got an idea of how things go — how the team works, how practice goes, learning the basics of the playbook.”

So what’s a realistic goal for this year? Pencer, of course, says he’s here competing for a starting job just like everyone else.

But with the starters from last year’s offensive line back again this year and the Bombers coaching staff pretty happy with how they finished as a unit last season, a more realistic goal in 2013 might be a backup role for Pencer.

“He still needs to be shaped and that’s what he’s working on,” said Bombers offensive line coach Pat DelMonaco. “He just doesn’t have enough reps underneath him right now, whether you count it from college or his time here.

“He just needs a lot of work. But he’s a great specimen — he’s working hard and I think he’ll get there. He’s in the best shape he’s been in.”

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DelMonaco says it’s premature to say how Pencer fits into the Bombers scheme in the short term.

“It’s too early to tell yet where he might fit in. Maybe he could become that sixth (offensive lineman)? Maybe he could become the tight end in some situations?

“He’s got the tools necessary to play offensive tackle. The difference now is getting the experience and the confidence.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca