It’s about finding your niche

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This article was published 18/06/2015 (3762 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When someone asks you to try something new, it often means stepping out of your comfort zone. For most, it usually requires a minimal effort and temporary discomfort, such as trying sushi for the first time or accepting an invitation for a blind date.

For Ettore Lattanzio, when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers asked him to try something he’d never done before, it was more like being plunked into no-man’s land, surrounded by people who spoke a different language and lived a completely different lifestyle.

“It was like being thrown into a different culture,” said Lattanzio, the Bombers’ fifth-round, 38th-overall pick in the 2015 CFL Draft. “It’s like you’re going into a different country, trying to learn a different language. It’s a different way of thinking. It’s a completely different way of doing things.”

No, the 24-year-old Ottawa native hasn’t been traded to a foreign country to continue his football career. If only it was that easy.

Instead, he’s been asked to play offence.

Perhaps this is a tad dramatic, but consider this: Lattanzio is coming off a four-year career at Ottawa University where he spent every down on the defensive side of the ball. As a defensive tackle for the Gee-Gees, he averaged 27 tackles per game and compiled 31 total sacks.

Lattanzio was named a first-team all-Canadian in his final two seasons and last year was awarded the J.P. Metras Trophy, an honour given to the top lineman in the CIS.

In 2013, he was runner-up for that award.

Needless to say, Lattanzio knows the defensive side of things inside and out; unlike on offence where he describes things as more calculated and less reactionary than what he’s used to. What he’s used to is going after the ball. Now, sitting fourth on the team’s depth chart as a fullback, he’s been asked to protect it.

“You have to be able to change your brain,” he said.

Lattanzio has also been taking reps on special teams. And just this week he’s been used sparingly on the defence, playing his usual inside position.

“He loves to play football, he really does,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea.

“We drafted him, he’s the top lineman in the CIS and we asked him to move to fullback, which he readily accepted. Now we’re going to give him a chance to play his natural position and do a few other things and get on special teams — show that he’s that rolling ball of razor blades that everyone says he is.”

What may be even more impressive than Lattanzio’s versatility is his character. He prides himself on being a team player and his humility is evident by the fact his focus is on the future, not on the position he’s played or what he’s achieved in the past.

‘I’ve never had an ego. What you’ve done is what you’ve done. It’s in the past. Now, it’s about establishing yourself in this league’

— Ettore Lattanzio

“I’ve never had an ego,” he said. “What you’ve done is what you’ve done. It’s in the past. Now, it’s about establishing yourself in this league.”

Whether he’ll land a spot on the team when O’Shea trims his roster from 65 to 46 Saturday night remains unclear. At 6-0, 260 pounds, Lattanzio understands he’s undersized for a CFL defensive lineman, especially one that plays on the interior.

Heck, he’s reminded of that every day when he brushes shoulders with the likes of defensive tackle Zach Anderson, who stands 6-3, 295 pounds, or recent NFL pickup Nate Collins, who comes in at a beastly 6-2, 300 pounds.

But if he took what other people had to say as truth, he wouldn’t be where he is today. Proving the doubters wrong is where he finds his love for the game. And his love for the game will be on full display when he puts on the pads and plays his first professional game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Investors Group Field Friday night — no matter where he fits in to the mix.

“It’s all about finding your niche. As long as you’re athletic and willing to put in the work, they’ll find a spot for you. That’s all it is.”

And really, that’s all he wants.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

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