Exume happy to resume career with Big Blue

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This article was published 04/07/2023 (797 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kerfalla Exume wasted no time finding his way back to the team that gave him his start.

The fourth-year defensive back was recently cut by his hometown Montreal Alouettes before signing a deal with the Blue Bombers on Tuesday.

The University of Montreal product was selected in the eighth round of the 2019 CFL Draft by the Bombers and went on to lead the league in special teams tackles in his rookie campaign with 25.

After capping off his one season in Winnipeg by hoisting the Grey Cup and then having 2020 cancelled owing to the pandemic, Exume became a free agent. He signed with the Als as he had the itch to return to la belle province to be closer to his family.

“It feels great, it’s where it all started, they gave me my first opportunity and I already feel at home. The guys are happy to have me back and I’m just happy to be back here,” said Exume after Tuesday’s practice at IG field.

When Exume was cut, he immediately reached out to Bombers dime back Redha Kramdi — a former university teammate.

“Right away I contacted my friend Redha who is here and he said, ‘Man, I hope you come here,’” said Exume.

Exume was slightly concerned he wouldn’t receive the warmest of welcomes from teammates as a result of his decision to leave in 2019. His feelings changed quickly when he began to receive a number of messages from his old friends in blue and gold after Montreal let him go.

“They reached out to me and sent the love right away, I was thinking maybe since I left the guys would be mad, but nah,” said Exume. “They said, ‘Man, either way you’re going to get picked up, but I hope it’s going to be back here.’ So, I talked to my agent and made sure we made the right decision and here I am.”

There’s nothing guaranteed when you’re a late draft pick, but Exume used it as motivation and ended up making a bigger impact than a large portion of the 69 names that were chosen ahead of him.

He totalled 21 special-teams tackles over the last two seasons.

“Coming later in the draft fuelled me, they gave me the opportunity to come here and ball and I just had no other options but to get on the field and ball out,” said Exume.

Special Teams co-ordinator Paul Boudreau said Exume’s work ethic and knack for making plays really stood out in his first tenure with the club.

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“He put the work in to try and be successful,” said Boudreau. “He’s just one of those guys that seems to find the ball and has a nose for the ball and when he gets there, he finishes.”

Head coach Mike O’Shea is also pleased at Exume’s return and hopes his past experience with the team will help him contribute immediately.

“He’s a guy that you can plug right in, and knows what we do and he should be able to execute that at a high level.”

In addition to Exume, the Blue Bombers added linebacker Jared Beeksma to the practice roster and released offensive lineman Jakub Szott.

donald.stewart@freepress.mb.ca