While injuries wreaked havoc with the Eskimos roster this season, they also provided unexpected golden opportunities for some players.
Christophe Mulumba-Tshimanga, Jordan Hoover and Kwaku Boateng, who were selected in the middle rounds of the 2017 CFL Draft, all benefited from the revolving door to the starting lineup. In a normal situation, they might be lucky to play on special teams in their first season. Instead, they received their pro football baptisms earlier than expected.
Sometimes, a player was eased into the lineup, like Boateng, who has been part of the rotation on the defensive line all season.
And, sometimes, a player was simply thrown into the fire because there were no other viable options, like Hoover playing strong-side corner in the Labour Day rematch game against the Calgary Stampeders after rookie corner Mercy Maston tore his Achilles tendon during the pre-game warm-up and defensive halfback Garry Peters suffered a high ankle sprain early in the contest.
“Now we’re playing with a rookie safety at corner, a position he hasn’t played in the CFL,” said Eskimos General Manager and VP of Football Operations Brock Sunderland. “He’s a rookie from Waterloo covering some of the league’s best wide receivers.
“That’s challenging,” Sunderland continued. “He’s doing something he’s never done. The communication between him and the halfback is brand new, he doesn’t have a feel for what that guy’s doing, and he’s out there on the biggest stage so there’s going to be some nerves flying.”
Actually, Hoover said he was more nervous when he had to play the last four plays at strong-side corner in a game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in August when two international defensive backs were injured in the dying minutes.
“It was definitely get my toes wet,” said Hoover, 24, a fourth-round draft pick this year. “That truly was the most nerve-wracking part, so when I did come in against Calgary, I wasn’t as nervous.”
Hoover said his teammates gave him some encouragement and he knew his assignments from practice and was already familiar with the speed of the CFL game from playing on special teams.
“I got the first hit in and got to run around a bit,” he said. “When we came out in the second half, I was ready to go, just hold it down and get my team through the game.
“I feel like I held my own. I made an open-field tackle I’m happy with. I missed an open-field tackle. That happens; I wish I could get that one back. The P.I. (pass interference penalty) in the end zone, I’ve got mixed feelings. I tried to cover him as best as I could.”
Boateng, 22, came into training camp with a chip on his shoulder after falling to the fifth round of the draft before Wilfrid Laurier’s all-time quarterback sack leader was selected by the Eskimos 41st overall.
“I felt like there was nothing else for me to do besides just show my worth here,” said Boateng, who has 18 defensive tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble this season. “It paid off and the coaches saw some potential in me and eventually that potential grew to where I’m at now.”
The rookie gave credit for his development to the leaders in the locker room and defensive line coach Casey Creehan.
He knew it would be difficult to make the jump from Canadian university football to the CFL and thought he was battling for a practice roster position or maybe a special teams role at the end of training camp.
“I would have been OK with either,” he said. “My goal was to come in and make an impact. I knew it might take me a while so I wanted to make an impact right away on special teams and, lucky for me, I was able to make an impact on special teams and on defence simultaneously.”
Boateng averaged about 10 to 15 plays each game for the first six weeks of the season, but was up to around 30 plays by the time the Eskimos played at Toronto in mid-September.
“I think it’s gone up because I’m starting to understand how to play and really grasp the system that (defensive co-ordinator Mike) Benevides and Coach Creehan have established here,” he said.
The highlight of his season so far was his first CFL sack against B.C. Lions QB Travis Lulay at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium in late July.
“It was a sack/forced fumble,” he said. “It was just everything I dreamed of. I just wish I picked up the ball and scored a touchdown.”
That was also Boateng’s best game of the season. “I had a lot of quarterback pressures and a lot of quarterback hits. That was the highest I’ve graded out.”
He contributed a tipped a pass that fellow defensive lineman Da’Quan Bowers was able to catch for an interception in Monday’s game against the Montreal Alouettes.
Boateng has also had to learn how to be a professional player off the field, taking care of his body and eating well in addition to preparing for the next game.
“It’s a long season,” he said. “In my college career, the longest we went was 11 or 12 games and that was when we went to the national semifinals. The regular season in CIS is only eight games. I’m close to doubling that.”
Is he starting to wear down?
“I’ve still got some juice in me,” he replied. “I’m excited.”
Mulumba, 24, a third-round draft pick, is tied for the Eskimos’ lead in special teams tackles, with 12, and also has 17 defensive tackles while starting four games at weak-side linebacker (playing about half the snaps) and two at middle linebacker, his “natural position” that he played throughout high school and at the University of Maine.
“I’m extremely grateful because I know not many people in the rookie class can say that they play on defence or they get to start games,” Mulumba said. “Kwaku and I got to start games. … It sometimes comes with luck a little bit, but you’ve still got to be prepared.”
Mulumba pointed to his first start against B.C. as “definitely the highlight” of his season. “It didn’t go as well, but it was just a big step and a big moment.”
He also looked back with fondness on his first professional game, when he recorded four special teams tackles. Other impressive outings included two quarterback sacks in a home game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and six defensive tackles against the Bombers at Winnipeg.
Mulumba had two defensive tackles and a special teams tackle that forced a fumble and led to a field goal early in the second quarter at Montreal.
“There’s obviously good moments, bad moments,” he said. “But the one that I remember is definitely more the event, like the first game or the first start. If we get a Grey Cup this year, that’s going to be something I’ll remember the most.”
The Eskimos actually have six of their eight 2017 draft picks on the team:
- First-rounder Nate Behar, 22, didn’t sign until June 21 and missed all of training camp. The receiver has been on the active roster for eight games and made his first special teams tackle against the Alouettes on Monday. Head coach Jason Maas said Behar is “progessing” and doing everything asked of him to get ready and be prepared. “Now it’s just the next step. We see it every day that he’s picking it up. You never know though until a guy gets into a game and has to think fast and react quickly and do it physically.”
- Second-round selection Jean-Simon Roy, 23, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in his second game on the roster as a backup offensive lineman earlier this season.
- Six-foot-eight offensive lineman Kwabena Asare, 25, is on the practice roster.
The other two draft picks this year were defensive lineman Mark Mackie (eighth round), who returned to play another college season at McMaster University, and offensive lineman Justin Senior, who was the top-ranked player by the CFL Scouting Bureau and the only Canadian selected in this year’s NFL draft. Senior was released by the Seattle Seahawks after injuring his knees.