 |
No New Orleans for Cleve McCoy after all.
Just days after getting the green light to chase his NFL dream and go to camp with the New Orleans Saints, the former South Carolina State quarterback backtracked and will now head to Canada to play for the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. McCoy’s reasoning was simple. He could have attended New Orleans’ camp, but by the time that was over he may have been left with no offer from the Saints and although the contract may have still been on the table from Winnipeg, the Bombers could have just as easily moved on to another prospect.
“Just the opportunity was there,” McCoy said. “I looked at it, and I just felt more comfortable going over there and playing quarterback. It’s something I have been doing for 10 years. Just to have that security…it’s mostly about security. Guys make it to camp, and they are home the next week. It’s just something that…that was in my mind. I took the offer on the table and I am going to make the best of it.”
According to a report by Ed Tait in the Tuesday, May 6 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press, the move didn’t take the Blue Bombers by surprise.
“We can’t necessarily prevent him from pursuing other options if he’s not under contract,” Bomber director of football operations Ross Hodgkinson was quoted as saying in Tait’s story. “But it comes down to this issue: does this kid want to play quarterback or pursue other options in the NFL? Realistically, the likelihood of the Saints or anybody else putting him in at quarterback is almost zero.”
In Winnipeg, McCoy will face a task — supplanting starting quarterback Kevin Glenn — almost as daunting as making the transition from quarterback to wide receiver would have been with the Saints. Glenn, who just signed a lucrative contract with Winnipeg, led the league in passing yardage (5,114 yards), pass completions (388) and pass attempts (621) last season to earn the East Division’s nomination for the Rogers CFL Most Outstanding Player Award. That being said, judging by quotes from Hodgkinson in the Free Press’ story, it’s clear the Blue Bombers are high on McCoy and pushed him to join the team as soon as possible despite the fact that he will likely be the team’s third-string quarterback — Winnipeg’s backup is former Boise State star Ryan Dinwiddie — during the 2008 season.
“(Head coach) Doug (Berry) was watching the film and he said, ‘You need to come in and watch this kid,’” Hodgkinson is quoted as saying. “(GM) Brendan (Taman) was out of town, but as soon as I saw the tape I e-mailed him saying, ‘Brendan, this kid is an unbelievable athlete.’ He’s got outstanding arm strength, he’s got the ability to run and run over people and if the Saints are working him out as a receiver then he’s got bona fide speed as well.
“He’s that good an athlete. I wouldn’t describe him as one of those guys who is an athlete trying to play quarterback or a running back trying to play to play quarterback. He’s a quarterback with outstanding skills in all areas. He can throw on the run, off his back foot... he’s pretty impressive.”
McCoy said he is looking forward to joining Winnipeg. Rookies report May 28, and he said the Blue Bombers are planning on bringing him in a week early. Until then, he has been spending some of his free time between his part-time job and working out at Baptist Hill High School studying the Canadian game. He said he is looking forward to getting into camp and proving himself against Glenn and Dinwiddie.
“Competition is the thing that makes you play better,” McCoy said. “I don’t want to go up there and have something given to me on a spoon. There is nothing wrong with a little hard work.
“I don’t want to say that I just want to play quarterback because I can play any position,” he added. “It’s just more comfortable for me. It gave me some comfort that I can play football this year instead of teaching or something like that. I wanted to do something I loved – play football – and that is what it all boiled down to.”
T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. Check out his blog, Welcome to Linderland, at www.thetandd.com.