If Johnny Augustine heard it once, he heard it a zillion times. Be ready for the ups and downs of life as a professional footballer, he was told, because there will be good days and there will be bad.
Thing is, no one told him he’d experience so much of all that within just one calendar year.
Augustine, a gifted running back from the University of Guelph, wrapped up three days of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie camp on Friday just thrilled to be on the football field again. After all, the road he’s travelled over the past 12 months has featured more potholes than smooth stretches…
Just over a year ago, Augustine had created a buzz for himself at the Canadian Football League’s National Combine in Regina. He not only tested well, but was one of the standouts in the one-on-one sessions. The shine on his star was sparkling and it wasn’t a matter of when he’d hear his name called on draft day, but how early in the proceedings.
Except… he didn’t hear his name called. And the Bombers, who only offered him an invitation to rookie camp a couple of days ago are already his third CFL team.
“When people talk about the highs and lows… I’ve definitely experienced it in the last year,” began Augustine. “I went through a high prior to the draft last year, coming off a decent season at Guelph and after training every day for the combine and went there and blew it up. I don’t mean that in a cocky way, but I thought I did really well.
“Teams were calling me, people were telling me I did really well and should be drafted really high. Then, come draft night I was pretty confident I was going to go between the second and fourth rounds. And after four rounds it was like, ‘Whoa…’ It’s one thing to be told you were going to be drafted high and then get selected later than you thought. But to not be drafted at all…”
“All I could think of was ‘What happened?’ That was a tough time for me. But the next day I just started to get back to what was normal: I went and trained. A day later I got the call to go to Edmonton.”
Augustine spent camp with the Eskimos and was then sent back to Guelph for his fifth and final year of eligibility. He had a solid season, rushing for 690 yards in eight games, and when the season ended, was expecting to rejoin the Esks.
Except… he didn’t rejoin the Esks. His rights had been scooped up by the Saskatchewan Roughriders who invited him to join them at their Florida mini-camp this spring. He liked this opportunity, knowing that the Riders had signed Jerome Messam in the offseason and would need some Canadian depth behind their bulldozer back.
Except… the Riders cut him after their camp.
“And then just a few days ago my agent told me there was a chance I was coming here,” said Augustine, who figures to get a look at tailback behind the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian, Andrew Harris along with Kienan LaFrance and imports Timothy Flanders and Jhurell Pressley. “I was still just training and waiting for an opportunity. I wanted to be ready whether it came early in the season or late in the season. I’m excited and privileged to be here in Winnipeg.
“I really hope my opportunity comes with this organization. I remember at the combine in my interview saying that one day I will be a starter in the CFL. I hope it’s with Winnipeg one day.”
Augustine does have a fall-back plan, although he hopes it’s many years before he has to put it into play, after earning a degree in criminal justice at Guelph.
“I’ve taken care of things and I could go into policing,” he said. “I know I’m OK because I have a backup plan. What I learned from the last year is sometimes things aren’t going to be there forever. You have to enjoy the moment.
“Neil Lumsden (long-time CFLer and Canadian Football Hall of Famer) has been my mentor for a long time. He told me my destiny is set, but can I live out my dream. This is my dream and right now I have a fire and a passion for it.”
BOMBERS ROOKIE CAMP – DAY 3
FULL SPEED AHEAD:
The Bombers ended rookie camp late Friday morning, will conduct their medicals on Saturday, and will return to the field Sunday morning for the opening of main camp (9:00-11:55 a.m.). Head coach Mike O’Shea indicated that there will likely not be any cuts made from the crew that participated in rookie camp, meaning they will all get to work with the vets.
“The tempo is going to pick up and I think we’ve done a good job of preparing them for hitting the ground running and having some information under their belts,” said Bombers QB1 Matt Nichols. “Between mini-camp and rookie camp, I think they have a decent grasp of what’s going on.
“Here now with our third or fourth year with the staff we jump right in the next-level offensive stuff, whereas a lot of places I’ve been you really ease into stuff for the first few days. We’re going to be doing all the crazy things we do as an offence from Day 1. We’ve prepared them for it and you’ve got a chance now between the start of training camp to see which guys really go and study it. It puts a lot of onus on everyone to go in and study their stuff and make sure they’re ready to go when the vets show up. They’re going to see the real pace of what the Canadian game is compared to the way rookie camp has been.”
MESSAGE DELIVERED:
Further to the above, Nichols implored the rookie crew to make sure they know their playbook for Sunday morning.
“That was one of my messages in our breakdown (Thursday),” said Nichols. “Don’t have any regrets and make sure when you’re sitting around you grab someone and study. Give yourself every opportunity to make this team and help us win.”
ANOTHER GEAR:
Bombers QB prospect Alex Ross, along with newcomers Chris Streveler and Zack Mahoney, benefitted from having the extra days of lead-in to main camp in order to get more comfortable with the playbook. And Paul LaPolice’s scheme, Ross explained, is a lot different than what he had in B.C. last season.
“It’s a lot different,” said Ross. “There we had a lot more stationary stuff. Here, there’s a lot more motion, a lot more movement to things and it does open things up. I’m excited about this playbook.
“I got a lot out of the last three days. It was good to get in here and get acclimated to the plays and start really learning the offence so by the time those veterans do get in, I have a better understanding of what my job is and where my reads are.”
