Clarence Denmark comes from good stock – a long line of entrepreneurs who understood the value of a full day’s work and of the daily struggle to keep a business humming.

His father owned his own attire store. So did his uncle. And his grandfather, too. It’s a field into which the Winnipeg Blue Bombers veteran receiver has also followed, indirectly, as the owner of his own clothing line ‘Made Fresh’.

And so, on the fifth day of Bombers training camp – after which he put in an extra 15 minutes or so of work – the veteran receiver is painting a picture that helps explain why he has become a survivor in a business that can chew up and spit out so many.

It’s all about the grind. That is the basis of everything Denmark has done and hopes to still accomplish. It’s why he never takes a practice off and it’s what drives him in the dead of winter when he is in the gym.

“It’s just me trying to prove something,” said the softspoken 31-year-old. “I think I’ve had the hard road all my life, just coming up as a young kid. I’ve had to earn everything. I don’t expect to have anything given to me. I went to Juco (Mississippi Delta Community College) and that long route to college and not going to a big school (Arkansas at Monticello).”

“It’s just in my blood now to go out and get it. I don’t expect anything.”

His will was tested a year ago in what turned out to be both the most frustrating and arguably most rewarding season in his career. Released by the Bombers last March after the club signed both Weston Dressler and Ryan Smith, Denmark landed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders but, after a strong training camp, was cut before the season.

He waited at home in Jacksonville for the phone to ring. And while there was a nibble or two, his opportunity to return didn’t come until late July after the Bombers receiving corps was crushed by injuries in a win over Edmonton.

What Denmark did in his ‘comeback’ was one of the more remarkable subplots to the Bombers’ 2016 season. In just 10 games, Denmark pulled in 53 passes for 705 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns.

He wasn’t just back, he was back with an exclamation mark.

Crazy year? Heck yeah.

“It was. But I really didn’t have time early on to think about that,” said Denmark. “I just had to come out and play because that’s what they expected me to do. Nobody was going to give me any excuses for not performing, so I had to come out and do what I had to do.

“It definitely could have turned out to have been one of the worst years. But I’m always a positive person and I believe in myself, I believe in God and it always just plays itself out. You’ve just got to grind, grind, grind.”

That’s been, essentially, Denmark’s whole career. He might not be flashy, but he gets open and gets it done and those are qualities that should have a place in any receiving corps.

“I’ve done it year in and year out since the first time I touched a CFL field,” Denmark said with a shrug. “You just know what you’re going to get with me. I’m not going to give you anything less than what I’ve given you in the past.

“I’m going to come out and work hard, even though I know I could take a ‘vet’ day – we joke about that with the guys that I never take a day off. But if you see me on the sidelines, know that something is seriously wrong.”

“This is my seventh year. I’ve seen a lot of guys come and go before making even three or four years. I’m blessed to be able to see this time. I take it serious every time I come out here and you have to; you can’t halfway do football. You’ve got to go hard and make the plays.”

He’s done that since arriving here in 2011, in good times and in bad and with a long list of quarterbacks and coordinators. And now, with 359 career catches for 4,870 yards, he has moved into ninth place on the Bombers’ all-time receiving yardage list.

“Winnipeg is like a family to me,” said Denmark. “There’s been a couple rough years. I had to fight through some quarterback situations, some OCs (offensive coordinators) that maybe didn’t like me the best.

“But I just worked hard and it just came back to I’m out-working a lot of players and being consistent. That’s what it takes in football. Just to be here for all seven years is just a blessing.

“After (playing) it will give you a chance to look at those numbers,” added Denmark of his place in Bomber receiving history. “But right now, you just keep your head down and grind because when you look at that stuff you tend to slow down a little bit and it will be like, ‘OK, I made it. I’m OK.’

“That’s not the kind of guy I am. I’m going to work hard until the end.”

BOMBER CAMP – DAY 5

‘Blue’ noise: The Bombers pumped a ‘unique’ combination of noises – jet engines, sirens, applause and other excruciating sounds all in one mash-up – through the PA system on Thursday in order to get players ready for the preseason game and season opener, both in Regina’s spiffy new Mosaic Stadium.

“We’re heading into Sask’s new stadium for the preseason and we just felt in order for the young guys to show their best stuff we’ve got to have some preparation,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “You’d hate to get there and have the crowd noise affect the young guys, have them not be able to perform and then make bad decisions for our club based on a preseason game where we don’t have the right cadences and stuff like that.”

Walking wounded: The Bombers receiving corps, already down T.J. Thorpe, Addison Richards and Matt Coates, saw both Kenny Stafford and Gerrard Sheppard sit out Thursday’s session.

O’Shea said Thorpe, also a leading kick-return candidate, likely won’t be ready for the preseason game in Regina on June 10^thand that he hoped to have Stafford and Sheppard back at work soon.

“I don’t know that T.J. Thorpe will be ready for the first exhibition game,” said O’Shea. “We saw a lot of good things out of him in mini-camp, rookie camp. There’s a lot to like about him.”

O’Shea was later asked about all the advancements in science and training and how that might mean a different approach from his playing days.

“I don’t remember the guys around me ever pulling any muscles,” said O’Shea with a grin. “We were drinking beer and eating subs most of the time. I don’t know, maybe we need to back off on all the science. Get back to the old science, the 1700s, the 1600s and pure water, hops and barley.”

Good example: With Sam Hurl getting some first-team reps at middle linebacker, O’Shea spoke Thursday after practice about the value of having a veteran there amongst all the rookies and second-year pros vying to fill the job

“No doubt there’s a lot of trust,” he said. “There are little things that Sam does as a professional football player that are a great barometer for the other guys: the way he runs to the ball, his understanding of the entire defence, his willingness to speak up in the meeting room.

“It’s the same with Ian Wild. He sets a pretty high standard.  Sammy has a lot of those qualities. I also think that when you’ve been here, you step on the field first.”

Nervous… and still getting it done: Veteran receiver Weston Dressler spoke about his nerves at the opening of training camp, even after nine years in the CFL.

“He’s been competing for his job for a long time,” O’Shea said of Dressler. “I imagine when Weston Dressler says he’s not nervous, he’ll probably start thinking about whether he should be coming to camp.

“You see him get behind coverage? He’s still fast. He’s quick. He’s so smart. I wasn’t around him, I wasn’t on a staff when he first came into this league… he’s just a good football player, a good professional and a damn good athlete.”