Ravi Alston is hardly a household name in Bomberland – at least, not yet – but even the greenest of rookies understands this about pro football: sometimes the door to opportunity opens only once. And when it does, it’s up to the player to knock the thing right off its hinges.
A receiver added to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers practice roster 49 days ago, there was Alston working after practice for an additional 30 minutes with quarterback Dakota Prukop on Tuesday, fine-tuning his crash course on the Canadian game.
That extra study could come in handy this Friday in Calgary in the regular season finale against the Stampeders as the Blue Bombers – with first place in the Canadian Football League’s West Division locked up – tinker with their lineup to give veterans or those nursing injuries a breather while promoting those from the practice roster and increasing the workload of others.
“It’s a blessing, man. Short and sweet, it’s a blessing,” Alston told a group of reporters following practice on Tuesday. “I’m just really trying to make a name for myself and earn the trust of my teammates and my coaches and show everybody what I can do. It’s been a rough journey for me, but it’s a blessing to be here and I feel I belong here, and I can really help this team win.”
Alston wasn’t offered a scholarship coming out of high school in Lake Elsinore, California and landed at Division III St. John’s in Minnesota, playing four seasons there before landing at Montana State last year.
He had shoulder surgery in January, which impacted his pro day, but his agent had a connection with the Blue Bombers and landed him a look in September.
“We brought him up here in our PR (practice roster) expansion and he’s basically caught every ball,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “He was precise in his route running, learned and picked up the system very easily. He’s very conscientious and a good dude who fits well. We’ll see when the game action’s on, we’re hopeful and pretty positive it will look the same and that’s what you want to see. He’s fit right in and done very well for himself.”
“I’m a guy who wants to do whatever it takes to win. I know it’s a great place to be,” Alston added. “A lot of Grey Cups up there (glancing up at the Grey Cup banners in the south end zone) and I’m trying to be a part of one of those, so whatever I can do to help this team win I’m going to do.”
The Blue Bombers have been here before, both in positive and negative situations, where their regular season finale meant zilch in the standings.
During Tuesday’s practice there were some initial wrinkles – nothing will be confirmed until the release of the depth chart on Thursday – that included Drew Richmond at left tackle, with Stanley Bryant moved to the right tackle spot usually manned by Jermarcus Hardrick.
Zach Collaros was present, but not in uniform – ditto for Nic Demski – while Shayne Gauthier was back in full gear. There could be more changes, too, although the salary cap plays a major role here as the club can’t simply activate its practice roster because of the financial implications.
“It differs from year to year. But we’ve got a very talented veteran-laden group of guys that are compensated as such,” O’Shea explained. “So, at the end of the year there’s not a lot in reserve to keep making these moves. It’s been managed well, and we’ll make the best decisions for the club with all that information in mind.”
Again, it’s about opportunity and both Collaros and Bighill explained Tuesday how they grabbed theirs and made it happen en route to long and productive CFL careers.
“My rookie year I was on the practice squad for six weeks,” explained Bighill, who broke into the CFL with B.C. in 2011. “It took a while for me to get my opportunity and when it came, I had to make the most of it just to make sure I got another one. Then it can start rolling.
“There are guys here who have been grinding hard for an opportunity. This is a chance where guys could get that tap on the shoulder and it’s ‘Hey, it’s your time to show us what you can do.’ That could cement what happens in the next year or years of their career when you get an opportunity like this. You’ve got to make the most of these because they’re big.”
Added Collaros:
“I was talking to a couple of guys today… I don’t think I would be in this league if it wasn’t for my rookie season in Toronto (2012). First was already set in the East in the final week so I remember I was home instead of making the trip to Regina for the Week 17 game and I got a call from Scott (Milanovich, then the Argos head coach) saying ‘Hey, you’re going to play this final game.’ I came back to Toronto and played, and I remember after the game saying, ‘Man, that was so much fun.’ From sitting there for 17 weeks to actually play was a reminder of how much I love football and it led me to come back and try again.
“It’s a great week for that, for guys waiting to get their opportunity. And for the veterans who may only play a quarter or may not play at all, you’ve still got to take it seriously. As I always say to you guys, there’s only so many opportunities you get in this game and you never know when it’s going to come to an end, so you take every rep seriously and you cherish them.”
Other notes and quotes from the Blue Bombers return to work this week in NEED TO KNOW…
QB CAROUSEL?
With Collaros playing the spectator on Tuesday, both Prukop and Dru Brown shared all of the work behind centre. Brown started a win in Calgary earlier this year, and has completed 68.1 percent of his passes this year for 705 yards with seven touchdowns against zero interceptions. Prukop, meanwhile, has run the short-yardage package with superb efficiency.
Brown came off the bench in a win over Edmonton on August 10th and completed 17 of 24 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns and a week later in Calgary was 17 of 27 for 171 yards with no TDs or picks. Asked what he took from his start against the Stamps, Brown paused for a moment and then offered this:
“Sometimes you win ugly, I guess. As a guy who enjoys production, sometimes your patience is tested when the game doesn’t ask that of you. If you guys can imagine being productive one week and the next, you’re there and you’re not necessarily making a huge impact. But I have to step back and look at the things that maybe don’t show up as these huge plays.
“.. You want to go out there and rip ‘em up. That’s what you want to do. And then you go out there and it’s…. ahhhh, but you win the game so that’s all that matters.”
FYI:
O’Shea on possibly getting a look at Richmond at tackle: “It’s very pleasing that he stuck with it, because he hasn’t had the easiest of times, that’s for sure. But he’s a grinder and his teammates appreciate that.” Richmond, you may recall, started at tackle in a game in Montreal after the Blue Bombers had clinched first in 2021, only to blow his knee out just a few snaps into the game… O’Shea also said the club has revisited how it has approached these games that don’t impact the standings over the last few years, adding, “We’re not stuck in our ways, we’re not adverse to changing. But we will always try to validate what we’re doing in terms of the process and whether or not it holds water this year because every team is different.
“Everybody wants to win, but most importantly it’s making sure we are consistent in what we do. What I’ve liked so far is there are some veteran guys who are most likely going to be watching and they’re out there working with some young guys making sure they are very detailed in their process which is pretty cool.”
