Collaros Media Session: Main Takeaways

It’s been a common theme-slash-buzzword around the Winnipeg Blue Bombers over the last few weeks as the club’s haul in free agency kept featuring one solid addition after another.

And landing the likes of Tim White, Jake Ceresna, Jarell Broxton, Jonathan Moxey and Tommy Nield is enough to make even the most veteran voices in the Blue Bombers clubhouse belting out their hallelujahs.

Case in point, we give you quarterback Zach Collaros, who is in Winnipeg this week for some marketing work for the club.

“The signings that we had were awesome,” said the veteran pivot at a media conference at Princess Auto Stadium on Tuesday. “All five of the guys — we brought back a lot of people, too — but the five marquee signings that we made from other organizations are really going to help our club.

“A lot of buzz. I speak to Redha (Kramdi) a lot, I speak to Deatrick (Nichols) a lot, obviously Stan (Bryant) and Paddy (Neufeld). You lose some teammates along the way which makes it tough, but we all sit back and play fantasy GM and what we would do, too, so there’s been a lot of agreement with a lot of these signings, a lot of excitement.”

Asked if the work in free agency represented a statement, both to the locker room and the rest of the Canadian Football League, Collaros offered this:

“I don’t know if it’s a statement, but for myself, being a little longer in the tooth in this game, and some of the other guys that have been here for a long period of time, I think it just sends a message like ‘Hey, we’re trying to win now. We want to continue competing for Western championships and competing for Grey Cups.’

“It’s the CFL, you can win the Grey Cup any year, but I think just echoing that and showing the guys like ‘Hey, we’re in it to win it this year.’ Not that we haven’t been in the past, we try to do this every single season. But, if there’s deficiencies that the front office saw, they tried to address them and that definitely stands out to the guys, for sure.”

Collaros’ session with the media had conversing on a variety of subjects. Here are the key takeaways that jumped out, in no particular order…

THE NEW GUYS

–Receiver Tim White: 

“Fast. He’s fast. I love his experience. He played this game with four years in a row with a thousand yards. His durability. I talked to Scott Milanovich (Hamilton Tiger-Cats head coach) a couple weeks back when this all went down and he said to me, ‘You’re going to love Tim.’ He hasn’t missed a practice in two-three years, however long (Milanovich) has been there. The people I’ve talked to that know of Tim and have been around him have all echoed the same sentiment about him — he’s a great teammate, he cares a great deal so he’s going to fit in well.

“The game stuff stands out — he’s fast, he’s a reliable guy and he’s played in different systems; he’s played in Tommy’s system, so I was able to talk to Tommy a bit before that all went down when I started my recruiting pitches to Tim, too. I’m excited about him being around.”

-Receiver Tommy Nield:

“I threw with Tommy two-three years ago. Shamawd Chambers runs a group out there in Ontario. Tommy was there and it was my first day throwing in the offseason and he was running and I pulled Shamawd aside and said, ‘Who is that? What college does he go to?’ And he was like, ‘That’s Tommy Nield, you idiot.’ You don’t see anybody without their helmet on, and I don’t really watch on TV, so he really impressed me and I developed a relationship with him there.

“Over the last two seasons I’ve watched him a lot more closely and the run he put together in Sask last year was really impressive. He’s played in all the different spots; he’s a great route-runner. He’s been coached by great coaches — Marquay (McDaniel, Roughriders receivers coach) had him out there in Sask, Pete Costanza (now the receivers coach in Ottawa) had him in Toronto and Pete speaks really highly of him as a guy that plays different positions and can play them at a high level. And a Canadian guy, so that makes a big difference, too.”

–Offensive tackle Jarell Broxton:

“Stud. He was (B.C.’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman) candidate. Big-bodied guy. Moves his feet well. I know Paddy (Neufeld) was speaking to Mikey Couture out there and B.C. was upset that they lost him when that all went down. I was able to speak to him for a couple of days afterward, after that all happened and he seems like a great guy. Some of the people I talked to out there in B.C. who have been around him say the same thing — great guy, great teammate so he’s going to fit in really well. And from my interactions with him I can definitely see all that.”

-Defensive lineman Jake Ceresna, who said last week Zach contacted him and asked for him to join the Blue Bombers so he could stop hitting him:

“I think I’ve said that to him after every game for the last 10 years. (He’s not a fun guy to play against) I think if you ask our offensive line, there’s a few guys like that in the league where you really have to be always cognizant of where he’s lined up and he spearheads that list, for sure.”

-Overall take, including experienced cornerback Jonathan Moxey:

“They’ve all played a lot of football, and I think that matters in the CFL, especially with the American guys because it’s not an easy game to learn. The more reps you get at it, you get up to speed faster in your systems, and a lot of those guys have played in different systems so they understand the game inside and out.”

THIS SEASON… AND BEYOND?

Collaros is entering the last year of his current contract and said there have been no talks about a possible extension. He’s also turning 38 in August and understands fully at this stage in his career more than ever it’s a prove-it business.

He was asked Tuesday if he has thought of this season possibly being his last year.

“Yeah, but not in a negative way. I still feel really good,” he said. “I still really enjoy the entire process. I enjoy working out, getting up early and doing it. This off-season has been great working with Tommy (Condell, new offensive coordinator) and putting stuff together for the training camp and for the season. I’ve kind of been reinvigorated in that way just having my hand in it a little bit more than I have in the last five years. So, it’s been a lot of fun. I’m really excited for the year.

“… You’re always kind of playing on a one-year thing anyway. It’s not going to change the way that I approach the season. It’s not changing the way that I’m training, it’s not going to change the way that I play. Would I like to keep going? If I feel healthy and think I can help the club, then, yeah.”

TAYLOR ELGERSMA = IVAN DRAGO

Funny moment near the end of the session when Collaros was asked about Canadian QB Taylor Elgersma, drafted by the club last year and still trying to chase his NFL dream. Collaros likened the big Wilfrid Laurier product to Ivan Drago, the Russian fighter Rocky Balboa faces in Rocky IV

“I threw one time with him last year. Walked in, I just couldn’t believe how tall he was (6-5). I didn’t know who he was, to be quite honest with you. I thought he was a tight end or a left tackle or something. Not that he’s a heavy dude, but he’s big. Like Ivan Drago, honestly. Really, it was like, ‘If he dies, he dies.’  (Quote from Drago after his pounding of Apollo Creed leads to him dying in Rocky’s arms).

“Big guy. He throws it very hard. Seemed like a good guy. Spent about an hour and a half throwing with him. I think this was before we drafted him. Seemed like a great dude, and has a lot of physical gifts, for sure.”