Edmonton’s C.J. Gable will chase it again. Toronto’s James Wilder, Jr. is no doubt also a leading contender to make history. Tyrell Sutton of Montreal and B.C.’s Jeremiah Johnson have an outside shot at it, too.

But it was Andrew Harris of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who really brought the pursuit of 1K-1K – 1,000 yards receiving and 1,000 yards rushing in the same season – into vogue during his remarkable 2017 campaign.

No player in the long and storied history of the Canadian Football League has accomplished the feat. But it was Harris – in capturing the rushing crown with 1,035 yards and finishing with 857 yards receiving on a league-leading 105 receptions – who did come the closest, en route to being named a CFL All-Star and the league’s Most Outstanding Canadian.

The idea of a 1K-1K season came up again this week, with the Bombers and Eskimos preparing to line up for the CFL’s curtain raiser. It’s not just that Harris gave the feat a good run last year, but the notion was broached again knowing that with Matt Nichols now on the six-game injured list, the Bombers might be leaning on their busiest offensive weapon even more with rookie Chris Streveler taking the first snap from centre.

Or… maybe not.

The Bombers have added a couple offensive pieces this offseason in receivers Adarius Bowman and Nic Demski, and with the same offensive line from the end of last year intact, figure to again be multi-dimensional in Paul LaPolice’s scheme.

There is potentially more depth here, too, with Ryan Lankford now in his second year, and promising draft picks Rashaun Simonise and Daniel Petermann along with Johnny Augustine all ready to step in in case of injury.

All of this is to say that in a perfect-world situation – with everyone staying healthy and the ball being spread around – Harris’ touches might go down from the 294 he had a year ago; 189 along the ground and the 105 catches.

And he’s completely cool with that if the W’s are piling up and this team is playing deep into November.

“Obviously, every back in this league would want to be the first guy to make history and have your name on that 1,000-1,000 mark,” Harris said this week. “But, ultimately, this is a team game and you want to be focusing on winning games and putting yourself in the best position possible for the playoffs. The Grey Cup is the ultimate goal.

“Our team, especially this year, we’ve positioned ourselves with our personnel and having the depth and playmakers on offence to be able to spread the ball around a lot more. That goal is almost unrealistic now with how dynamic our offence is. Overall, that’s better for the team.”

Gable and Wilder, Jr. have both said at various times this offseason they have 1K-1K in their sights. But the math behind the feat is daunting. Consider a few facts:

• Prior to Harris and his 1,035/857 totals, the closest to making 1K-1K history was Robert Drummond of the Argonauts when he rushed for 1,134 yards and had 840 yards receiving back in 1997.
• A running back would need to average 55.6 yards rushing and receiving over 18 games to hit the 1K-1K mark. Further to that, in a league that is pass heavy there were just 24 100-yard rushing performances by running backs a year ago with Wilder, Jr. and Ottawa’s William Powell posting four each followed by Gable with three and Harris, Sutton and Jerome Messam (now of Saskatchewan) eclipsing 100-yards rushing twice each. Only three backs – Harris, Powell and Messam – eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark rushing.
• Harris broke the record for receptions by a running back last year with his 105, eclipsing the mark of 102 set by Saskatchewan’s Craig Ellis back in 1985. That year Ellis had 977 receiving yards, but just 569 along the ground.

Harris averaged 8.2 yards per catch and led the CFL with 660 YAC. He also had the only 100-yard receiving game by a running back, against Edmonton, last August.

Consider, too, that as dominant as he was last year, he also got a lot of work through circumstance, what with both Weston Dressler (seven games) and Darvin Adams (three games) missing time last year.

“When guys went down last year… I looked at the situation, my pace, and I quietly wanted to achieve (1K-1K) and I thought it might be attainable,” said Harris. “That’s when I went public about it. All the cards have to be just right for that to work out.

“For some of the other guys to have the aspirations to do that… all the best to them and hopefully it can get done, but it’s definitely something that’s going to be tough. The biggest thing about that is playing all 18 games and putting a full season together.

“We were just talking about it today… there were probably four or five plays I had on the field last season that would have had me well over that. It’s definitely do-able and achievable, I think, but you can’t do that unless you play a full 18.

“You can have a big game where you have 100-yards rushing or receiving. But it’s those games where you only have 10 yards receiving or 44 rushing… that changes the average. It’s just so hard to be consistently part of the offence, depending on what the defences are giving you.”

Asked who might have the best shot at it, besides himself, and Harris ripped of the names of Johnson, Gable, Wilder Jr., Sutton and Saskatchewan’s Marcus Thigpen – who begins 2018 suspended for two games.

“All those guys are able to catch the ball, it’s just a matter of how they are utilized in the offence,” said Harris. “You’re going to need at least 60-70 catches to do that with a good average, or 80 catches with a decent average. But it’s tough… you’ve got to get the touches and the catches to make it happen.

“Let me put it this way: I think every back in the CFL is capable of it. If you’re a starter, you should have good hands and be able to run good routes. But it’s what their offence might need from them. I mean, all of these offences have other weapons as well and they want to spread the ball around.

“It will take a full 18 games and just the right circumstances for that to happen.”

BOMBER REPORT | June 13, 2018

Some additional notes, separate from our game preview.

WHAT’S NEW:

The Bombers released their Game 1 depth chart Thursday morning and it includes the following changes to the starters from last year’s West Semi-Final:

• Streveler for Matt Nichols (injured) at QB
• Darvin Adams (injured last November) for L’Damian Washington (released) and Drew Wolitarsky for Matt Coates (released) at WR
• Adarius Bowman and Nic Demski at SB for Clarence Denmark (released) and Chris Givens (suspended)
• Adam Bighill for Sam Hurl (Saskatchewan) and Chandler Fenner for Kevin Fogg (now at cornerback) at linebacker
• Fogg at cornerback for Brian Walker (released) and Anthony Gaitor at defensive halfback for T.J. Heath (Toronto)

OUCH REPORT:

The Bombers open the season with seven players on the injured list: Nichols and RB Timothy Flanders are on the six-game list; WR Kenbrell Thompkins, RB Kienan LaFrance, LB Maurice Leggett, LB Ian Wild and OL Qadr Spooner are all on the one-game injured list.

UNDER THE LIGHTS:

The Chris Streveler story has dominated since he was announced as the starter on Monday. Naturally, he was still the centre of attention the day before the game and hit on all the right notes during his media availability.

“It’s just a matter of staying within myself and knowing there are 11 other guys out there to rely on,” said Streveler. “Football is a team game. I know a lot of emphasis gets put on the quarterback position, but there are a lot of veteran guys on this team who have been helping me out throughout the week. They just relay, ‘Hey, make plays when they’re there and stay within yourself. You don’t have to do anything too crazy or try to be something that you’re not.’ That’s going to be the biggest thing for me.”

Streveler has drawn praise from offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice for his ability to process, both on and off the field. FYI, he has a degree in kinesiology and a Master’s in sport management and is five credits away from a second Master’s in inter-disciplinary studies.

“I always took school seriously,” said Streveler. “I take football seriously.”