Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
MONTREAL — There’s no time better than now for Rakeem Cato.
Friday night will mark the second start of the season for the second-year pivot and 12th of his career, as Jim Popp looks to give his team a shot in the arm with the change at quarterback.
Of course, as the veteran head coach and general manager plainly stated this week, the switch from the wily and proven Kevin Glenn to the 24-year-old Cato isn’t merely to provide a spark.
For Cato, Friday night resembles the opening of a new window; one that could well be career-defining.
“It’s not just a quarterback change,” Popp told reporters at practice this week before the team flew to Vancouver for its upcoming Friday night clash with the Lions. “We need to see for the future whatever we have at that position.”
Somehow that ‘now or never’ feeling about the Marshall graduate just can’t be avoided.
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While Cato plays, Adams Jr. waits in the wings for his opportunity (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Cato’s professional football career up to now has looked more like a rollercoaster than anything else – up at the beginning and then, with a few sharp lefts and rights along the way, the sudden descent.
Once seen as the quarterback of the future in Montreal after a strong start to his career, there was word back in camp that he had fallen down the depth chart and could be traded or, worse, released.
Now, after putting up respectable numbers in his rookie season and then struggling in his only other start of 2016, a loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Cato is getting another shot.
“If you’re winning or you’re in first place, you usually don’t touch your roster,” said Popp. “If you’re not in first place or you’re behind and you’re not generating enough points – you saw we did that with the kicker and it’s happened in several other spots – eventually you’ve got to start looking at some other options.”
Don’t get it twisted: Cato starting is about trying to win football games, too. The Alouettes are the league’s second-lowest scoring team (20.5 points per game) and rank eighth overall on offence (328.5 yards per game).
Anything to salvage a 3-7 start and to try and wake up a hornet’s nest is worth a shot.
“This is not something that’s directed right at Kevin Glenn,” said Popp. “This is something Kevin’s been through, but we also need to see what we have for the future of guys that are behind him and know what we have as we’re trying to win football games.”
“We also need to see what we have for the future of guys that are behind him and know what we have as we’re trying to win football games.”
Jim Popp
Alouettes head coach and general manager Jim Popp (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
And with that said, the window to evaluate quarterbacks in the CFL is small. Pro sports are too competitive for teams to spend entire seasons sticking with quarterbacks that aren’t providing tangible results.
Patience at the position has always been low. At just 24 years old, Cato’s window might be closing as quickly as any young quarterback’s who hasn’t secured a job as a starter.
Cato might be a star yet, but if he’s not? Don’t expect the Alouettes to wait. They’ll find out soon and it’ll be onto the next one.
The next one just happens to be Vernon Adams Jr., the 23-year-old that Popp gave up a first round pick – a high first round pick at this rate – to acquire in the off-season.
This is your time, Rakeem Cato, and it’s now or quite possibly never.
– With files from MontrealAlouettes.com
