Being called dad by his young teammates could easily be misconstrued as an insult by Marquay McDaniel, but it only brings a smile from the Calgary Stampeders slotback.

“I find it funny,” said the 32-year-old, eight-year CFL veteran. “I don’t think they are trying to call me old.

“I think they say it (because) of the way I approach the game and kind of how I keep the guys in order. I’m like the assistant coach on the field. I’m just making sure we’re on the same page.”

At 5-foot-10 and 210 pounds, McDaniel isn’t the biggest player. He’d probably lose a foot race against many of the younger receivers on the Calgary roster.

Ernest Jackson and Marquay McDaniel play similar roles for their clubs (J.P. Moczulski/CFL.ca)

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What McDaniel does is get the job done. He catches the ball in traffic; he’s the safety valve when things go south and quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is scrambling for his life.

McDaniel led the Stampeders with 83 catches for 1,074 yards and four touchdowns this season. He was one of the cogs in a Calgary machine that rolled through the league with a 15-2-1 record. He’s also one of the weapons the Stampeders will rely on when they face the Ottawa REDBLACKS in Sunday’s 104th Grey Cup presented by Shaw.

Receivers like DaVaris Daniels, 23, awarded the CFL Rookie of the Year Thursday night, and second-year player Lemar Durant, 24, both watch and learn from McDaniel.

“It’s just his demeanour and the way he goes about everything,” said Durant, who had a touchdown catch in Calgary’s 42-15 win over the BC Lions in the Western Final.

“He’s such a professional. The way he goes over film and watches the game. The way he takes care of his body in the training room.”

Daniels, who had 51 catches for 885 yards and five touchdowns in his first CFL season, said McDaniel’s leadership extends past the game.

“I learned a lot from him, not only on the field but outside the stadium,” he said. “The way he carries himself, the way he goes about his business every day.

“He’s Mr. Consistent. To be great you have to be consistent. I think that’s something I learned from Quay. Just trying to gain that respect from everybody and lead by example, not so much by words.”

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McDaniel said his tutoring of the younger players is his way of paying it forward. When he broke into the CFL with Hamilton in 2009, it was Canadian receiver Dave Stala who took him under his wing.

“I owe him a lot,” said McDaniel, a native of Virginia Beach, Va. “My first year in the league I had never waggled, didn’t know the game that well.

“I played right beside him. He probably doesn’t know how much he helped me.”

Some veterans see young players as a threat. McDaniel believes making them better strengthens the team.

“I feel like that’s my job,” he said. “I can’t play for ever. If one of them ends up taking my job, I’m OK with that.

“I just feel like you should help someone try to be successful.”

Mitchell and McDaniel are developed a psychic connection on the field. A bond of confidence and communication has grown between the two.

Mitchell knows McDaniel can find the open spot in any defence. If a play breaks down, McDaniel will be his security blanket.

“He has a brain like a quarterback,” said Mitchell, the league’s Most Outstanding Player. “Honestly, he understands the game, he understands where the holes are everywhere on the field.

McDaniel agrees he thinks the game like a quarterback.

“It helps me as far as seeing what the defence is trying to do, finding holes in zones, knowing if it’s man or zone before the ball is snapped,” he said. “Once the ball is snapped I can just react.

“That’s another thing I try to help my guys do, watch film, look at where the safety is lining up in certain coverages. That will definitely make (their) job on the field easier.”

“He sees the coverage before it happens. That’s a huge advantage for him.”

“On the field, he’s a beast. He talks the talk. That’s when he really comes out and shows who he is.”

Jerome Messam on Marquay McDaniel

Marquay McDaniel protects the football during the Western Final on Nov. 20 (The Canadian Press)

McDaniel is reserved and soft spoken off the field. Once the game starts, he isn’t afraid to mix up physically and verbally.

“He’s serious about things,” said Durant. “He has his moments. When he’s in the game he’s a fierce competitor.

“He will start talking trash to the defensive backs. When people want to bring out that side of him, that will come out. It’s discrete though. Every little battle I’ve seen him get into with words, he seems to win.”

Veteran running back Jerome Messam said it’s not only the young players who look up to McDaniel.

“He comes to work, doesn’t really say much,” he said. “He’s definitely the leader to me, I look up to Marquay.

“On the field, he’s a beast. He talks the talk. That’s when he really comes out and shows who he is. He backs it up as well. He doesn’t say anything nasty, but he lets guys know he’s going to whop them because they can’t cover him.”

Like any father figure, McDaniel is happy when the players he tutors step up to make big plays.

“I kind of like it,” he said. “You never want to disappoint your parent.

“I feel like they try to get things right and details right so they don’t disappoint me. I think that’s made us a lot better.”