Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
We’re so close to Feb. 14, the most romantic day of the year! Yes, it’s that special day when coaches, general managers, players and their agents all decide who they want to hook up with and spend at least a year with. Teams will do whatever it takes to woo that special offensive lineman, while the player will act all coy and pretend he has many suitors to drive up his value. That is what Valentine’s Day is all about … right?
So with free agency ever so close, I wanted to preview some of the top names available. However, there really is no need for me to break down these players’ strengths or weaknesses or the impact they would have on any given team — the good people of CFL.ca have been churning out some fantastic preview pieces. There isn’t much else of actual football substance I could add.
Instead, I figured I would dig into their pasts and creep on their Twitter timelines to try and discover some fun/interesting facts about these potential franchise changing players. Think of it as an attempt by me to humanize a group of players who often play at super human levels.
RELATED:
Free Agent Tracker | CFL.ca’s Top 30 Pending FA List | FA Rumour Mill
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Micah Johnson
DT | CGY
Micah Johnson chases down Darian Durant during a game in 2016 (Matt Smith/CFL.ca)
Whatever coaching staff ends up with Micah won’t have to worry about discipline issues. Micah grew up in a military family as his father, Colonel Nathaniel Johnson II, was the commander of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry regiment, 3rd Brigade combat team of the 101st Airborne Assault. Now beyond that sounding pretty bad ass, I’ll be honest, I don’t really know what that means, but I learned his group took part in extremely dangerous deployments in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Johnson experienced the classic military brat lifestyle living in seven different states from Washington to California to Hawaii. That discipline can clearly be seen during this off-season after he admitted on Twitter to watching the game film of his team’s Grey Cup loss about “15 or 20 times.” Now that shows both a commitment to getting better and that Johnson is clearly a glutton for punishment. Of course, you could say that of any interior lineman.
Chris Williams
REC | OTT
One of the CFL’s fastest receivers, Chris Williams is inching towards the open market (The Canadian Press)
It’s easy to see where Chris got his speed from: his mother Carol was a track coach back at Cleveland High School. What will come as a shock to no one: Chris, in his high school days, won multiple state titles in a variety of track events, including the 200 and 400 metre. Chris spent his formative football years as a running back and didn’t switch to receiver until his collegiate days at New Mexico State. During the 2009 NFL Draft, like so many other CFL stars, Williams was not drafted due to a lack of size.
In that particular draft there were five different “Williams” (Jason, Derrick, Brandon, Javarris and Eddie) selected by various NFL teams. Here are their combined career stats: 68 tackles, 82 yards receiving and a whopping eight yards rushing. Something tells me that Chris would have done better than those five individuals. Hey, it’s great for us CFL fans that the NFL will always be skittish about smaller players.
The only part of my research that I found disappointing was a complete lack of anything even remotely juicy on his Twitter feed. I mean, he’s a flashy, ultra-productive receiver — where are the crazy bravado or passive aggressive Twitter wars with opposing defensive backs? Instead, his feed is filled with an endless barrage of congratulating his peers for their respective successes.
Diontae Spencer
REC | TOR
Don’t let the size fool you when it comes to pending free agent Diontae Spencer (The Canadian Press)
You can’t question his production on the field but I do wonder about his cinematic tastes. His most recent Tweet is a rather odd review of a movie I didn’t expect many football players to have seen: “50 Shades Darker filled with [rabbit emoji’s].” I don’t really know what that review means and maybe it would be better if I just moved on.
Cinematic reviews aside, one of the NFL’s best receivers, Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants in 2016, had nothing but praise for Spencer, saying: “He’s just one of those guys who wants to be good. He’s one of those guys who’s going to pick my brain and the brains of others because he wants to make it.”
A lot of American born payers can have a difficult time adjusting to playing in Canada with the different rules and the generally colder weather. Usually the first complaint you hear involves getting used to the bigger field, the three downs or for defensive players having to line up one yard behind the line of scrimmage. But Spencer had a very original gripe that I think we can all get behind. In an interview with the Argos Admirals, he said: “The only issue I’ve had is that the money is plastic and sticks together. But other than that it’s been all good.”
If you ever taken out more than 60 bucks from an ATM machine you know exactly what he’s talking about. Of course, at least our money comes in different colours versus in the States where it all looks the same.
Emanuel Davis
HB | HAM
It’s been far from easy for Emanuel Davis, but now he’s one of the CFL’s top DBs (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
I will take a quick break from this light-hearted piece to direct you to what Drew Edwards wrote about Davis back in September of 2015. I can’t imagine the struggle that Davis went through watching his father die in a car accident as child to bouncing around from several homes to getting cut by the Cleveland Browns to becoming a star with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. No matter what Davis does for the rest of his career, no one can take away his accomplishments and no one can say it was anything but a wild success.
Mic’hael Brooks
DT | BC
Mic’hael Brooks should be among free agency’s most wanted if he’s still on the market (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)
Don’t let Google bully you into changing the spelling of his first name as it did to me many times while researching the BC Lions defensive lineman! Yes, Brooks was not on the field when his Seahawks defeated the Broncos in the Super bowl a couple years back, but the guy, for his pure relentlessness, deserved that ring. Brooks was released by the Seahawks four times over a five-month span that season only to clear waivers each time and be subsequently re-signed by Seattle.
Every player has a unique story about how they got into football and Brooks is no exception. His father helped “guide” him into the game when he was young due to his burgeoning sedentary lifestyle, as Brooks recounts: “My dad said I was getting too big sitting around the house, so he wanted me to get into sports, and that’s how I started.”
That was a new one for me. Unlike a great number of players who obtain their degree in communications, Brooks majored in criminal justice with a minor in security studies. In an interview, Brooks said that if he wasn’t playing football, he would be involved with the “FBI, border patrol, CIA.” As someone who may (may!) have snuck back the odd extra bottle of wine while coming back from Buffalo, I’m terrified of the idea of a 300-pound defensive linemen working the border. Please, someone sign Brooks to a 10-year contract and keep him where be belongs.
Nolan MacMillan
OL | OTT
Nolan MacMillan was the first player drafted by the REDBLACKS (Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photography)
Hey, did you know that Nolan was the first ever draft pick of the Ottawa REDBLACKS? Well now you do and you can use that fun fact to impress your friends at your next cocktail party. For his work around the Ottawa-Gatineau community helping out with the homeless and lending a hand with minor football programs, MacMillian was one of the final nominees for the 2016 Jake Gaudaur Veterans’ Award given to the player who best embodies such Canada’s virtues like strength, perseverance, courage, comradeship and contribution to Canadian communities.
Derek Dennis
OL | CGY
Derek Dennis became a household name following his award in November (The Canadian Press)
It can be difficult to answer such a probing question like: “If you could describe yourself as any ice cream flavor, what would you be and why?” But Dennis was up to the challenge in this 2013 interview, replying: “I would say chocolate chip cookie dough, because I have some hard and soft parts about me.” Now that is a deep answer.
Did you know that back in the late 1980’s, his mother, Lashanna, was given a full dance scholarship to the Juilliard School?!? She turned it down to raise a family but her sense of coordination must have been passed down to her son, whose own masterful footwork was a major reason why Calgary’s offensive line allowed the fewest sacks in the league.
Dennis’ lowest moment had to be in 2012 when not only was he the first player cut from the Miami Dolphins but it was all caught on TV as Miami was taking part in HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’. Dennis has definitely bounced back from that ordeal as he has recently tweeted out: “2017 season goals: 0 sacks/0 pressures/100 pancake blocks/awards repeat!! Bonecrusher season coming” and “I’m a be a CFL HOF now mark my words yall just woke up a beast….I’m crushing bones literally this season watch me work!!”
I’m a be a cfl HOF now mark my words yall just woke up a beast….I’m crushing bones literally this season watch me work!!
— Derek Dennis (@6BONECRUSHER3) February 11, 2017
Hey, when you win the CFL’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award, you’re pretty much allowed to say whatever you want.
Abdul Kanneh
HB | OTT
Abdul Kannel (left) tackles Devon Wylie (right) during a game in Ottawa in 2016 (The Canadian Press)
Born in London, England, it should come as no surprise that Abdul went from football to … football. As an eight-year-old, Abdul played soccer until his coach, noting just how physical he was on “the pitch” (field), suggested to his mother that he switch over to the North American version of football.
Considering back in 2014 Kanneh had this to say about his style of play — “I love to hit people, I always have. I’m a head crusher. Any time I have a chance to lay a hit down, I’ll do it. I don’t shy away from it. That’s the point of the game” — I think we can all agree his soccer coach knew what he was talking about.
Judging by his Twitter feed, Kanneh is paying close attention to free agency as he is constantly retweeting articles about free agents like Solomon Elimimian and Adarius Bowman re-signing with their respective teams.
Ernest Jackson
REC | OTT
Ernest Jackson was the East Division’s Most Outstanding Player in 2016 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
And the award winner for the player who was part of the craziest football background joining the CFL goes to Ernest Jackson, who wins for being involved with something called the Southern Indoor Football League and then with the Ultimate Indoor Football League. I had no idea that either league ever existed and naturally neither league exists anymore. I have no idea what to do with my Ernest Jackson Erie Explosion or Chicago Slaughter game worn jerseys!
Jackson goes by many different nicknames but my favourite is “Slim Jim Jack.” Not only does that sound awesome but apparently its origin comes from when he used to dress up like Nino Brown, which was Wesley Snipes’ character from ‘New Jack City’. This piece of information has led to so many more questions for me.
The REDBLACKS’ roster is littered with players under 30; how does anyone on that team not named Henry Burris even remember a movie from 1991? Also, how do you go from “Nino Brown” to “Slim Jim Jack”? Dammit, this article was supposed to give you some insight about your favourite players, but I’m just left needing more information. At the very least, go check out Slim Jim Jack interview some of his teammates.
Well, I hope everyone gets what they want for Valentine’s Day, whether it be a pass protecting offensive lineman, a dozen roses or a 1,000-yard receiver who isn’t afraid to mix it up in the running game.
