O’Leary: Injuries behind him, Konar finds footing in Esks defence

The buzz was there, flying around Adam Konar the same way that the impressive young linebacker flew around the field through his time with the University of Calgary Dinos.

Had the injury bug stayed out of his way, you’d probably know more about him by now. Konar’s star was one that was destined to rise. His Dinos’ coach, Blake Nill, called all of this — a 59-tackle, two-interception season early in his career — before Konar even had a team in the CFL.

“I described Adam to most scouts this year as the next Sam Hurl in the CFL,” Nill told TSN in March, 2015. “What makes him so attractive is the speed in which he plays at. Adam does not hesitate. He will make a quick read and move at full speed. He has all the physical tools to be a CFL linebacker right now. Adam will be able to play on all special teams and will eventually play on the defensive side of the ball once he transitions to the pro level.”

There’s a different Edmonton Eskimos regime in charge than the one that took Konar in the third-round of that 2015 draft, but the present-day group is just as high on him.

“When he is healthy he can be one of the best linebackers we have; Canadian or American,“ Esks’ linebacker coach Demetrius Maxie told CFL.ca’s Davis Sanchez. “The kid is tough as nails. He’ll run through a wall for you.”

Konar started to show that from the second he stepped on to a CFL field. He was all over the field and laid a couple of huge hits on the Saskatchewan Roughriders in his first pre-season game, but dealt with injuries much of his rookie year. He started the 2016 season on the six-game injured list and got back on it in Week 12. Playing 12 games at the Will linebacker spot this year, Konar finally got the consistent game time he needed and came up with the stats to show for it.

“It’s been awesome, it’s been a great opportunity,” Konar said. “(This season) allowed me to fill in and have to go to that will position, it’s been an awesome year. I’ve just been trying to keep on steadily improving every single week.

“I feel like I’ve been going in the right direction but I don’t want to slow down on that. I just want to keep trending upwards.”

Konar makes a tackle on a Blue Bombers earlier this season (The Canadian Press)

He’s trended all the way into the upper echelon of the Edmonton defence and he’ll be part of a group on Sunday that has a gargantuan task in front of it. If the Esks want to get to the Western Final in Calgary, they’ll have to remove a longtime thorn from their side, in Andrew Harris.

In sweeping the two-game season series against Edmonton, Harris has run for 159 yards and has 201 receiving yards.

“We just have to key on him, really. We know he’s a huge part of their offence. I mean, he’s the focal point,” Konar said. “(The linebackers) really have to all be focused on that this week and be able to play off of that.”

As the will linebacker, Konar will cross paths with Harris all afternoon long, hoping first for a stop and second to make a play that could impact the game.

“He’s an athlete but his best attribute may be his instincts,” Maxie said.

Harris remains one of the Esks’ biggest and toughest foes but Konar thinks they’re crossing paths at the perfect time.

“The team’s definitely peaking,” he said. “We feel like we’ve been on a roll the last few weeks to finish the season, which is always good going into the payoffs. It’s good to have that momentum. We just want to keep using that to help carry us over this game.”