Fred Chartrand/CFL.ca
OTTAWA — Ja’Gared Davis may only be in his second CFL season, but the Calgary Stampeders defensive end is already well on his way to cementing his own personal legacy as a dominant player on the D-line.
For the 27-year-old native of Crockett, Texas — pop: just shy of 7,000, location: roughly halfway between Houston and Dallas — a win on Sunday in the nation’s capital would be a lifetime personal achievement.
“It’d mean a lot (and) be something I could say to my daughter, to my future kids, (and) something I could take back to my hometown of Crockett, Texas,” said Davis following practice at the University of Ottawa on Friday afternoon. “Show them that anything is possible, as long as you put in all the blood, sweat and tears (to) overcome adversity — that it’s worth it.”
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Davis had a pair of multi-sack games this season working opposite veteran Charleston Hughes on the D-line. (The Canadian Press photo)
The 6-foot-1, 238-pound end was good for nearly a sack-per-game during the regular season, and has recovered from two significant injuries to be healthy and pose a legitimate threat to Toronto entering Sunday’s big game.
“I finally started to get in the groove, so to speak,” said Davis of his strong second half of the season. “Usually guys get in their groove by their fourth or fifth game, but I missed six — by the time I started getting in the groove it was (later in the year).”
The trench battle between Calgary’s physical defensive line and Toronto’s run game — featuring towering CFL rookie of the year James Wilder Jr. — will be an entertaining one come Sunday.
“With Wilder the proof is in the pudding — he’s the rookie of the year, he’s a hard runner and special (player),” said Davis. “First and foremost, we’ve got to be physical up front. Come out and set the tone, let them know (running) is not going to be an easy task. We’ve got to be assignment sound, come out and play our type of football.”
