The visitor’s locker room at Percival Molson Stadium is a cramped, dank space with narrow passageways and tight spaces that seem better suited for a badminton team than the 50 or so large men who make up a professional football team.
Then again, not a soul associated with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was complaining after Friday’s 56-10 mauling of the Montreal Alouettes for their first win of 2018. It was a complete and thorough thrashing in which everyone who pulled on a jersey played a role.
And in a room full of laughter and life where the defensive side posed for an awesome photo, it could be argued no one was enjoying the moment more than Maurice Leggett.
We're just out here having fun! #sqaud #darkside pic.twitter.com/V7Su6QVvNh
— Adam Bighill (@Bighill44) June 23, 2018
“It’s a great feeling. It’s a great feeling being out there,” began Leggett. “It felt like I was a little rusty at the beginning, but in due time, it just started to flow.”
Just to briefly recap, Friday night was Leggett’s 2018 debut after he didn’t dress in the season-opening loss. He suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in a win over B.C. last October 14th and while his recovery was swift – he was dunking a basketball in January – both Leggett and the team didn’t want to rush their playmaker back on the field until he was more than ripe.
His numbers from Friday night – he returned two kickoffs for 28 yards and had one tackle on special teams and one on defence – are really the side story. What is remarkable is that the 31-year-old – even with all the medical advancements to help with an Achilles injury – is back on the field contributing. That, coupled with his work ethic and drive, is what made stepping onto the field in Montreal, and then back into that cramped space afterward, so special.
And all of that is not lost on Leggett.
“It’s always a long road,” he said. “The best part about it is I had time in the offseason to do it, all training camp, to get back into form. We did a good job of keeping it bottled in and fresh.”
It would be overly dramatic to suggest Leggett simply willed himself to get back on the field this offseason, but his internal drive played a massive role in his return.
Asked Friday what was driving him when he was working out on a frigid January morning in Winnipeg, Leggett offered this:
“The biggest thing was my family, my household: Christin (his fiancée), Malik (his son) and my daughter Malia… they drive me each and every day,” said Leggett. “If I slack off, then they’re worse than you guys (the media). They will get on me.”
“On top of that, people were saying I couldn’t come back in a certain amount of time and I’m that person who wants to be the first to do it. I want to be the ‘prove-you-wrong’ guy. So, everything that’s not possible, I think it’s possible when I’m doing it.”
Leggett didn’t have to wait long to get back into the groove – the opening kickoff landed in his hands and he returned it 17 yards, but a penalty pushed the Bombers back to their own 10-yard line.
“I was upset I didn’t score,” said Leggett with a grin. “I know historically it’s been very tough to return one on Montreal and I felt like I was going to be the first one.
“I’m pretty sure I got some text messages about that second one that I got cleaned out on (he was rocked by William Stanback), but it’s all right. After that, the anxiety settled and I just kept playing. It felt good.”
For more of Ed Tait’s analysis on the Bombers big win in Montreal, read here.
