The Canadian Press
Geno Lewis can really make spectacular catches look easy. Maybe easy isn’t the right way to put it. Run-of-the-mill, maybe.
He makes it sound easy, though, when asked to explain his well-established talents in turning almost certain incompletions into “how?” moments.
“It’s just about going out there and making the quarterback right even when it’s not perfect,” says Lewis, on the phone from Hamilton, where some of the CFL’s brightest stars were gathering for some promotional duties, one of them being lots of interviews.
It’s a message that Lewis has for his new team, the Edmonton Elks, and for their presumptive starting quarterback, Taylor Cornelius. It’s one he repeats throughout the interview, even when he’s being asked about his own personal goals and possibilities.
“I’m just excited to go out there and help him and just let him know that he doesn’t have to be perfect on every throw,” says Lewis.
“Just put it in the area and we’ll go make a play.”
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In one of the biggest moves of free agency, the Elks snagged last year’s East Division Most Outstanding Player, bringing Lewis over from Montreal, where he’d spent five seasons collecting 276 regular season receptions, often defying pass-catching logic and sometimes gravity itself on the way to 4,347 yards as an Alouette. And that, really, was a four season total. Lewis played just two games in his rookie year, catching seven balls for 120 yards.
The Elks are getting a wizard in their midst. Just Google his name and click on ‘videos’ if you need a reminder. Last season, the 29-year-old caught 91 passes for 1,309 yards and 10 touchdowns, including two ridiculous grabs against the Toronto Argonauts during a last-minute drive that helped the Als tie the game in Week 20.
Will the magic transfer to a new city, to a new team and to a new quarterback? Lewis thinks so. He says he was impressed with the strides Cornelius made last fall as a dismal 4-14 season played out for the Elks.
“I saw the potential that he hit when they really started to figure it out towards the end of the year,” says Lewis, impressed with Cornelius’ arm strength, for one thing. “You could see him back there making all the throws that he needed to make and actually getting out of the pocket, too, and running to gain some really, really good yards.
“Honestly,” he reasons, “you’ve got to work on some things to get in sync with quarterbacks, as a receiver. That’s that’s just part of the game.”
His tone suggests there is a ‘but’ coming and there is. He doesn’t think it’ll take much to get on the rails with Cornelius — or anybody else for that matter — and that he’s proven that kind of thing before.
“When I was playing in Montreal I had so many quarterbacks that it wasn’t about who was back there,” Lewis says, “it was just about me helping that person, helping that quarterback. It’s just all about helping each other each and every day. And that’s what we’re going to do.”
The Elks had thoughts of Lewis in Green and Gold dancing in their heads long before free agency opened on Feb. 14. Cornelius had said that general manager and head coach Chris Jones told him they’d try to land Lewis, way back when the Elks were conducting exit interviews last November. “We heard nothing but good things about him,” Cornelius told me after Lewis’ signing. “And then the on the field stuff just speaks for itself. I mean, it’s unbelievable what he can do.”
“They showed their interest very, very fast,” confirms Lewis, thinking back to free agency. “And they didn’t really play around with it. Just talking with the coaches and getting a relationship with them guys, I got comfortable.
“They told me some of the plans they have for me, you know, to make me a big part of Edmonton. Personally, I just want to help the organization get back to what it was, being an historic organization, as we all know. That’s just something that I want to be a part of.”
Lewis won’t be the only new receiver that Cornelius can look forward to having around in 2023. The Elks also went out and signed ex-Ticat Steven Dunbar Jr. and ex-Roughrider Kyran Moore. With last season’s breakout star Dillon Mitchell and veteran Manny Arceneaux returning, Edmonton’s receiving corps looks very, very good. Lewis is grateful for that.
“If anybody knows, I know,” he says, reiterating that he is not looking to be a one-man band. “Having other great receivers around you helps you so much. We want (opponents) to have to worry about everybody and not just one person.
“We’re just really excited to have this group, man, and put it all to the test. ‘Cause we’re all going to help each other. All of us are gonna want each of us to do well.”
“I’m getting excited for training camp coming up, man. Just ready to start competing.”
And making a new crop of quarterbacks look perfect, even when they aren’t.
