Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Elks ‘want to be in the last game of the year’
CFL.ca
EDMONTON — Kurleigh Gittens Jr. is ready to build in 2025 with the Edmonton Elks after having a career year with the Double E in 2024.
The Canadian wideout led the team with 85 receptions, good for fifth in the CFL, while setting a new career high. Gittens Jr. will once again link up with quarterback Tre Ford and continue to build their chemistry as the Elks push for a spot in the playoffs.
With a new general manager and vice president of football operations in Ed Hervey, and a new head coach in Mark Kilam, the Green and Gold are assembling the tools of a winning roster.
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Gittens Jr., a former East Division Most Outstanding Canadian, wants to be at the forefront of that, not just with receptions or touchdowns, but doing all he can for his team consistently outside of the statistics.
“The individual goal is just to be as consistent as I can, week in, week out – just trying to be as consistent as I can be. That comes within practice, making sure I know the playbook, especially with this new coaching staff we have, just being as consistent I can,” said Gittens Jr.
“I’m a big believer in worrying about myself and what I can control, and that’s the body of work that I put in, and everything else, the numbers and all that stuff will just kind of come. I don’t really set specific numbers or thresholds, my goal setting, my standard is myself, being as consistent as I can be, it’s consistency on a day-to-day basis, a week-to-week basis.”
The Elks finished 2024 with a 7-11 record, but have made off-season moves to ensure their focus moving forward is being a playoff team. On top of already having Gittens Jr., the Elks signed a pair of receivers in Kaion Julien-Grant and Steven Dunbar Jr. who make the receiving corps even more elite.
Kurleigh Gittens Jr. caught 85 passes for 847 yards and five touchdowns in his first season with the Elks (CFL.ca)
Defensive back Tyrell Ford re-joins his brother Tre Ford for the first time since they played together back in their college days, and All-CFL defensive lineman Jake Ceresna is joined by Robbie Smith, Royce Metchie and Jared Brinkman on the defensive side of the ball in Edmonton.
Add in a pair of 100-tackle linebackers in Nyles Morgan and 2024 Most Outstanding Rookie Nick Anderson, as well as a solid backup under centre in 110th Grey Cup Most Valuable Player Cody Fajardo, and the Elks are putting together a lineup that knows that it is destined for greatness.
“All that, the numbers, the catches and the touchdowns, all that stuff will come as a team … being better than we were the year before, that’s obviously the team’s goal. We want to be in the last game of the year,” said Gittens Jr..
“Every team wants that. Controlling what we can can control, which is the work we put in, the body of work we put in – we put in enough work and the season will go the way we envision it to go. That’s having a winning record and going from there.”
