Mayo still ‘limited,’ but nearing full return with Stampeders
Yes, Deron Mayo’s participation in Calgary Stampeders training camp is being described by his head coach as “limited.”
And yes, you get the feeling speaking with Mayo that he can’t wait to get back to full training.
But if the 29-year-old linebacker is frustrated, he’s doing his best not to show it, and besides, the frustration of not being able to go full-tilt on the first day of training camp is nothing compared to what he was feeling last November when a knee injury forced him to miss the Grey Cup.
“Absolutely, that was the hardest point in my career,” Mayo said Sunday from McMahon Stadium. “Sitting on the sidelines and watching the clock tick down (was hard), but the good thing about football is there’s always next year, and this is next year.”
It’s hard not to wonder how Mayo’s presence in last year’s Grey Cup game might have influenced the final outcome. He was the team’s defensive captain last season and was leading the Stampeders with 77 tackles before suffering a season-ending knee injury Oct. 15.
That injury made for a tough off-season, as Mayo rehabbed the knee and slowly but surely made progress toward recovery. He’s mostly there now, but he and the Stampeders staff are being careful not to rush it.
“It’s more non-contact right now,” Mayo said. “I do my strength training inside. I do individual drills, back drills, a little bit of speed training and reaction drills. Right now it’s really just a matter of getting more and more game playtype of plays in training, just taking it day by day right now.
“If I was sitting at a desk, I’d be good. I’d be full-on, but this isn’t that type of job, so I’ve got to make sure I’m in tip-top shape, gotta make sure I’m at least 95-100 per cent before I go out there and, most important, I gotta make sure I’m out there helping my team.”
STAYING LIMITED
The Stampeders fielded a relatively complete squad at the first day of training camp Sunday, although a couple linemen weren’t on the field with their teammates.
Canadian defensive linemen Quinn Smith and Junior Turner will start the season on the sixgame injury list, head coach Dave Dickenson said, while Shane Bergman wasn’t on the field either.
Dickenson said the team has five guys described as “limited” — including Jamar Wall and Mayo, — but the Stamps’ coaching staff expect them to be ready by Week 1.
“I’d like to say they’re going to be in soon, but we’re just going to let our doctors and them tell us how it’s going to go,” Dickenson said. “We have some nicks, but I don’t foresee it being too long on most of them, at least. It’ll be great to get all those guys out there.”
REINFORCEMENTS
The Stampeders brought in reinforcements Sunday, announcing during the morning training session that defensive back Patrick Levels and linebacker Jameer Thurman signed with the team.
A few hours later they added Antoine McLain, an offensive lineman out of Clemson who has been bouncing around the NFL since he first signed as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens in 2012.
Levels is a five-foot-11,195-pound DB out of Baylor who recorded 90 tackles over 51 games with the Bears and also returned six kickoffs for 127 yards last season.
Thurman, meanwhile, attended rookie camp last month with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and became Indiana State’s 11th all-time leader in tackles with 340 over four seasons.
The Stamps also released three international players Sunday, with receiver Darius Davis, o-lineman Nick Ritcher and linebacker D’Nerius Antoine all getting released.