Stamps’ Brescacin aims to become ‘go-to’ guy
Second-year receiver shows well in exhibition game against Esks
The Calgary Stampeders have always been high on Juwan Brescacin. That’s why they selected him 15th over-all in the 2016 CFL draft.
And now with a year under his belt, that promise becomes tangible as in ‘show us what you can do.’
“It’s always a great thing to have the coaches on your side, but regardless, I’ve always had high expectations for myself,” said the Mississauga-born receiver. “But I’m glad they see what I see in myself because then the sky is the limit from here on. As long as I keep improving and playing with confidence, I don’t see why I can’t contribute to this team.”
Brescacin was one of the bright lights in Sunday’s second and final pre-season outing in Edmonton, a 36-35 Calgary win. The 24-yearold was the busiest pass-catcher, snaring four balls for 82 yards.
“Even before the game, (guest coach) Jabari (Arthur) asked me who I thought would have a good game and I said ‘I think Bresc is going to be primed for a good game, him and KJ (Kamar Jorden),” related receivers’ coach Pete Costanza. “I thought they would have some looks and they did. Juwan had a solid game for us.”
After a rookie campaign which had him appearing in nine games, including the West Final and Grey Cup, Brescacin spent the off-season doing what he could to make sure his sophomore season would see continued improvement. For that, he also relied on his friends.
“I focused on leaning out my body,” the 6-foot-3, 231-pounder explained. “I dropped about 10 pounds, which I thought would help me move better and play longer. I focused on running and making sure my cardio was up coming into camp. Also just taking little pieces of advice from guys who aren’t even on my team that I train with in the off-season, like Chad Owens and Shamawd Chambers, those guys really helped me to slow down the game. That was the big thing for me last year. Every time I went into a game, my head was spinning because there was so much stuff going on. Now I can go out on the field and react to what’s going on, play by play.
“A lot of the things I learned from last year I learned from Bakari Grant,” Brescacin said. “He’s not here (now) but he was like a bigger brother to me. Then there’s Marquay (McDaniel), he’s one of the best receivers in the league in my opinion. He’s really fundamental. He’s probably one of the smartest football players I’ve been around. Anthony Parker is always there to help, because he knows every position on the field. KJ, we play some of the same spots, Lemar (Durant) ... even the guys that came in with me, DaVaris Daniels and Jamal Nixon, we’re always communicating, always letting each other know what we can do to be better.
“It’s a group effort. Guys are always willing to help, even though we’re battling for spots. No one wants to see anyone fail.”
Given the Stamps’ wealth of talent at the Canadian receiver spot, it’s the small things that will separate a player from a watcher, something that Brescacin tried to
It’s a group effort ... No one wants to see anyone fail.
get a jump on.
“Last year, Juwan was like every other rookie. You’re out there swimming, trying to figure it out so you can know your assignments,” said Costanza. “Got better as the year went on, playing faster. This year, in better shape, down some pounds and more confident with the system, I think you see him taking that big step like most second-year guys do so the other night wasn’t a surprise for me.
“The funny thing, Christmas Eve, Juwan and I were talking on the phone and he just wanted to start studying already. He was one of the first guys to reach out and say, ‘hey I need some film, I want to get some cut-ups on some guys.’ He wanted film on the other receivers so that he could watch and study. He’s taking what we’ve asked him to do and applying it to the field more as a seasoned pro rather than a rookie.”