Stamps’ Mitchell feeling well-armed
Off-seAson shoulder trAining, leAving soCiAl mediA hAs QB in ComfortABle plACe
The shoulder is fine, but don’t expect Bo Levi Mitchell to get back on Twitter soon.
Speaking on a conference call organized by the CFL, the Calgary Stampeders quarterback detailed an off-season in which he stepped away from the public eye and worked on strengthening the shoulder he injured last season.
The good news is Mitchell’s shoulder didn’t require surgery. Instead, he’s been working on strengthening the smaller muscles in the shoulder and has spent time with athletic therapist Jeff Peach to improve the throwing mechanics.
“I’m still going to throw the exact same,” Mitchell said. “It was about spending the proper amount of time during the off-season strengthening my shoulder and all the small muscles in my shoulder and not spending so much time on your bigger muscles like your abs, your biceps.
“It’s really just diving in and committing myself to the health of my shoulder and making sure it was strong.”
While the work Mitchell has done this off-season won’t prevent him from getting hurt if he takes a hit to the arm while he’s in the middle of his throwing motion — which is what happened last season — he does believe it will make him a strong, better quarterback.
That’s obviously good news for the Stampeders.
While the extent of Mitchell’s “off-year” last season was greatly exaggerated, he did fall slightly off the pace that landed him the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award in 2016. If he can get back to that world-beating level in 2018, the Stamps should find themselves competing for a spot in their third straight Grey Cup.
Just don’t expect to hear Mitchell talk about it on Twitter.
The Stamps star quit the social media platform suddenly this offseason, and he’s got no intention of returning.
“No, I do not,” Mitchell said when asked if he was thinking about logging into Twitter again. “Honestly, I just wanted to rein in the focus and make sure I was giving myself and my team everything I had. I’m already doing a radio show, so anything I need to talk about or say can be put out there.
“With the negativity and whatnot trending (on) social media these days, I thought it would be a good time to get off.”
UP TO HIM
After moving to the offensive line last season, Quinn Smith didn’t see a ton of game action.
If that’s going to change in 2018, Smith’s going to have to earn his playing time.
“We hope, Quinn certainly just hasn’t been able to show us what he can do and some of the reasons are his fault,” Dickenson said. “I’m looking for a guy that’s maturing and is going to take the bull by the horns and want to be a starter.
“It’s a big year for Quinn.”