BEHAR RAVEN ABOUT HIS TIME IN THE CAPITAL
Nate Behar was kind of a big deal in Ottawa before joining the Edmonton Eskimos.
The Eskimos receiver starred with the Carleton University Ravens and was selected fifth overall by Edmonton in the 2017 CFL draft.
On Saturday, Behar will return for the second time as a CFL player when the Eskimos travel to face the Ottawa Redblacks (2 p.m.) at TD Place.
“It’s always fun to get back to Ottawa. I spent so long there and came into my own there, especially as a football player,” Behar said following practice Thursday. “Just get to see the guys, get to see the people there, it’s always fun.”
A London, Ont., product, Behar, 23, was a highly touted prospect coming out of Carleton. He and the Eskimos, however, did not immediately see eye to eye on a contract and missed training camp and a portion of the 2017 season while the two sides hammered out a deal.
Behar was limited to 12 games during his rookie season, predominately playing special teams.
This season, Behar returns to Ottawa having caught 17 passes for 153 yards with a touchdown as a receiver.
“Hopefully, the reception is good,” Behar said. “Hopefully, there are not too many people booing. Hopefully, there are not too many U of Ottawa people yipping at me.
“Sadly the team (Carleton) is away on a road trip, so I won’t get to see the coaches, but I’ll get to see some of the guys, especially the guys who graduated with me. A lot of those guys are still in town. I’m going to have dinner with them the night before and I’ll get to hang out with them and I know some people that I used to work with are going to be there on a little section together, so that will be fun to see them.”
In his four years at Carleton, Behar caught 178 passes for 2,577 yards and 21 touchdowns in 30 games. His role with the Eskimos has been expanding this season and his versatility has become an asset on offence.
“The first year that he was here, he missed most of training camp and so when he came in, he was just kind of a special-teams guy who really wasn’t asked to do much offensively,” said Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly. “He really needed to learn the offence and kind of get his feet wet. But over the course of this past off-season, training camp, mini-camp in Vegas, all those types of things, he’s really shown what he’s capable of.
“We always knew he was extremely smart, he picked the playbook up really quick, but he’s a guy that’s been really dependable for us because he can play all the positions and he’s not a weak link when he’s out there doing it.”
Behar has become an important part of the Eskimos’ Canadian content. He’s proving homegrown players are capable of playing pivotal roles in skill positions.
“Nate’s done everything we’ve asked him to do,” said Eskimos head coach Jason Maas. “He’s been a starter, he’s been a backup, he’s played special teams, he’s done a little bit of everything for us. He’s probably the only receiver on our team that can play every position and not let us miss a beat.
“We don’t even think about it when someone goes down and he goes in. That’s one of Nate’s biggest strengths and one of the biggest qualities that we love about him. He’s done his part this year and he’s only going to get better.”
Despite moving on to the professional game, Behar still keeps track of how things are going in Canadian university football. He and a number of other Canadian university graduates have been predicting outcomes for the CFL and U Sports websites.
“Carlos (Verde) is a writer for CFL. He sent a message to me and asked me if I was interested in it,” Behar said. “I told him of course. It was good fun. It’s a little tougher than I thought. The parity is coming back in a lot of those leagues, so it can be tough to pick out East and out West, I don’t know the teams as well. I better go 100 per cent in Ontario, that’s for sure, but it’s been fun, though.”
The role of prognosticator doesn’t come without its share of work. Behar now has to spend time getting up to speed with the different Canadian university rosters to make informed selections.
“Yeah, a little bit,” he said. “I’ve been looking up stats to see who I think is good at running the ball and what team can’t stop the run and things like that. It’s been a lot of fun.”