Chance for Wilder to showcase his wares

Argos RB gets the start vs. Redblacks

James Wilder Jr. is used to carrying the ball early and often.

He rushed for over 1,000 yards over his three seasons at Florida State and reached that mark in a single high school season in Tampa, Fla. He had 110 carries in his sophomore season alone with the Seminoles, but only 14 through his first four with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts, including just one in the team’s most recent game, a July 13 loss to Winnipeg.

It has been an adjustment for Wilder.

“Oh yeah, for sure,” he said after Sunday’s walk-through ahead of Monday’s home clash with the Ottawa Redblacks.

“You don’t get as many carries, it’s more of a passing league than a running league, so it’s a little harder to get that rhythm. So you have to take advantage of every carry you get, but you also have to stay disciplined, to not try to do too much on those limited carries.”

His carries might not be quite as limited against Ottawa since the visitors will be playing for the third time in 10 days, which should lead to fatigue.

At 6-foot-3 and 226 pounds, Wilder has the size to punish them. He also won’t be splitting time with veteran Brandon Whitaker (who has 22 carries for 66 yards this season compared to 14 carries and 66 yards for Wilder), who is inactive. No team has rushed for fewer than Toronto’s 151 yards so far this season. All but two have rushed for at least twice as many yards with Montreal leading the way with 502 (in an extra game).

If he is asked to return to his running roots, Wilder will happily oblige.

“They are going to be banged up when you play those games back to back to back like that. That’s up to the coaching staff. If they feel we need to run, I for sure will be ready,” he said.

Head coach Marc Trestman was understandably not giving much of his game plan away on the eve of the clash.

“James is new to the league, he’s certainly shown us flashes, his No. 1 job is to make sure Ricky (Ray) is protected,” Trestman said, adding that Wilder has been making steady progress as he gets used to the CFL game.

The 25-year-old said part of the adjustment has been slimming down, at least a little bit.

“I had to drop down to 226 (pounds). I play special teams here as well, it’s only three downs, so it’s a fast turnaround so you have to be a lot more conditioned,” he said.

“Coming from 234, that’s a big difference, I can feel it and I feel a lot better.”

And if he gets a chance to run through the Redblacks, he’ll be feeling even better.