QB Arndt got to act, meet Pacino before joining club
Arndt shared screen time with Pacino, now wants to run screens with Redblacks
Not long before Will Arndt got a call from the Ottawa Redblacks in September of last year, he had an acting role — playing Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin in the HBO movie Paterno, which was released in early April.
Oh, and Arndt met Al Pacino, the star of the movie which focuses on the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal at Penn State — where Joe Paterno was the longtime coach of the football team.
“They were in the New York City area, they knew about me, they asked me to come down for an audition and I won the role,” Arndt said. “I got to meet Al, which was cool — you think about movies like Scarface. It was fun, I can check it off the bucket list, but football’s my job.”
Ah, yes, football. It is Arndt’s focus, something he’s put a lot of work into — going as far as travelling more than 4,000 km to Fort McMurray, Alta., two years ago to play for the local team, the Monarchs, in the Alberta Football League. Arndt, now 24, arrived not long after wildfires swept through the community.
“I had to pick up my stuff and go across the country,” said Arndt. “I took a couple of bags, said goodbye to my family and girlfriend and flew across the country. It was all to pursue my football dream. I hope that speaks volumes (to my commitment).
“I went up there to get some experience with the (Canadian) game. The three downs, the waggle, the dimensions. it was all new to me. I was trying to make that transition seamless. It was a great experience for me — personally and in terms of my football development.”
When Arndt arrived in Ottawa last fall, he watched and learned.
“Me getting here was big — understanding what it takes to be a pro, picking on some of the things playbook wise,” said Arndt. “Coming in, we were in the middle of a playoff push — you sit in the back of the room and learn what you can. There’s not as much time to teach. At first, it’s fast. But coming out here now, things start to click and things will start to slow down.
“(Starting QB) Trevor (Harris) has been a great reference for me, I’ve learned a bunch from him. I’ve watched his film a ton in the offseason, trying to pick up things like footwork and concepts.”
Coming off a three-day minicamp last week, Arndt — along with the other quarterbacks, Harris, Dominique Davis and Danny Collins — will be back in Ottawa for training camp in less than three weeks. Arndt is anxious to get it going.
“My philosophy no matter what’s going on around me is study, learn, train — repeat that day after day trying to get better,” said Arndt. “The circumstances might be different, but my thought process doesn’t change. I’m just looking forward to coming back and competing. It’s been my goal all off-season to get up here. I’m all football, all the time. Any free time I get, I’m looking to get better.”
PRUNEAU GETS IT: Defensive back Antoine Pruneau has come a long way in his four years with the Redblacks. Selected fourth overall in the 2014 CFL Draft, the 28-yearold has become a leader.
“I’ve changed a lot,” he said. “I really feel like my experience is starting to pay off. It’s easier for me to understand new systems. There’s a new (defensive) co-ordinator (Noel Thorpe) now and it took me, I think, five minutes with him to understand where we’re going. It’s a privilege to have been here for so long.”
The French Mafia — Redblacks francophone players who spent lots of time together over the past few years — took a big hit with the departure of “Godfather” Patrick Lavoie, dealt to Montreal. QB Ryan Lindley, who was jokingly renamed Steve Vachon, is also gone.
Said Pruneau: “The Godfather, those are big shoes to fill, you don’t want to be the guy after Pat Lavoie. It’s sad for me, I share good memories with those guys — we won a Grey Cup together. Ryan Lindley lived at my house for half a year. We built friendships for life, that won’t change. I’m going to miss those guys, but I’m confident with the guys we have here that we’re going to have an exciting year.” READY, SET, ACTION: Redblacks QB Trevor Harris has changed his preparation. “There’s always research that goes into how you can prepare yourself mentally, physically, nutritionally and emotionally,” he said. “Things like sleep and hydration are so huge, yet they get pushed to the back burner — you end up getting five or six hours sleep. Those are the kinds of things I’ve honed in on, along with doing different types of brain training. Physically, I’ve prepared a lot differently with my training as well. I’ve done certain things with my mechanics. I get fired up every offseason because of the new challenge to try and better yourself. This season, it’s been no different. I feel like I’ve succeeded in that. It’ll be fun to see how it works out.”