PAIN IS PRUNEAU’S DAILY COMPANION
At 28, Ottawa’s versatile defensive back says he sometimes feels twice his age
The reality for Antoine Pruneau is that he hurts just a bit more every day. The pain never really seems to go away.
The Ottawa Redblacks defensive back says on some days he feels twice his age — the physicality of professional football is something that takes its toll on almost everyone out on the field over the course of a training camp, an 18-game season and a post-season — the whole thing can stretch from mid-May into late November.
Pruneau, now 28, is feeling it. He left Saturday’s 24-17 win over Montreal after landing on Alouettes running back Tyrell Sutton. Earlier in the game, Pruneau received a charley horse.
“I couldn’t make my cuts, I couldn’t run the same way,” Pruneau said. “Part of me wanted to stay on the field, but I have to do what’s best for the team. I had to let the next guy go in. I’ll play (this week).”
No question Pruneau is a warrior. Somehow he was back on the field for practice Monday as his team prepares for a Friday matchup with the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg.
In his fifth season in the CFL, he has missed just one game, in 2016, when the Redblacks sat out several starters in the final game of the regular season.
“I feel like I’m my regular age when we’re playing a game or when we’re practising,” Pruneau said. “But, when we’re not going full rep, I feel like I’m 50 … on our off days, I feel like I’m even more than that.
“I don’t even have to wait for the morning to feel it. If I sit on the bench five minutes after practice, it’s tough to get up. The body gets sore, but it’s part of the fun, I would say. Every year, you hurt something, whether it’s your neck, shoulder, ankles. You accumulate the injuries. It’s a grind. After a week, you pretty much feel this way so you’d better accept it. Every position has a different physicality to it. I wouldn’t want to play O -line. I’m happy where I’m at.”
It’d be tough to drag Pruneau off the field, no matter the injury.
“I tell young kids that I didn’t always play because I was the best player, but I was always available,” Pruneau said. “Availability is a huge asset in our league.”
Asked about the injury that bothered him most, he said: “My hip. I was supposed to get surgery after my third year of college. I didn’t want to do it because I was going to get drafted. I’ve beaten the odds.”
Over the years, Pruneau says he has toughened up.
“When I was younger, I stopped playing football a couple of times, I played basketball or soccer,” he said. “The (football) coach was a bit crazy. We had really, really physical practices. It made me stop a couple of times. When I’d come back, I would toughen up. It helped me become the man I am today. Every time I’d get hit, I’d lie down and wait for the trainer to come pick me up. I was weak. I thought when you got hit, something bad would happen. I was waiting to make sure I was good, that I wasn’t paralyzed. I learned that wasn’t the way of football.”
Pruneau’s versatility is one of the things that has endeared him to Redblacks coaches. He’s mostly played safety the past couple of years, but shifted to SAM linebacker (a position he’d been at earlier in his CFL career) to replace Anthony Cioffi against Montreal. He’s also a tremendous worker on special teams; two weeks ago in Toronto, he laid a huge hit on Martese Jackson, whose fumble was recovered by Cioffi in the end zone for an Ottawa touchdown.
“It’s something that, when I’m done playing, I’ll look back and say, ‘Man, you played your 10 years and you did (special teams) as well,’ ” Pruneau said. “It’s something when I coach or get involved with football, I’ll tell my players that I grinded on special teams. You have to focus on all the small details, win every part of the battle on those reps. There are guys that make their career out of that. It’s physical. Of course you get beat up doing it, it’s hard on your body.”
Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell said Pruneau was “one of those guys you want on your football team. He does it all, whether it’s covering kicks or playing defence. He’s just an old-school, hard-nosed football player, a talented guy, and we’re lucky to have him.”
Asked if any hits in his football career stood out, Pruneau said: “Grey Cup (2015) versus Edmonton. I went head-to-head with (Eskimos quarterback) Mike Reilly, I’m still feeling the pain from it. I hit him good. What hurt me most was how fast he got up after. Another one, Pascal Lochard (a Université Laval running back now with the Eskimos). I engaged one of his teammates on a punt; (Lochard) blindsided me. I remember being on the ground … it was in Laval, some of the fans were yelling my name, some of them were yelling 'F--- you’ to me. I tried to get up to face them, but I couldn’t get up. I remember taking an orange at halftime and I was couldn’t peel it. One of my teammates said, ‘Just take a banana, Pru.’ I started crying because I thought I was concussed.”
I tell young kids that I didn’t always play because I was the best player, but I was always available.