Dubois catching on with Redblacks
As a receiver with the EDMONTON Laval Rouge et Or, Marco Dubois was always an afterthought. With a talented group of pass catchers ahead of him, the 6-4 Dubois didn’t complain about a lack of playing time on offence and made huge contributions elsewhere — he was a ferocious special-teams player. That caught the eye of the Ottawa Redblacks, who selected him in the second round of this year’s CFL draft. The 23-year-old Dubois, who caught just one pass at Laval last season and hadn’t scored a touchdown in five years, came up with an 11-yard touchdown catch in last Sunday’s East Division final win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. “At Laval, I was kind of angry (about not being used much in the offence), I’m not going to lie,” he said. “That’s why I think I had the success on special teams. I had other opportunities to touch the field and wear the red and gold, which was special to me. I’m a team guy; they gave me a role. I loved doing what I did. I always gave it 100 per cent.” That attitude, plus the fact that he turned heads at the CFL Combine this year with a 4.56-second 40-yard dash time and a strong effort in one-on-one drills, impressed the Redblacks. “They look for character,” Dubois said. “If you think about it last year, I wasn’t even dressed against (the University of) Montreal. I didn’t cuss anybody out, I went back to practice and worked hard, and dressed for the rest of the year. I know a lot of people that would have been really angry not dressing in their senior year in a big game against Montreal at Montreal. I didn’t.” The Redblacks have been teaching him how to play tight end. He likes the position and the expectations that come with it. “To be a blocking receiver, I have no problem with that,” he said. “Making big blocks when Willy P (William Powell) has the ball, that’s just as good as catching the ball. I love that role.” Redblacks quarterback Trevor Harris made sure Dubois got the touchdown ball. “The fact he knew it was my first touchdown and he wanted to grab the ball for me, it says a lot about his leadership and how great of a person he is,” Dubois said. And what if the Redblacks were to beat the Calgary Stampeders and win the Grey Cup on Sunday? “It would be an exclamation mark on a crazy year for me — being drafted, being taught a new position. I’m thankful and I’ve never had this much fun playing football.”