BEING A PRO IS OLD HAT TO GRANT ON FIELD AND IN DRESSING ROOM
This Mesozoic media carnivore dealt with a cap issue that did not relate to the CFL’s Salary Management System.
Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Bakari Grant prefaced an interview by lightheartedly taking issue with my choice of headgear — a stylish red, white and blue Montreal Expos baseball cap.
Opposition colours, I was informed. Baseball, I countered.
The sport was irrelevant, Grant cordially responded. Opposition colours. Green cap preferred.
I dropped my hat at, er, the drop of a hat, whereupon I asked Grant if that was a palatable resolution to the cap crisis.
He smiled. No worries.
Well, there was one problem. I had forgotten the line of questioning. Oh yeah. Football ...
Grant has started the 2017 CFL season as impressively as he opened the interview — leaving an excellent first impression with Roughriders fans and media types alike.
The 30-year-old slotback has registered one touchdown catch in each of his first three games with the 1-2 Roughriders. Yet, he strives for more.
“When you ask any player whether they’re pleased, I’d be pleased if we were 3-and-0,” Grant said. “I’d be pleased if I had 600 yards right now. When you come out and do your job, you expect good things to happen. That’s all it has been.”
Grant downplays personal success, but he has clearly been an inspired free-agent addition by the Roughriders. In addition to being proficient in the red zone, he has become a presence in the team’s state-of-the-art lockerroom. He is, in short, a pro.
“It’s absolutely how I conduct business,” the seventh-year CFLer said. “But in my mind, and from my perspective being in this league, whenever you see someone hang around this league (it’s a positive sign).
“You hear the same thing about (quarterback) Kevin Glenn. He has bounced around so much. Well, how has he stayed in this league so long? Because he works. He comes to work. He knows his stuff and he’s a worker.
“It’s the same way with a lot of guys who stick around, like Rob Bagg. I’ve had respect for Rob, not even playing here, just from the words I hear around the league and the way I see him play. We are pros, so you should conduct yourself like a pro.”
Grant has done precisely that, according to Roughriders head coach/GM Chris Jones — who was asked what the 30-year-old receiver brings to the team.
“Toughness. Leadership,” Jones began. “He comes to work every day. He doesn’t look for shortcuts. He takes coaching. He’s a very well-rounded player. He’s exactly what we thought he would be when we signed him. Quite honestly, he’s better.” How so?
“You watch from afar and you don’t know what they bring outside of just seeing what they bring on the football field,” Jones continued. “I think in the lockerroom and in the meeting rooms is where he brings a lot as well.”
Grant’s personality is also noted during interviews. For example, he was jokingly asked in which quarter he plans to score a touchdown Saturday against the host Calgary Stampeders.
“You want me to be Muhammad Ali, predicting quarters?” Grant said, smiling once again. “I’ll tell you to ask two people — ask K.G. and ask (offensive co-ordinator Stephen) McAdoo. They’ll tell you.”
And that is a wrap. On goes the cap.