This Roughriders ironman is made of pure Steele
Defensive lineman also serves as sixth offensive lineman and special teamer
EDMONTON Practices are busy for Eddie Steele.
That’s because Steele is splitting his time between the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defence, offence and special teams.
The versatile Steele is part of the Riders’ three-man rotation at defensive tackle with Zack Evans and Mic’hael Brooks. Steele also spends a portion of practice working as the team’s sixth offensive lineman. If that wasn’t enough, Steele can be seen hustling on special teams where he’s a member of the kickoff return team.
“Life is busy, but it’s good,” Steele said in advance of Thursday’s game against the host Edmonton Eskimos. “There aren’t any complaints.”
Steele said there is more to playing multiple positions than being in shape.
“You have to stay mentally sharp because you have to know everything,” the 30-year-old said. “You have to know what the offence is doing and what the defence is doing. You have to be on top of your Ps and Qs and you just can’t show up and play football.”
Steele is foremost a defensive tackle. That has been his primary position since he was selected in the third round (22nd overall) by the Hamilton Tiger-cats in the 2010 CFL draft out of the University of Manitoba.
He spent three seasons with Hamilton before signing with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2013. Steele then signed with the Riders as a free agent in 2017.
It was with the Eskimos that Steele made his first start as an offensive lineman since high school. The Eskimos were battling injuries and Chris Jones, who was Edmonton’s head coach at the time, inserted Steele into the lineup as a guard for two games.
That experience has helped with Steele’s time on the Riders’ offensive line.
“It’s not like it’s foreign territory for me,” said Steele, who at 6-foot2 and 280 pounds is undersized for an offensive lineman. “I’ve started and I’ve won a game. That year in Edmonton, I would go with the ‘A’ group on defence and then ‘B’ group on offence and I was the centre so I’m used to going both ways.”
Steele will likely be a two-way player for a significant time based on Jones’ response when asked how long Steele will be an offensive lineman.
“Forever,” said Jones, the Riders’ head coach and general manager. “He gives us a lot of versatility and he’s one of the more dependable guys on the team. He knows every play offensively and every play defensively.
“He’s also a very valuable part of what we do because it allows us to play another coverage guy. We can play another guy who can cover punts, kicks and be on special teams.”
Steele noted there are significant differences playing on the offensive and defensive lines.
“On defence, you get to be aggressive and you play really fast,” Steele said. “On offence, it’s controlled aggression. You can’t go as fast as you are on defence because you have to have the proper footwork and proper body positioning. If I go after a defensive lineman like a defensive lineman would, I would get beat quickly by the guy.”
Steele only plays on the offensive line if there are injuries. That scenario took place July 19 in Hamilton when left guard Brendon Labatte injured a knee while blocking on a field-goal attempt. Dariusz Bladek switched to left guard and Steele took over at right guard until Labatte returned later in the first half.
“I graded out at 100 per cent against Hamilton so it can be done,” Steele said. “Coach Jones knows what he’s doing as far as putting the roster together and I trust that.”
Steele appreciates the uniqueness of a situation that finds him playing both ways at the professional level.
“I don’t need the recognition, but it never gets talked about,” Steele said.
“I’m literally the sixth offensive lineman and every other team in the league dresses an actual offensive lineman. I’m the sixth and I don’t even play the position. Still, it’s not about the recognition. It’s about the wins.”
The result of Thursday’s game was not available at press time. Details can be found on leaderpost.com.