Drew Edwards previews the Tiger-Cats as they face the Blue Bombers with their post-season on the brink
WINNIPEG — When Willie Quinn was 12 years old, his house exploded.
It was 2007 and Quinn and three siblings were inside their Miami home when workers accidentally clipped a gas line. A spark blew the house to pieces. Everybody survived — Quinn’s sister jumped from a second storey window — but Willie suffered significant burns to his face and arms and doctors told him he’d never play football again.
“I had to go therapy every day, get a shot every morning, every night because my skin was burnt,” Quinn said this week.
“It was hard times, but I got through it.”
Friday, Willie Quinn will play in his first CFL game for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The accident was just one of many obstacles Quinn, now 27, has overcome in his journey to professional football. After the house was destroyed, his single-parent family lived hand-to-mouth for months, sleeping in the family car and relying on support from friends and neighbours.
One more thing: at five-foot-five and 152 pounds, Quinn will instantly become one of the smallest players in the CFL, someone that even the diminutive Brandon Banks can look down upon. His entire life, Quinn has been hearing he wasn’t big enough to play at the next level. But, like Banks, Quinn has impressive, almost improbable speed. During three seasons at Southern University and A&M College he returned 10 kicks for touchdowns, while adding 231 catches and 26 majors as a receiver. “To say that Willie Quinn is unique would be an understatement. But, wow, what a football player,” said GM Eric Tillman. “As a return guy he has rare, rare ability. First guy never touches him.”
With an injury to Demarr Aultman, Quinn will get his opportunity as Hamilton’s primary return man. He admits to being a little nervous before games.
“I’m trying to take my time, let it come to me,” Quinn said. “Everybody is already bigger than me, so it’s hard for me to sleep the night before. But I’ll be ready.”
Friday’s game is yet another in a series of must-win affairs for Hamilton, who are desperately trying to keep the playoffs hopes alive after a disastrous 0-8 start. They can still catch the Ottawa Redblacks, but last week’s devastating overtime loss to the Toronto Argonauts has heightened the degree of difficulty, while also leaving a lasting psychological impact.
“Losing like that takes a toll on you mentally, because it’s one of those things that you think you should have had,” quarterback Jeremiah Masoli said. “But we didn’t finish, and at the end of the day we need to learn from that.”
The Ticats traded away veteran running back C.J. Gable this week, so Alex Green, who was so impressive in the win over B.C. two weeks, will get the start. The Cats also shuffled their secondary, replacing the injured Demond Washington and benching veteran Emanuel Davis.
“We’re trying to develop players, and you want to see what they can do. We’re still putting a lot of the pieces together,” said defensive coordinator Phillip Lolley. “Davis is a veteran guy, he’s fine — he understands the way the game is. He’s in the same boat that a lot of the guys we have are in.”
The Bombers, meanwhile, are rolling. They are 10-3, have won five straight at home and three in row against the Ticats. Head coach Mike O’Shea said this is a carry-over from 2016 when they won 10 of their last 13 after starting 1-4.
The Cats are double-digit underdogs going in, and their playoff chances are considered to be slim, at best. But Quinn knows a little bit about how to deal with adversity and the power of belief.
“I think about the explosion a lot, because that could have been the day that I lost my life; my brothers and sisters could have lost theirs,” he said. “But everybody is doing well.
“Now we have to take advantage of the chances we have.”