Cornish doing his bit early in CFL season
Jon Cornish has a vested interested in the trials and tribulations of the Calgary Stampeders’ offensive line, so he’s watching the newfangled version with a keen eye.
“I’m very proud of everybody on the offensive line,” said the Stamps’ award- winning running back after a short practice on Wednesday.
“In fact, it can be said for everybody that plays for the Stampeders. We have a very much next- man- up mentality. Bo and I went down last year; we had people step up for us. Across the board, everybody has stepped up. And that’s what I look forward to seeing next week, we have a little new blood on this offensive line, I look forward to seeing what they’re capable of.”
Working in tandem with the hogs, the guys who create the sliver that could turn into a bona fide chasm, Cornish’s stake is self- evident.
Thus far in 2015, his numbers aren’t overwhelming — fourth in the league with 185 yards in three games, an average of 4.7 per carry and two touchdowns. But it’s his timely contributions, such as on the final textbook drive in Monday night’s win over Toronto, helping eat the clock with first- down runs and key catches that stood out.
“I thought Jon played lights out the other night,” praised head coach/ GM John Hufnagel. “He ran hard. He had the one mistake and put the ball on the ground, but I’m very pleased with Jon’s play.
“The one thing that we haven’t done is break a long one, but we are getting to the second level. They’re putting people around the box also, so it’s a bit tougher. The year is yet young; now we’ll have to make more adjustments on the offensive line, but I’m OK with our running game right now. Usually after we run the football on first down, it’s a manageable second down, and that’s important.”
“Overall, I wasn’t really cognizant of how many yards I had until the end of the game,” said Cornish, who finished with 56. “But off the bat, we had a few mistakes and that cost us a bit of run- game momentum. It’s one of those things you can keep improving on. We’re maybe one step away from having a run game where we want it to be.”
The 30- year- old — the defending three- time CFL rushing champ — would love to go for a long romp as well.
“Soon enough,” he promised. “I’ve definitely been relearning to be a football player. Last year, the year before, I had a lot of easy times running behind a slightly different offensive line. But you have to go with the guys you’ve got and I really look forward to playing with these guys.”
Hufnagel, not one to mince words, made the ultimate compliment to special teams man Adam Thibault after the Toronto game.
‘ Out of this world’ was how he described the second- year player out of Laval. And that got around fast.
“Honestly, Rob Maver texted me yesterday, sending me a picture of that tweet, and I was out with my girlfriend and I showed her the text,” said a grinning Thibault, who led the way Monday night with two special- teams tackles.
“It’s awesome. Not only it’s the head coach, but the general manager, but it’s John Hufnagel! He’s a big name. So I was glad to see that for sure, and now I have to keep up the good work and make sure he can say that every game.”