WOUNDED WARRIORS
Stamps regroup for rematch
Reggie Begelton has patiently waited for his opportunity.
But this isn’t how he wanted to get it.
With Kamar Jorden injuring his knee in Monday’s Labour Day Classic, Begelton looks like the next man up in the Calgary Stampeders receiving corps.
After spending the better part of a season and a half bouncing in and out of the Stampeders lineup on game days, the injuries to Jorden and Eric Rogers will almost certainly give the 25-year-old an opportunity to get a sustained run in the starting lineup.
He’d rather have gotten his chance under almost any other circumstances.
“It’s very unfortunate — this is not how I wanted to get the job,” Begelton said Wednesday at McMahon Stadium.
“It’s one of those things — it’s part of the game, and unfortunately, (Jorden’s injury) happened. One thing is I’ll keep him in my prayers.”
Begelton isn’t exactly a new face for Stampeders fans. It’s just been a little while since he was part of the team that took the field on a game day.
As a rookie last season, Begelton appeared in nine games, catching 22 passes for 304 yards and one touchdown.
Before Rogers got hurt this year, Begelton was also getting regularly included on the active roster and had 13 catches for 185 yards in four games.
When Rogers got injured, though, the Stamps shifted to playing two Canadian receivers and three Americans — they had four internationals in the starting lineup previously — and Begelton was relegated to the sidelines.
That couldn’t have been easy for a guy who had big expectations coming into 2018, but Begelton did his best to keep his head up and keep working.
“I came out here every day and found, like, key points I needed to critique in my game,” Begelton said. “I took advantage of going out against the No. 1 defence on scout team and tried to perfect my game. I came out here with a chip on my shoulder to try to help myself and the team.”
Begelton’s attitude and work ethic have caught the eye of his teammates, and while the absences of Jorden and Rogers are going to be keenly felt, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell said he has no concerns about there being a major drop-off with Begelton on the field.
“Whoever we end up going with, we have complete confidence in,” Mitchell said. “Reggie’s a guy who’s been sitting there waiting. He’s been waiting patiently and has been scoutteam player of the week a couple times.
“The guy’s a baller — he’s a starter on any other team.”
People around McMahon Stadium have felt that way for a while. The fact that Begelton couldn’t crack the starting lineup for the past two months was more of a reflection on the depth in front of him and the Stamps ratio decisions more than anything else.
When the Americans in front of you on the depth chart are Jorden, who is second in the league in receiving yards, DaVaris Daniels, the 2016 CFL Most Outstanding Rookie, and Marken Michel, the West Division’s nominee for the same award last year, it’s going to be tough to bump any of them out of the starting lineup.
The circumstances are unfortunate, but now, Begelton’s got the chance to prove he belongs.
“Oh yeah, when the opportunity arises, you take advantage of it,” Begelton said. “That’s what I plan on doing.”
Reggie’s a guy who’s been sitting there waiting. He’s been waiting patiently and has been scout-team player of the week a couple times.