Speedy Sweeney needs a home
Isaiah Sweeney may have found a home in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Eskimos, but he doesn’t have a place to call his own.
“The only place that I know is my hotel and the practice facility. I’m still looking for a place to stay, so right now, I’m just kind of homeless,” said Sweeney. “Once I find a place to lay my head, I can finally say I have a home to go to, somewhere to go and go to sleep. Until then, I’m just living dayby-day.”
Living out of a suitcase shouldn’t be in the cards much longer for the speedy receiver, who arrived late to training camp after attending the NCAA track and field championships with the University of Houston. He is expected to be a key addition to Edmonton’s receiving core.
“By design, we wanted to go deep with Sweeney in both pre-season games, so that our opposition has an opportunity to see his speed and now the safeties that we face will probably play honest coverage,” said head coach Kavis Reed. “We have to utilize what God has given him and that’s absolutely blazing speed.”
If his pre-season performances are any indication, the CFL rookie with a personalbest time of 10.35 seconds in the 100 meters is more than just a flash down the sidelines.
With a pair of long-distance touchdowns in the pre-season — first a 77-yarder from starter Mike Reilly against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and then a 69-yard pass-and-run play with backup Jonathan Crompton this past weekend against the B.C. Lions — it looks like Sweeney might have the ability to be Edmonton’s go-to guy for a lightning-quick score.
“I think me scoring back-toback (weeks) kind of sealed the deal for me and, now, I’ve just got to continue to showcase my talents,” said Sweeney. “They’re expecting me to be a deep threat and a guy with a lot of speed and contribute to the team.”
Sweeney is looking forward to wreaking more havoc.
“It feels great to have quarterbacks that throw the bomb pretty deep, so I’m excited for that,” he said.
NOTES: Veteran receiver Fred Stamps continues to nurse an undisclosed injury. Stamps hasn’t practised since June 16 and didn’t play in either preseason game ... Quarterback Matt Nichols, slotback Adarius Bowman and offensive lineman Orrin Thompson have been placed on the nine-game injured list.