CATALINA CAN GRIP IT AND RIP IT AFTER FOOTBALL
Offensive lineman still loving gridiron life but career as long drive golfer could follow
As much as Tyler Catalina figures he still has plenty of football miles left on his big body, he can hammer a golf ball as far as almost anybody on the planet.
When the Ottawa Redblacks offensive lineman — he'll line up at left tackle on Saturday night against the B.C. Lions — grips it and rips it with a golf club that has a 50-inch Penley shaft, well, he's hit it as far as 425 yards.
But first, let's backtrack. The 6-foot-5, 330-pounder — who split his college football time between Rhode Island and Georgia — signed an NFL deal with the Washington Football Team in 2017, debuting against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8. He was with the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers in 2019 and signed a deal to come to Canada with the Redblacks in 2020.
When the CFL season was cancelled, he got his release in case there was NFL interest. In the middle of a COVID outbreak, the Baltimore Ravens called his agent the week before the U.S. Thanksgiving, but nothing came of it. And now he's back.
“It's been a roller-coaster ride,” said Catalina. “I had an injury and I was let go (in the NFL). It was tough because I knew I had a lot left in me. I'm still young. Then COVID hit. I wasn't allowed to work out with any teams, we couldn't come up (to Canada) because the season was cancelled, so I had to adapt, improvise and overcome, like Coach LaPo (Paul LaPolice) always says. I bought a bunch of gym equipment and put it in my basement so I have my own gym. I felt the way I felt when I was a young kid looking to make it to the NFL. I knew I had juice left in my body. So just getting the opportunity to come up here and play for this organization, it means the world to me.”
Though he grew up in Worcester, not far from Boston, Catalina wasn't a New England Patriots fan. His team was the Denver Broncos.
“Once you go to the NFL, it's not a fan club anymore, it becomes a job,” said Catalina. “So you have to put that stuff behind you. I got the opportunity to play against Denver a couple of times my rookie year and we played them in the pre-season the next year, so it was cool to be on the same field as guys like Von Miller, players I idolized.”
Catalina, now 28, learned how to play golf in his early teens with his dad Tony, a 3- or 4-handicap. And how did he find out he could hit the ball so far? He was playing in a four-ball charity scramble at River Creek Club in Virginia. The 2019 world long drive champion Kyle Berkshire was on the fourth tee. If you bought a $20 ticket for charity, he would hit a ball and you could use it.
With the TrackMan set up, Berkshire smoked a drive 360 yards. Catalina got up, took a mighty swing and topped it.
We'll let Catalina take over the story from there.
“I was trying to swing out of my arse because I knew who he was. (Berkshire) says to me, `Hold on, hit another one.' So I swing — my clubhead speed was about 138 (m.p.h.) — and I hit my ball (20 yards) further than his. He pulls me aside and asked what I did (for a living). I said, `I play football.' And he's like, `Well, you know, you really need to consider doing this long drive thing. Right now, your clubhead speed is 10-12 m.p.h. higher than anybody on tour.'
“I can't really focus on football and golf at the same time, but I feel like I'm in a really good position where, when football is done, I'll have something else to do.”
Catalina and the Redblacks head to Vancouver on Friday, a day in advance of Saturday night's showdown with the Lions. B.C. beat Ottawa 24-12 two weeks ago at TD Place. The Redblacks appeared upbeat at practice this week as they look to halt a threegame losing streak heading into a bye week.
“We have a great group of guys,” said Catalina. “It's cliché to say it's family, but it does feel like that in this locker-room — guys care about each other. Somebody gets knocked down in practice, everybody's there trying to pick him up, making sure he's OK.”
THE END AROUND: QB Matt Nichols (left oblique strain) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice ... Will DeVonte Dedmon (calf ) play Saturday? Maybe. Maybe not. I'd go with the maybe not. He hasn't practised all week. Asked about Dedmon's status, LaPolice said: “We'll know (Friday), we'll see where he's at.” ... Both running back Timothy Flanders and receiver Anthony Coombs are ready to go and will play Saturday. It looks like DB Justin Howell will also return ... Defensive lineman Avery Ellis (shoulder) was a full participant on Thursday after being limited the rest of the week. Asked about Redblacks offensive line coach Bob Wylie, Catalina said: “We could spend an entire afternoon talking about that guy. He's a character. I've only known him for a short while, and I got to talk to him a bit before we came up here, but I love that man like a grandfather. He rips on our arse every day, but he wants the best of us. He cares.” ... All nine CFL teams revealed 10 players from their negotiation lists on Thursday. Clubs are required to do so twice during the year. Each team can retain the rights for up to 45 players. Here are the 10 names the Redblacks revealed: QBs Eric Dungey (Syracuse), Devlin Hodges (Samford), DeShone Kizer (Notre Dame), Eric Schmid (Sam Houston) and Dorian Thompson-Robinson (UCLA); receivers Justin Hardy (East Carolina), Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi (Phoenix JC), Jaelen Strong (Arizona State) and Terrance Williams (Baylor); and running back De'Lance Turner (Alcorn State).