Absence hard for Steele to stomach
Sunday’s return after missing six games due to injury induces nerves
Curtis Steele set a career high during his most-recent CFL game.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ tailback threw up four times in the hours before Sunday’s 2623 overtime victory over the visiting Edmonton Eskimos. Usually he vomits only once or twice on a game day.
“My wife was like, ‘Are you OK?’ ” Steele recalled with a chuckle after Wednesday’s practice at Mosaic Stadium. “I said, ‘Yeah, I’m fine, baby. It’s a good sign. I’m just nervous.’ I knew I was ready.”
Steele noted he regularly cramps up, so he ingests electrolytes and salt tablets. If he overindulges, he said he has to “get it out somehow” — hence the pre-game vomiting.
On Sunday, however, Steele was more amped up than normal: He was returning to the Roughriders’ lineup after missing the previous seven games.
The 29-year-old product of Franklin, Tenn., rushed 13 times for 87 yards, providing Saskatchewan with a running game that had been largely missing in his absence.
“It was a good coming-out party for me, a good welcome back,” Steele said. “I always go into games with the goal of getting 100 yards (rushing) for myself because I feel if I get 100 yards, that’s going to help out my teammates. I was close, but I felt like I had positive runs and brought that spark to the team.”
The Roughriders signed Steele as a free agent in the off-season, in large part because he was familiar with the offence. He spent his previous three seasons with the Toronto Argonauts, who used to employ Saskatchewan offensive co-ordinator Stephen McAdoo.
Steele rushed 24 times for 133 yards and had nine receptions for 85 yards over the Roughriders’ first four games of the regular season, but he was scratched for their fifth game with a knee injury. He subsequently was put on the six-game injured list.
The 5-foot-11, 189-pounder has never played a full season in the CFL — he dressed for 11 games in 2013, 16 in 2014 and six last season — so he knew what to expect of his time on the injured list. Even so, he still needed some help.
“Luckily I had some good teammates who were also hurt and who were trying to get back,” said Steele, referring to the likes of Chris Best, Derrius Brooks, Jarriel King and Matt Walter. “We’d come in, work out together, keep each other up and make sure that we were OK mentally.
“With some injuries, a lot of guys have a tendency to get depressed. I had a great group of teammates here keeping me up.”
That said, Steele had his moments — especially midway through his six-week stint when he had a setback.
“My knee swelled up on me and I thought (the recovery process) was going to be longer than what it was supposed to be,” he said. “At that time, I did a lot of praying and tried to get right mentally.
“Then, when I continued to work out, I started seeing progress as it started getting better. Once it started feeling better, all the confidence came back and I was ready to play.”
Steele stayed on the six-game injured list for the duration, even though the Riders’ running game was struggling without him. The break allowed him to get in game shape and to prepare himself for Sunday’s game against Edmonton.
According to Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant, Steele’s return was “a huge boost” to the team because it made the offence multi-dimensional. It also was a huge boost for Steele himself.
“I’m an enthused guy, I play with energy and so I’m always bouncing around,” he said. “I was back out there flying around, bouncing, talking to the other team and my teammates. I was just being myself and it was a really great feeling to get back to being myself.”