Dru Brown isn’t the prototypical professional quarterback.
He’s under six-feet tall and doesn’t have a cannon for an arm.
Bombers QB Dru Brown scrambles for yards against Edmonton Friday night. He impressed head coach Mike O’Shea. (John Woods / The Canadian Press files)
But the second-year Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback isn’t going to let that stop him from trying to make a name for himself in the three-down game.
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve dealt with that forever. I honestly don’t care whatsoever,” said Brown after Friday night’s 30-20 loss to the Edmonton Elks in preseason action.
“It doesn’t even bother me anymore. When I was younger, it used to bother me. The only people I care about are the guys in the locker room, my family, and my fiancé. Everybody else, I really do not care what they think about me and it’s a good place to be in.”
Brown and five-year CFL vet Dakota Prukop were the two pivots under centre for the Blue and Gold on Friday. Prukop, who spent last season in Edmonton after three years in Toronto, had a poor showing, completing only 5-of-14 passes while also throwing two interceptions. It was a totally different story for Brown who was arguably the most impressive player for the Bombers on the night. The 25-year-old connected on 10-of-13 attempts for 108 yards and a touchdown. Brown ran in for a score as well.
Prukop is the favourite to land the No. 2 job behind Zach Collaros, but it’s far from a guarantee now. Brown could steal the gig if he has another strong showing in Tuesday’s preseason finale in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
“Yeah, absolutely,” said head coach Mike O’Shea on it being a competition for the backup job. “You want that, right? You want to give them as much opportunity as possible to show us what they can do… Obviously, I think (Dru) did well (Friday). I think he commanded the huddle, led the team, got points. those things are all positive. He didn’t really have those opportunities really last year, so, that’s growth in itself, but maybe he was always that guy.”
Brown was the team’s third-string passer last season behind Sean McGuire. He sat for the majority of his rookie campaign until the regular-season finale in Calgary when he came off the bench to complete 7-of-14 passes for 49 yards and rush seven times for 44 yards. Brown, who started his collegiate career at a junior college before moving on to the University of Hawaii and then Oklahoma State, looks and feels more comfortable than he did a year ago.
“I consider myself a pretty confident individual. Whether you play good, bad, or whatever. I think if you’re not confident in this position, you wouldn’t be playing at this level,” said Brown.
“And you know, I think that the confidence does trickle down to the guys, but they’re here for a reason as well… But I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t confident. I’m short, I’m small, all that stuff. So, if I wasn’t confident, I probably wouldn’t be standing here.”
ROSTER MOVES
The Bombers signed American offensive lineman Cameron Durley and Canadian defensive end Rossini Sandjong on Sunday. Durley played four years at Tennessee State and Sandjong arrives in Winnipeg after a four-year career at York University. Sandjong was drafted in the seventh round of the 2020 CFL Draft by Edmonton.
The Bombers also released five Americans: defensive backs Mike Hampton, Evan Holm, Marlon Character, defensive lineman Will Evans, and receiver Keyion Dixon. Canadian defensive lineman Alfred Green was let go as well.
Twitter: @TaylorAllen31
Taylor Allen
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Eighteen years old and still in high school, Taylor got his start with the Free Press on June 1, 2011. Well, sort of.
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