The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a hole at left guard and second-year offensive lineman Gabe Wallace seems intent on filling it.
“(I want the starting job) really badly,” Wallace told 3DownNation on Sunday. “I want to put my best foot forward and I really not let my teammates down. It’s a big spot that needs to be filled. Me and (veteran offensive lineman) Tui (Eli), we’re each taking reps, so whichever one of us does better, I want whoever’s doing their best to be there. Tui’s playing great and I’m gonna put it out there as well.”
After practice, head coach Mike O’Shea reiterated what general manager Kyle Walters recently said, which is that the team can afford to start an American at the spot vacated by All-West Division selection Liam Dobson, who departed for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in free agency. However, it was Wallace and Eli — not Americans like Kendall Randolph or Micah Vanterpool — who were splitting reps with the first team on Sunday.
Starting a Canadian at left guard would take some pressure off Winnipeg from a ratio standpoint. The team started eight or nine Canadians all of last season — the minimum requirement is seven — but with Tyrell Ford now with the Edmonton Elks, the Blue Bombers will have one fewer homegrown starter in the secondary.
Wallace spent the entire offseason in Winnipeg where he worked out with fellow offensive linemen Patrick Neufeld and Chris Kolankowski along with some of the team’s strength staff. His decision to remain in the city during the offseason certainly scored points with his head coach, who touted the blocker’s physical style of play.
“I like that he stuck around this whole time,” said O’Shea. “Gabe is a big, physical man and obviously we like that.”
The 25-year-old is certainly still big — he’s six-foot-six — but he’s leaner than last year. Wallace recently weighed in at 331 pounds, which is down 13 pounds from his pro day at the University at Buffalo last year. He also admitted to gaining “a bit of weight” over the course of his rookie season in Winnipeg, during which he played 12 games in a backup role, meaning he may have temporarily been at or even more than 350 pounds.
The native of Nelson, B.C. credited his wife and brother for helping keep him accountable with his diet, ensuring that he hit his protein and caloric goals.
“I’m feeling a lot healthier, not as bulbous,” said Wallace. “This year, I just want to stay looking a little more lean, and I think I’m able to offer a lot more to my teammates and the whole organization if I’m just controlling the weight a bit.”
Wallace’s rookie season served as a chance to get used to playing three-down football after spending his entire collegiate career south of the border. He seems confident that he’s found the right footwork after fighting four-down tendencies all of last year.
“It just feels ‘right’ now. Last year, I felt really kind of awkward when I was taking sets. I’d get somewhere and kind of start to anchor down and be like, ‘Oh, maybe I should go a little further,’ and I’d get beat inside. It happened over and over and over. Now, I’m just feeling more comfortable and being confident in what I’m doing,” he said.
“Last year, I’d be thinking even in the middle of a play, ‘Am I in the right spot? Am I in the right spot?’ Today, it’s still knocking rust off — it’s camp — but I’d move somewhere, and I’d be like, ‘All right, I’m in the right spot.’ Maybe I’m rusty on exactly my technique, but I know I’m in the right spot. I know what to do — now it’s just refining that.”
O’Shea also expects Wallace to take a step in his second professional season, as he does all the players returning after their rookie years.
“Every guy that comes in in their second year, the weight of uncertainty has been lifted off,” said the veteran coach. “They know how to read the playbook, they know how to digest it, they’ve already heard a bunch of the stuff. They know their teammates, they know where to go to get lunch, something simple like that. They know their routine, their body, how they have to take care of it, so all these variables that they didn’t know before about pro football have already been answered, so they can now just focus on putting the best product on the field, playing their best.”
Star receiver Dalton Schoen and Canadian defensive tackle Cameron Lawson were both non-participants on Sunday as they were recently added to the veteran injured list. O’Shea indicated this was done
“Both those guys would work themselves to a point that you gotta slow them down anyway, so this is a way to just sort of slow them down and make sure we ease them into it. We’d like to see those guys for an entire season, rather than just jumping in there right now. It doesn’t make sense.”
Canadian defensive back Jake Kelly, who suffered an injury late last season, was present for day one of training camp but did not participate. Defensive linemen Devin Adams and Trey Laing were not present, nor was Global punter James Evans. O’Shea indicated that Adams was excused and should join the team “momentarily,” while Laing is away for personal reasons. He also said Evans is “on his way.”
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