Courtesy CFL Digest:

Welcome to first edition of The Gridiron Guru, CFL Digest’s newest column. What will find in the Gridiron? Pretty much everything. You want opinion pieces…..we got it, you want weekly analysis…… we got it, you want interviews with current CFL players…….we got it. This column is written by a guru for the guru.

This week CFL Digest writer Tyler Berube sits down to do some Q & A with B.C. Lions slot back Jason Clermont.

CFL DIGEST: Jason, how is the off season going and how is your business doing?

JC: The off season has been very busy, on a professional and personal level. My wife and I moved into our newly built house in April and the real estate market has kept me very busy.

CFL DIGEST: A lot of people are interested in knowing how much work players have to put in the off-season to be ready to go coming training camp, how intense is your off season training, and what do you spend the most time focusing on?

JC: Honestly, it used to be very intense but I have mellowed out a bit. I have found that when I am at peak condition for day one of camp, I am spent by week #16. The CFL schedule is very long, and I like to be in top condition for week 2 or 3 so that I can sustain it through November. I spend most of the off season combining recovery/rehab with running and catching with the last 2 months adding in strength and plyometrics.

CFL DIGEST: Do you train with any other CFL’ers during the winter?

JC: I played in an indoor football league with some current and former Rams. Chris Bauman (Ticats) was out as well as Chris Getzlaf (Riders). I played some basketball with Reggie Hunt (MTL).

CFL DIGEST: The CFL sees new faces every year. Players that don’t land down south in the NFL end up coming up north to the CFL. What is the attitude like for a lot of these players that spent 4 years playing at big US schools when they first show up?

JC: Most guys are still disappointed that they didn’t land NFL gigs and some can’t let it go! Those who dig in and adjust to the CFL game are usually more successful.

CFL DIGEST: What’s the biggest adjustment they have to make to the CFL?

JC: 12 men, bigger balls and the back field motion!

CFL DIGEST: Would you say that many under estimate the talent in this league upon first arrival?

JC: That may have been the case in the past, but more have friends who play or know of former NFLers who haven’t had great success, so they appreciate that the game is different.

CFL DIGEST: How close were you to going down to the NFL and giving it a shot?

JC: I had contract offers but small signing bonuses. I felt I would have only been a training camp fodder, so I tried to get teams to have more invested in me. When they wouldn’t move I decided it was best that I stay put.

Now to the lighter side of things……


CFL DIGEST: How many of your teammates use facebook to pick up chicks?

JC: A few years ago it was MySpace, I don’t know much about the facebook movement.

CFL DIGEST: On the road what kind of pranks do you guys pull on each other?

JC: On the road? It’s a 24/7 thing - guys do anything and everything to get each other and the DBs are the worst (or the best?) for it.

CFL DIGEST: What question do you hate being asked the most?

JC: Why didnt Casey Printers start the 2004 Grey Cup?

CFL DIGEST: Are there as many vocal armchair GM’s in BC as say…. Saskatchewan?

JC: Ummmm - no.

CFL DIGEST: We all know sports message boards are huge these days…so what do you think as a player are the pros and cons of posting on them?

JC: Guys can take shots hiding behind anonymity, but overall it gives a decent insight into a fans perspective if you ‘lurk’

A few questions about last year….

CFL DIGEST: Many have said the 07’ lions where one of the best assembled teams in recent CFL memory (myself Included). What are your thoughts on that?

JC: Agreed. But not on one particular day….

CFL DIGEST: All year your offense was explosive, but you just didn’t get it going in last years Western Final. In your opinion what was the biggest problem during that game?

JC: Everything, it wasn’t our day and that’s the wonderful/horrible thing about football…any given Friday.

CFL DIGEST: Was that team better than the 06’ lions that won the Grey Cup?

JC: Not at the right time we weren’t…

CFL DIGEST: Your former teammate Dave Dickenson recently signed in Calgary with the Stampeders. What do you have to say about all the people who think he should call it career due to the concussions he has had over the past few seasons?

JC: It is his choice, and Dave is a competitor. That said, he is a father of two and a loving husband. If he feels he is safe to play, he has obviously taken all of the precautions necessary.

Jason on the NHL….

CFL DIGEST: Who do you route for?

JC: The Canucks.

CFL DIGEST: Rumor has it you won a national championship back in 1997 playing Adult Safe hockey with a team made up of Regina Rams. Does that rank up there with winning the Grey Cup?

JC: The Conacher Cup was in Burnaby, and I celebrated my 19th birthday at the Roxy on Granville as a champ. Not quite the same, but memorable nonetheless!

CFL DIGEST: Thank you so much for your time Jason, it’s been fun.

Tags: Canada, CFL, Football, Gridiron Guru, Jason Clermont