Courtesy Winnipeg Free Press:

There are times when Delroy Clarke looks around the Toronto Argonauts training camp and wonders how he ended up here.

After all, the West Hill Collegiate graduate hadn’t played one minute of football until his final year of high school. He learned enough in that year to make the University of Ottawa Gee Gees, but played only 16 games over three CIS seasons.

But he impressed the Argos enough that they made him their fourth-round pick in the Canadian college draft.

“I didn’t think anything like this would ever happen,” said Clarke, whose family emigrated from Jamaica when he was 15 and settled in Whitby. “But I came here to see what would happen and so far it’s gone pretty well.”

That appears to be an understatement. The 25-year-old cornerback has impressed the Argos with his attitude, speed and tackling and has a good chance of securing a CFL paycheque when camp breaks.

“He’s got a lot to learn, but he’s got a great body and a great attitude and a great desire to learn,” head coach Rich Stubler said yesterday. “He has the physical tools, he just has to get the mental part of it.”

If Clarke survives this week’s final cuts, it will be as a special teams player.

“He tries to do everything he can on special teams, which is where he’s going to win a position,” Stubler said.

Clarke has no problem with that. “I love special teams,” he said.

Clarke didn’t take the traditional route to a pro training camp. His only exposure to football prior to arriving in Canada was the occasional NFL game on TV.

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