Jul
Toronto: Robertson steps into RB limelight
Courtesy Globe and Mail:
At 32, Jamal Robertson has reached an age when many running backs are discarded or forced into roles that minimize wear and tear.
Robertson is the anomaly, having spent his career as a professional understudy, waiting in the wings for the star to go down, cast as the player whose opportunity ends the moment the star is healthy again. But this season, for the first time in his career, Robertson is finally “the guy” with the Toronto Argonauts.
After Robertson’s season debut (14 carries, 134 yards) last week against Hamilton, head coach Bart Andrus greeted the media by asking jubilantly, “Any questions about the running game?” Andrus had none as he penned Robertson’s name into the starting lineup for today’s CFL matchup against the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Rogers Centre.
“A few people have said, ‘If that was me, I would have changed my profession,’” said Robertson, who’s played with seven teams in three different leagues.
“I feel like my talent is God-given and I was blessed to be able to play this position. I don’t want to be that guy who says, ‘I wish I had done this, or wish I had played one more year.’ I always say, once you allow me to shine, I don’t plan on coming out of there.”
“He’s been pretty strong and he puts most of his faith in God, I think that’s what is getting him through,” said his father, James Robertson, who along with Jamal’s 10-year-old son, Jalil, has been attending Argo practices this month while visiting from Dayton, Ohio. “I think that’s what’s getting him through.”
Everywhere Robertson has played, it’s taken an injury to another player to get him into the backfield, and, in the case of Toronto, two injuries.
Robertson came to the Argos during training camp last season after the starter, Tyler Ebell, suffered a season-ending knee injury. An injury to Ebell’s heir, Dominique Dorsey, midway through last season finally opened the door for Robertson.
When Toronto hired a staff of coaches familiar with Robertson from his days in NFL Europe, it gave him a leg up on the competition at training camp.
Had Robertson walked away from football before this season, there were reasons to be satisfied. As a six-year NFL veteran, he is vested in the NFLPA pension and he has a Grey Cup ring from his 2001 season in Calgary. He’s earned a living from football each year without having to search for other jobs, made some investments and worked as a motivational speaker for youth near his Atlanta-area home.
“To be honest with you, I never was ready to call it quits,” he said. “Leaving college, going into this whole football thing, I went with the attitude ball-till-I-fall. I’m going to go at it until my will can’t go no more.”
