It’s a returner’s return.
Lawrence Woods III, who has not been in a game uniform because of injury since the Ticats last played Ottawa way back in late June, draws back into Hamilton’s lineup for Saturday’s critical match (3 p.m.) against the same Redblacks, at Tim Hortons Field.
Well, not exactly the same Redblacks. Despite a slew of key players missing to injuries, Ottawa is now threatening to chase down the first-place Montréal Alouettes after losing just once to go along with six wins and a tie in their last eight games. At 8-3-1 they’re off to the best-12 game start in their 10-year existence and the best by any CFL team representing Ottawa since 1978.
They’ll be trying to clinch a playoff spot in the annual Hall of Fame Game while the Ticats are looking to multiply the momentum of a Labour Day victory over the Argos. During his first Ticat season in 2022 Woods, in just 14 games, returned 43 kickoffs for 990 yards and a touchdown and another 62 punts for 807 yards, giving him 1797 overall return yards. Impressive numbers.
But in 2023, he played only seven games and spent time on the injured list, the practice roster and the game roster and was released at the end of the season. After spending the off season with BC he returned to the Ticats in May, and returned kicks the first four games, but went on the six-game injured list in mid-July. Meanwhile the Ticats tried out Smoke Harris and Jordan Byrd, who was injured last week against the Argos, paving the way for Woods’ re-insertion in the lineup.
“It feels real good,” Woods said today. “I’ve been away for so long, but still staying positive. Staying around the team just makes you want to get back in as soon as possible but you don’t want to rush anything. At the end of the day, you want to be healthy.”
Woods says he’s used his time on the sidelines to analyze how he can improve his form and get it back to where it was two seasons ago when he was among the most electrifying performers in the league:
“Definitely so, that’s one of the things I’ve done the past couple of seasons, looking at some of the successes I’ve had, and some of the things I didn’t do too well at. Going back over the years made me dial in. I diagnosed the other returners that are doing well this year and mimic it and try to get my game back up where I want to be at.
“What I have to do is, just catch the ball and see what I can get. Make sure I’m coming up with the ball, no fumbles, ball security.”
Which are the main priorities head coach Scott Milanovich seeks in his returner.
“I want him to make great decisions (on whether to catch a ball or let it go into the end zone), I want him to field the ball and he needs to protect it once he’s got it in his hands. The rest will follow naturally, I think, but those two things are the most important. Great decisions and protect the football.”
Ottawa is solid on special teams and that unit and their defence usually provide the offence with good field position.
“Their coverage is pretty good,” Woods says. “Their first row of guys make a lot of tackles; once I beat that, it’s having ball security and trying to get to the end zone.”
He’ll be watched by Chad Owens, a former Ticat—but mostly Argo—who was spectacular on returns and at catching passes during his nine-year CFL career.
Playing for Milanovich with the 2012 Toronto Grey Cup champions, he established the still-standing record for most all-purpose yards (a stunning 3863) in regular-season history for not only the CFL but all of professional football. 2530 of those yards were on returns.
Owens was officially inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame Friday night at Tim Hortons Field and he and the other six members of the Class of ’24 will be introduced to the crowd at Saturday’s game.
“When I got the call earlier this year I was speechless, I was overrun with emotions,” Owens says. “I hadn’t thought about wanting to be a Hall of Famer, but then, that’s like the last sort of piece, the recognition of all your hard work, all the things you’ve accomplished on the football field. And it’s not just what you do on the field, it’s off the field, your character, representing the Canadian Football League as a player.
“Now that it’s a couple of months later and we’re close to getting inducted and the ceremony, it’s surreal. It’s a dream, to be honest. Coming from Hawaii, I was a kid who was told his whole life he’s too small and should think about doing other things, so it’s all of that that just really fills me with so much pride.
“Knowing that I blocked out all the noise, I stuck to my own self-beliefs in what I could accomplish through hard work, dedication, sacrifice, relentless mindset—all those things—and here we are. And it’s amazing and to have my family, with me, they’re a huge part of it.”
Owens, known for his spectacular catches—including the one which set up the Argos’ winning field goal in the last (2012) Labour Day Classic at old Ivor Wynne Stadium—joined the Ticats as a free agent in 2016 and played a dozen games and caught 58 passes for 808 yards in only a dozen games before an injury cut his season short in mid-September.
“It was a weird feeling at first, coming to Hamilton,” he recalls. “The Argos made a business decision; they didn’t offer me a contract. I wasn’t going to sit around with a family to feed. The Ticats offered me a contract and it ended up being really cool.
“They have a great fan base. Honestly, I was like the No. 3 or 4 receiver there and I was having one of my best statistical receiving years before getting injured, as the third-fourth option. If I don’t break my foot I’m over 1000 yards easily.”
Owens played only three games in Saskatchewan the next season, because of injury and returned to the Ticats in 2018 but was released without playing a game.
He and his family lived in Canada until the pandemic struck and they returned to their native Hawaii, where as a college player he had been the primary receiver for Timmy Chang, also a future Ticat. He’s an online fitness coach and just a couple of weeks ago became certified as a professional body builder in “men’s physique” and will compete in International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation events.
“It keeps me competitive, showing up to the gym with purpose,” he says. “That’s what I love: structure, diet, routine. As an athlete you become this machine of routine.”
Milanovich says, “Chad Owens is one of the best players I’ve ever coached, one of the best competitors I’ve ever coached. The best spot-quickness and feet I’ve ever been around in any league. Tough. Strong. Brought something to your offence, more than just his play.
“(Fellow ’24 inductee) SJ Green was the same way when I was with him in Montréal; both fierce competitors who bring out the best in their teammates.”
For his part, Owens says Milanovich was the perfect coach for the 2012 Grey Cup champions, pulling together the already-existing talent:
“We had the pieces, we just needed that leadership and if there’s one thing I can say about Scott Milanovich it’s his leadership, his ability to get you ready to play a game.
“I’m speaking personally: he found a way to get you going. He got us ready to play and there was no B.S., but that’s what you need. You need that structure. He’s a straightforward guy.”
CATS CLAUSES: Taylor Powell returns from injury to be No. 2 quarterback behind Bo Levi Mitchell tomorrow. No. 3 will be Taulia Tagovailoa, who played more than expected in his on-field debut last week. Harrison Frost moves to the one-game injury list … Scott Milanovich said he doesn’t know if Tagovailoa will see the action he did last week against Toronto and that game situations will determine that … Ottawa gets former Ticat Jaelon Acklin back from the head injury he suffered three weeks ago … the last seven games between Ottawa and Hamilton have been decided by an average of 4.1 points … Redblacks’ Dru Brown has the lowest interception-to-attempts ratio in the league at 1.5 per cent … Ticats’ LB Kyle Wilson has 71 defensive tackles, fourth in the CFL, and 13 off the lead … Joining Chad Owens in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame class of 2024 are fellow receivers SJ Green and Weston Dressler, cornerback Marv Coleman and defensive end Vince Goldsmith, along with two in the Builders Category, coaching legend Ray Jauch and touch football proponent, the late Ed Laverty.