Roughriders special-teamers accept their roles

Glenn Love knows where he stands.

As a CFL special-teamer, Love understands that he may not get the, uh, love that others who play more glamorous positions do. That’s fine by him.

“It always goes offence, defence, special teams — that’s how it is,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ special-teams stalwart said with a grin after Thursday’s practice at Mosaic Stadium.

“I’m a mellow guy. I don’t need the talk and the hurrah to do it; I just let my game prove it. If you watch football, you’ll know who’s doing good and who’s doing bad.”

So far, Love has done very well for the Roughriders. He goes into Week 3 of the regular season with six special-teams tackles, tying him for the league lead with Christophe Mulumba of the Edmonton Eskimos.

Love has been one of the CFL’s top cover men since 2012, when he started his career in the league with the B.C. Lions.

He was particularly efficient for the Calgary Stampeders from 2013 through 2016, making 56 special-teams tackles in 43 games. He tied for third in the league last season with 21 special-teams stops — despite playing only 10 games.

The Roughriders signed Love as a free agent in the off-season and immediately upgraded their cover teams. They got another boost June 27, when they signed the man who finished 10^th in the league last season with 18 special-teams tackles.

Like Love, Cameron Ontko doesn’t think special-teamers get the bouquets they should.

“It’s definitely unglorified,” said Ontko, who played with Love in Calgary in 2015 before joining B.C. last season. “If you look at the good returners in the league, they’re good because of the guys who block for them. Then, on cover teams, we’re trying to set up our defence to get a two-and-out and put the offence in good position to score.

“We don’t get the credit we deserve, but as a team, we know there are three phases of the game — offence, defence and special teams — and they’re all vital.

“From an outside perspective looking in, (special teams) are definitely underappreciated, but we understand that (playing on them) is tough. You’ve got to be a little bit crazy to play on special teams.”

Roughriders special-teams co-ordinator Craig Dickenson is a little more diplomatic when it comes to describing the qualities required to play on the teams.

“You need to have courage,” he said. “And it’s not blind courage; it’s courage at the right time. It’s not just a guy running into blocks. You have to have the ability to run full speed and trust that your speed is going to help you defeat whatever’s coming your way.

“I really think that’s half of it. You have to have courage, you’ve got to be able to run and you’ve got to be able to use your hands and get off blocks — and Glenn has all three.”

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Love is a linebacker by trade, but he was a safety in high school and through his first two seasons at UCLA. He also played on the Bruins’ special teams, which made for a seamless transition when he got to the CFL.

Asked what makes a good special-teamer, he replied: “Playing hard, trusting your guys and playing as a group.” He admitted there’s more to it, from film study to knowing teams’ tendencies to playing intelligently like any offensive or defensive player.

“It’s like Nik (Lewis) in Montreal,” Love said of the Alouettes’ slotback. “He’s not the fastest dude, but he gets the ball and he gets the job done.

“It’s about being smart. If you know what you’re doing and what the point is, you don’t have to be the fastest guy. You have to give your effort, your 100 per cent, and just make a play.”

Love is doing what he can to get the Roughriders’ rookies accustomed to life on CFL special teams. He did the same thing in Calgary, where one of his pupils was Ontko.

The two men became roommates after Ontko moved to Regina and they are back to bouncing ideas off each other.

For Ontko, the key to playing on special teams is between a player’s ears.

“It’s mainly mentality,” said the 25-year-old product of Cleveland. “You’ve got to have the mentality to be fast and physical, to have a me-versus-you mentality where you’ve got to beat the guy across from you.

“You have to play off each other and not try to do too much. Mainly, you’ve got to have the want-to to get down the field, cover and tackle.”

Ontko, a 5-foot-11, 220-pounder out of California Polytechnic, had three special-teams tackles in four games with Calgary in 2015 and 18 stops in 15 games with the Lions last season.

He made his Saskatchewan debut during Saturday’s 43-40 double-overtime loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, but was shut out. Love had his second straight game with three special-teams tackles.

Entering Week 3, the Roughriders’ cover teams ranked second in opponents’ punt-return average (5.8 yards) and third in opponents’ kickoff-return average (25.1 yards). When it came to returns, Saskatchewan was third in punt-return average (9.4 yards) and third in kickoff-return average (26.9).

Joining Love in the league’s top 10 in terms of special-teams tackles were three Roughriders: Rookie linebacker Cameron Judge (tied for fourth with four stops), veteran defensive back Jeff Hecht (tied for seventh with three) and veteran fullback Spencer Moore (also tied for seventh with three).

Saskatchewan’s cover teams will have their hands full Saturday, when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and returner extraordinaire Brandon Banks come to town.

“He’s for sure fast,” Ontko said. “But like with any good returner in this league, we’ve got to trust each other, trust the scheme and just keep flying around.”