The Riders have a friendly competition at safety

SASKATOON — It would seem that the friendship between Marc-Olivier Brouillette and Mike Edem only goes so far.

Take, for example, Brouillette’s comments Tuesday when discussing what it’s like rooming with Edem in the University of Saskatchewan’s dorms during the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ training camp.

“I hear some stuff through the walls sometimes, but I’ve learned to disregard it or put my headphones on when necessary,” Brouillette said with a huge grin as he turned to face Edem, who was standing a few feet away. “We have a mutual understanding.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” Edem yelled as he heard his fellow safety ratting him out. Then Edem clarified the situation.

“I watch shows late at night,” he said. “I watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Office — my regular shows.”

Ah. So it’s laughter that Brouillette has been hearing. Understood.

The men have known each other since 2013, when Edem joined the Montreal Alouettes as a safety after being selected third overall in the CFL draft out of the University of Calgary.

Brouillette, then Montreal’s weak-side linebacker, was in his fourth CFL season at the time and was an established member of the Als’ defence. He and Edem soon developed a rapport and a friendship.

“He got thrown into the water pretty quick,” recalled Brouillette, a 32-year-old product of Montreal. “He did some great things as a rookie in the defensive system we were playing.

“I was playing some Will linebacker and he was playing some free (safety) and we were alternating, so the constant communication that we built together early on helped us tremendously once we got on the field.

“Mike and I had spoken so much about it and we both knew both positions that it allowed us to excel and have success.”

Edem was named an East Division all-star as a rookie and was the Als’ nominee for the CFL awards as most outstanding Canadian and most outstanding rookie. Despite those accolades, he was replaced by Brouillette as Montreal’s starting safety in 2014; in October of 2015, Edem was traded to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

In the two-plus seasons the men spent together with the Als, Brouillette offered whatever advice he could to Edem — and the younger man took it to heart.

“He helped me be a pro off the field: How to carry yourself, the work ethic you need to have, how to take care of your body,” said Edem, a 28-year-old who hails originally from Lagos, Nigeria.

“He’s really big on stretching and eating right. That’s one thing I picked up from him and I’ve been doing it ever since. It has helped sustain me and obviously it has helped sustain him to be able to play this long.”

Edem signed as a free agent with the B.C. Lions in February of 2016 and then was acquired by the Roughriders in May of 2017. In February of that year, Brouillette signed a free-agent contract with Saskatchewan and a reunion was in the offing.

“When I got the news that he had been traded here and that we’d be back together, it was exciting to me,” Brouillette said. “I love Mike. Football aside, he’s a great person and I consider him a great friend as well.”

The reunion had to wait, however.

On the eve of training camp, Brouillette had a change of heart and retired to concentrate on his career as a lawyer. As injuries decimated Saskatchewan’s corps of nationals, the veteran was coaxed out of retirement in September and played seven regular-season games down the stretch.

By the time Brouillette arrived in Saskatchewan, Edem and Jeff Hecht were sharing the safety position. Hecht played in 18 regular-season games (with 10 starts), Edem played 15 (with eight starts) and Brouillette came off the bench in his seven appearances.

Hecht was released in the off-season, leaving the two old friends to battle it out in training camp for the starting job.

Edem appears to have the inside track on the job, having worked with the No. 1 defence for most of camp. He’s eager to keep it that way, friendship or not.

“That’s for the dining room and the residence,” Edem said. “When you come to the meeting room and the field, it’s competition; it doesn’t matter who it is. At the end of the day, we’ve got a job to do.

“I’m sure (Brouillette) wants to be the No. 1 safety and obviously it’s clear that I want to be the No. 1 safety. I’ve got to let my play speak for itself. We rotated last year and my goal this year is to play well enough so the coaches say, ‘We need to keep this guy on the field.’ That’s where my mind’s at.”

Not surprisingly, Brouillette wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’m just an older vet who still has the opportunity to play football,” said the man who was voted the Als’ top rookie in 2010. “No matter what my role ends up being, I’m going to put my best foot forward and I know Mike is as well.

“We continue to push each other, but we also help each other. We’re always talking, telling each other what we see and what we would do, talking about the offences of the teams we’re facing that week.

“Although on paper there may be a competition for the position, that will never change our dynamic — ever.”