As much as Jayden Dalke appreciated the sincere and sundry 27th-birthday wishes, one moment took the cake.
Dalke made an interception on Thursday during the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ practice, after which some of his thoughtful colleagues in the defensive backfield ensured that the all-around big day was commemorated by an on-field drenching.
“I was eyeballing them, but there were too many DBs, honestly,” Dalke said with a laugh. “They all snuck up on me and splashed me for sure.”
He is hoping for an even bigger splash on Sunday, when the Roughriders visit the Edmonton Elks to conclude Week 1 of the 2023 CFL season.
Dalke played his college football in Edmonton, as a member of the University of Alberta Golden Bears, and grew up in Leduc — which is a half-hour’s drive south of the Alberta capital.
In the weeks leading up to the game, Dalke’s mother has been organizing a cheering section for the Roughriders’ No. 38.
The Dalke section is expected to include upwards of 100 people, including family members and friends.
Sunday’s game will also mark the CFL debut of Elks linebacker Jake Taylor, a former teammate of Dalke’s with the Golden Bears.
“Jake and I grew up playing football together, so the tailgate’s going to be crazy, with all of our families coming together,” Dalke said. “It’s going to be fun.”
Adding to the enjoyment, Dalke has an expanded role with the Roughriders in his second year with the team.
“He’s going to be counted on more,” Head Coach Craig Dickenson said. “We’re going to count on him to play multiple positions.”
His versatility is such that he can play safety, weak-side (Will) linebacker or strong-side (Sam) linebacker.
Regardless of where he lines up, there will be a common denominator.
“Physicality,” Dickenson said. “He loves football and he loves to hit. Anytime you see a guy who’s flying around the field, hitting people and making plays, you know he’s going to be a pretty good player.”
As further evidence to that effect, consider that Dalke was Canada West’s first-team All-Star safety in 2019 and 2021.
The Roughriders took notice, selecting him in the sixth round (54th overall) of the 2022 CFL draft.
He proceeded to play in all 18 regular-season games, registering 15 defensive tackles (including three for a loss), two pass knockdowns and 11 special teams tackles.
Now he is ready to tackle an expanded workload.
“I’m grateful for more responsibility, because I want to be accountable and I want to be reliable to my coaches and teammates,” the 6-foot-1, 203-pounder said.
“I’ve just been able to start on all four special teams and have a really good understanding of not only the defensive playbook, but also the special teams playbook.”
That would seem to require an encyclopedic memory, although Dalke downplays that notion.
“It’s not too hard once we understand that it’s a system and it’s not individuals’ position groups,” he explained.
“I could work into the box and play Will or Sam, or I could be on the back end, playing in the post playing everything like that, so it’s definitely nice.
“I was joking with Coach: ‘If you ever need a rush, I’ll work on my pass move and I’ll come off that edge.’ But we’ll probably have to bulk up for that.”
The cardio is already off the charts.
It helped that he used to do stair work at Commonwealth Stadium, selling 50-50 tickets during CFL games while he was a member of the Prairie Football Conference’s Edmonton Wildcats.
“I was told that I sold the winning 50-50 ticket six times,” he said, proudly. “That was over four years.
“This one lady came up to me and said, ‘You’re the one who sold me the 50-50 ticket,’ and then all of a sudden there was a lineup of 40 people.
“I said, ‘This is an absolute fluke. All you have to do is buy the $20 ticket so you have the best odds. This has nothing to do with me. I’m just a dude in an apron.’ ”
Well, make that a green and white No. 38 jersey.
Mind you, that could refer to any one of 100-plus people who occupy the stands for Sunday’s Roughriders-Elks game.
It could very well be that only one family member will not be on the premises.
Dogs are not permitted at Commonwealth Stadium so, alas, the well-named Ryder will have to stay home.
“My mom and dad ended up getting a purebred German Shepherd,” Dalke noted. “He’s close to eight years old, so it was very fitting.”
And, as was the case with the 50-50 sales, “fluky” — considering that Ryan and Shannon Dalke’s acquisition of Ryder preceded their son’s arrival in Riderville by seven years.
Mind you, the Dalke family has plenty of ties to Saskatchewan, so was his parents’ decision to bestow such a distinguished name on Ryder influenced by football?
“I actually never asked them that,” Dalke said. “I’m sure if I asked them now, they’d say, ‘Oh yeah … 100 per cent. We thought he was rough-looking, so we called him Ryder.’ ”
