Innumerable CFL ball-carriers can attest to the fact that Larry Dean is a stickler for arriving right on time.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ middle linebacker also makes a point of being early.
“He gets into the office before I do,” Roughriders Linebackers Coach Deion Melvin says. “I have to leave things at night sometimes so that when he gets in before me, he already has them.
“He’ll come in at 6:30 and it’s not once or twice a week. It’s every day of the week.
“His work ethic and the preparation that he puts in take him to the level of performance that we see.”
Entering Week 12 of the 2023 CFL season, Dean’s 64 defensive tackles place him third in the league — behind the Calgary Stampeders’ Micah Awe (77) and the Edmonton Elks’ Nyles Morgan (71).
At this rate, Dean will finish the season with 115 tackles. The franchise record of 120 was set last season by Darnell Sankey. Dean added 101 stops in 2022.
He isn’t ordinarily statistics-oriented, but a different triple-digit total does have a special significance.
On Aug. 20, the 35-year-old Dean played in his 100th CFL regular-season game. Suitably, he was presented with a game ball after helping the Roughriders defeat the visiting B.C. Lions 34-29.
“At the end of the day, I care about wins and losses and making myself and my teammates better,” he said. “At the same time, I think (the milestone) was kind of significant for me because you understand the longevity of it.
“When I was coming in, I remember hearing guys reach that milestone and being astonished.
“To be one of those guys to complete that milestone, you sit back and you look at it like, ‘Wow …’ ”
The 100th game was especially meaningful when you consider what could have been some mitigating factors.
- Dean didn’t make his CFL debut until he was nearly 28. His first five seasons of professional football were spent in the NFL — with the Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- He, like everyone in the CFL, lost a full season when COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 campaign.
- Dean also sat out the entire 2021 campaign due to an Achilles tendon injury.
“Even before coming up here, being down south I had a few injuries occur, but I was able to withstand that,” he noted.
“Like I said, it’s the love for the game. Some people lose that fire that doesn’t propel them through.”
By contrast, there is Larry Dean.
“He takes care of his body,” Melvin said, “but the mental preparation continues to make him progress and be a great player.”
Not to mention a virtual coach.
“I’ll ask him, ‘Do you think we should do that? Do you think that looks good?’ ” Melvin said. “Or, sometimes I’ll say, ‘Hey, Larry, you tell me what kind of disguise you want to use, or what you’re thinking.’
“They play the game. We’re looking on the outside, but they’re out there and they’ve got more of a feel for the game, actually being a player, than sometimes a coach will.
“I respect that part of it and have that much confidence in him that I can go to him and say, ‘Hey, what are you seeing?’ ”
Lately, we are seeing Dean’s steady ascent on the CFL’s list of all-time defensive tackles leaders.
Heading into Sunday’s Labour Day Classic against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium), Dean is 32nd with 529 stops. He is on pace to crack the top 25 by season’s end and, in fact, could claim 30th spot as early as Sunday.
Dean needs eight tackles to tie 30th-seeded Matt Finlay, whose career total of 537 ranks him one ahead of Otis Floyd.
Combine those numbers with all the intangibles Dean brings to the table and …
“Larry checks all the boxes,” Head Coach Craig Dickenson said. “He’s an absolute pleasure to have on the team.
“He leads that group in the locker room — not just the defence, but the team in general.”
