Next Game
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ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
MISSISSAUGA – With one start under his belt, rookie OT Edawn Coughman is pleased with his Argos debut, but by no means satisfied.
“I felt alright. It went well but you can always get better,” Coughman said as he reflected on his first CFL game last week in Vancouver.
The hulking lineman, who spent the entire season on the practice roster, was thrust into action after an injury all but sidelined Rob Murphy for the remainder of the season.
A former CFL Most Outstanding Lineman and team captain, Murphy’s shoes are rather large to fill, especially along an offensive line that had gone 16 straight games (dating back to September 2010) with the same unit.
What seemed like a temporary replacement has likely turned into the plan at backside tackle for what seems to be the remainder of the season. The offensive line is a unit where chemistry is often undervalued to the common observer, and everything from protection schemes to run blocking requires all five members of the o-line to be executing at their best.
Coughman insists, however, that the o-line, as a whole, is treating it as business as usual and all he can do is continue to improve.
“Nothing really changes that much,” he said. “I just have to go, do my job and try and protect the quarterback. If I do that, everything else sort of falls into place.”
Argos GM & Head Coach Jim Barker originally saw Coughman’s potential in training camp. Already set at the tackle spot, the fact that Barker kept the Shaw product around as one of his seven practice roster players speaks to the upside that the long-haired lineman brings.
“I thought he did a very good job,” Barker said of Coughman’s first game. “He was definitely not a guy that you noticed making errors. He obviously had a few assignment errors and a few times where guys were able to get up the field on him, but for the most part I was really happy with the way he played.”
At only 22 years old, Coughman has shown the patience needed to be thrown into the fire and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by his head coach.
“I love his attitude and I love the way he approaches the game, and all of those things bode well for him being a real good player in this league,” Barker enthused. “I think he is just going to get better and better.”