Sophomore Coombs Ready to Step Up for the Argos

Don Landry, Argonauts.ca columnist

TORONTO – As you might expect, even Anthony Coombs thinks a still-frame shot of him diving towards the goal line to score the winning points in the Argos’ victory last Sunday would be pretty cool to have.

“I gotta get that blown up (and hang it) somewhere, maybe the basement,” he says. “I didn’t really realize how I did that. Your body just takes over.”

It’s a great picture. Coombs planking on one hand, stretching horizontally as far as he possibly can, his knees just inches above the ground. The ball breaks the plane of the goal line just before his body surrenders to gravity and hits the turf. That two point convert would ultimately be the difference in Toronto’s 42-40, double-overtime win against the Roughriders, in Regina.

It’s the kind of play the Argos will be banking on getting more often from the second year graduate of the University of Manitoba, especially now that Andre Durie is gone for the season, suffering a knee injury in that same game.

There are some mixed emotions for Coombs, the 22-year-old native of Winnipeg who missed most of his rookie season with a shoulder injury which kept him in civvies after the team’s fifth game. He’s eager to step in and step up, especially after the promise of 2014 was ripped from him. But Durie has been an essential part of his development as a pro and the two have grown close. “Everybody wants to be on the field,” Coombs says, “but not like that.”

“Andre has been a mentor to me,” he further explains. “It’s very unfortunate. He’s just such a good guy and everybody cares for him and everybody is rooting for him. It’s literally the last thing you want to see.”

As it was last season – when a broken collarbone forced Durie to the sidelines after two games – Coombs is the next man up in a receiving position that is very important to the Argos’ offence. Good thing, then, that he didn’t get badly injured on that dive play in Saskatchewan. But he did get injured.

As he slapped the ball down on the stripe, Coombs’ thumb was damaged. Dislocated, to be precise. “My hand did not look human, so, I waited for the trainer to get there,” he says of the moments after the play.

“They tried to pop it back in and it wasn’t going in,” Coombs replies, when asked how delightful an experience it must be to have somebody wrenching on a dislocated digit. The training staff, according to Coombs, tried to jerk that thumb back into place “two or three times” as he sat on the field. No go. It was only when they got him to the sideline that a doctor was able to turn the trick. “Yeah, it did hurt like hell but it was worth it,” he says.

Fortunately, for the Argos, Durie’s heir apparent has only a minor injury. There is no ligament damage to that thumb and it’s “getting a lot better each day.” He’s to keep it as still as he can leading up to Monday night’s game in Calgary, a game in which he’s likely to play. Even if he can’t go then, Coombs most certainly will be in the line up in Vancouver on July 24th, after the Argonauts enjoy a bye week.

“In terms of the long term health of it, it should be fine,” he says. “It’s just managing the pain throughout the week, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Emotionally, Coombs says he is ready to assume a more prominent playing role. If he flourishes, the crucial loss of Durie can be blunted. If he fits the bill in Durie-like style, the Argos’ offence will keep ticking. Ironically, that 2014 shoulder injury has played a part in Coombs’ readiness. Forced to heal and rehab, he spent the balance of his rookie season on the fringes, the way injured players do. But, he hung around more than some, soaking up the pro football atmosphere.

“You do observe a lot more,” he says of the forced hiatus. “It gave me a chance to not worry about the physical aspect of football. I just focused on the playbook and how total football teams prepare each week. It was a good experience. I’m really glad I came back, even though a lot of other players choose to go home when they’re through for the year. I came back and it was good to experience all that. I feel like it has helped me this year. My confidence. And I’m a lot more familiar with the routine.”

It’s a routine that Coombs says he’s finding to be more like second nature now. “I’m comfortable out there,” he says. “It’s a huge difference from last year.”

If Coombs is to fulfill the promise so many see, his injured mentor will have played a significant role as well. Durie’s words of wisdom and guidance have been very helpful. The student is on the same path as the teacher; Durie, himself, had to transition from being a pure running back to receiver and yards-after-catch dazzler.

“It was good to see how Andre played the position,” explains Coombs.” Because it’s hard to comprehend. Once you see him – the motions, how he does things – it’s a lot easier to replicate. It’s a unique position in this offence and when you have someone that’s been doing it so long at a high level, it really is easy just to come in and say ‘hey, how do I do this?’”

A steady mindset has been helpful – “I tend not to get too high or too low,” Coombs maintains –  and will continue to be a hallmark for him. Nothing’s really changed, he insists.

“We move around in this offence so you never really know when you’re going to be playing a lot or when you’re not going to be playing a lot. My preparation is always, really, the same.”

In fully transitioning from running back to receiver, Coombs still has some work to do. As it was for Durie before him – and Pinball Clemons before Durie – the art of catching the ball, turning and sizing up the situation quickly, will be crucial. Running backs face forward and see tacklers from the get go. Receivers often have their backs to those tacklers when making a catch. Making good decisions in a blink has made Durie a YAC monster, helped make Clemons a hall of famer.

“That’s what I think I’ve gotta work on next,” admits Coombs, “and you can really only work on it in games. Because, in practice, we’re not tackling to the ground and stuff like that. Even last game I noticed I could’ve reacted a little bit quicker but that’s just something that’s gonna happen with time.”

Time on the field is something that Anthony Coombs is about to get a whole lot more of now.

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