When he first looked at the Toronto Argonauts schedule, Kevin Mital smiled. The team’s first-round draft pick’s initial game as a professional football player was scheduled for his hometown.
The receiver was raised on Montreal’s South Shore, where he grew up cheering for his beloved Alouettes, going to all the games and idolizing Hall-of-Fame receiver Ben Cahoon.
It was at Percival Molson Stadium where he made his CFL debut.
“My family was there,” Mital said with a smile, recalling a special moment. “My friends from Quebec, my friends from Montreal. It was pretty good.”
He finished the game as the Argos leading receiver with 3 catches for 37 yards, looking like a seasoned pro, not a rookie in his first game.
“It was pretty much what I expected,” he told Argonauts.ca. “I came in in the mid-third quarter, but I was ready. It was pretty good to get my feet wet a little bit at this level.”
Mital was a star receiver with the Laval Rouge et Or, the powerhouse program based in Quebec City. It was there that in 2022 his excellent play was rewarded by winning the Hec Crighton Trophy, awarded to the best player in U Sports. It was just the seventh time a receiver had been so honoured, and the first since Andy Fantuz 17 years earlier.
He would fall to the Argos in the fifth spot in last month’s CFL Draft, something the team didn’t envision happening, assuming one of the four teams picking ahead of them would nab the talented pass catcher.
They weren’t the only ones to be taken aback by their good fortune.
“I was surprised, I would say,” admitted the 25-year-old. “I was thinking I was going to be the first receiver in the draft, so I was a little bit surprised, but I think I’m in a good spot in Toronto; it’s pretty close to home, a great organization, great history.”
It was more than the geography and the history that he liked; he also was excited about the people he’d be working with.
“I did a podcast in French before the draft, and they asked me who I liked at the Combine. I said Dominic Picard (Argos running backs coach) and Pinball (general manager Michael Clemons). Pinball was helping with the table at the end, trying to clean up the food and stuff. I’m here and I’m pretty happy.”
Drafting a receiver wasn’t a priority for the Argos in the draft, but the chance to select a talent like Mital was too good to pass up. The group of Canadian receivers already wearing Double Blue is impressive, as the rookie joins veterans Dave Ungerer III, Dejon Brissett, Tommy Nield, and Richie Sindani, all of whom have looked good in training camp. Mital also has the chance to learn from Rasheed Bailey, the presumed starter at the “R” slot receiver spot. It’s a position Mital seems perfect for.
“I think it’s a great group of receivers,” said Mital. “If I’m on the field or not on the field I’m going to be learning from them. Rasheed is a veteran guy who plays at “R” who knows the position and knows how to block and all the little details, he always talks to me about that. I think (the “R” spot) fits me. It’s something I did at Laval, helping in the box, I think that’s the spot.”
Mital missed a few days of camp with a minor injury but has looked comfortable in the offence since his return. The sky appears to be the limit for a player the Argos never dreamed would be available to them.
ARGO NOTES: There was a steady rain during Monday’s practice session. The offence worked inside a field house, while after warming up inside, the defence moved outdoors…The Argos announced the signing of quarterback John Matocha from the Colorado School of Mines. He had a spectacular college career, finishing with 162 touchdown passes, the most in NCAA history. He recently worked out for the Denver Broncos…The Argos welcomed some 500 students from three Guelph schools for its Huddle Up program. The students were supposed to watch some of the practice, but the weather moved everyone inside the athletic centre. Program founder Jason Colero spoke to the crowd and was joined by Pinball Clemons, former Argo Matt Black, director of football operations Melissa Frith, members of the Guelph Gryphons coaching staff, and a handful of Argo players after practice ended, including former Gryphon Royce Metchie.