Zy Alexander has grabbed a spot on the Calgary Stampeders and he’s not letting go of it. Just like the way the defensive halfback one-handed an enemy pass last week in the Stampede Bowl that left fans awestruck at McMahon Stadium. Some even declared it the best interception ever seen in the CFL. Yeah … it was that good.
“I’ve probably had four or five like that, so this wasn’t nothing new,” said Alexander, when asked about the one-handed stab for the INT off QB Chad Kelly — a key play in the Stampeders 58-36 victory last Thursday over the Toronto Argonauts. “I was in the zone coverage just reading the quarterback eyes. And he threw it up, and I was like, ‘There’s no way he threw this.’ So I went down there to go get it.”
From Corner to Halfback
After two games with the Stamps — both starts — Alexander is being seen as a go-get-it kind of guy. He has grabbed his opportunity with cornerback Adrian Greene getting knocked out of the lineup a couple of weeks back and has run with it. In particular, Alexander has secured three interceptions heading into Saturday’s game between the Stampeders (2-2) and the host Montreal Alouettes at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium (5 p.m., TSN / QR Calgary 770 AM). And he’s oh-so close to having four, when in his debut — the Touchdown Kelowna victory over the BC Lions — he picked off a Nathan Rourke pass but was ruled out of bounds by a hair.
Not bad for a newbie to the CFL and a defender who isn’t used to the halfback gig. “This really my first time playing that spot,” Alexander said. “Naturally, I’m a corner, but I do whatever the team needs to make the team win.”
Exceeding Expectations
“We thought we had a pretty good player in Zy,” added Stampeders GM/head coach Dave Dickenson. “But I think he’s probably exceeded expectations. I think he wasn’t even really like a halfback type. He played more corner, but you could see it. You can see in practice that he had ball skills and is a good cover guy. So we’ve tried to make him a halfback. And I think, honestly, he’s taken that and is really doing well. He’s got a lot of improvement still, but I think he’s done well.”
Upcoming Challenge: Montreal Alouettes
What do the Alouettes bring to the field? The Als bring arguably the best team to the Canadian Football League gridiron. At 3-1, they boasted the top record in the circuit, tied with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Edmonton Elks heading into Week 6. And again, they field one of the best QBs in the CFL in Davis Alexander. The Stamps have seen a lot of that lately. But nobody was better than their own pivot, Vernon Adams Jr., last week in the Red and White sinking of the Argonauts. Adams Jr. was named among the CFL Players of the Week, after going 20-of-25 for 405 passing yards and six touchdowns. Adams added a fourth-quarter rushing touchdown in that Stampede Bowl victory at McMahon Stadium.
