Nichols’ road has been long, winding and very bumpy

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This article was published 25/07/2016 (2831 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Most roads for professional athletes, in their pursuit of long careers, include stretches of adversity.

For Matt Nichols, who will replace Drew Willy as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers No. 1 quarterback Thursday in Edmonton, it’s been a journey of hardship, pain and rejection.

“I’ve been through a lot in my career,” said Nichols, 29, at the end of practice Tuesday. “You can either let it crumble you or rise above it, and I felt like I was able to do that.”

Once painted as the quarterback of the future for a struggling Edmonton Eskimos team, Nichols’ rise to the top in Edmonton was quickly derailed by a series of injuries. He suffered a dislocated ankle during the 2012 East Division semifinal against the Toronto Argonauts — an injury that appeared so gruesome on TV many believed it to be career-ending. Alas, after a long off-season of rehab, Nichols returned in 2013 to battle with Mike Reilly for the starting job, only to tear his ACL during a pre-season game. His season was over before it even started.

From there, Nichols watched from the sidelines as Reilly, who led the Eskimos to the Grey Cup last season and was named the game’s MVP, emerged as of the league’s top quarterbacks. He would get one more chance with Edmonton last season, after Reilly suffered a torn ligament in his left knee in Week 1 and was expected to miss between 10 to 12 weeks.

But just seven games in — and with a 5-2 record — Nichols was benched early in the third quarter in a game against the Bombers, and was replaced by rookie James Franklin. With an 11-3 lead built by Nichols, Franklin, completed just five passes, three of which went for touchdowns. The next week, Eskimos coach Chris Jones named Franklin the starter.

“At that point it was time for me to move on,” said Nichols.

A month later, Nichols was traded to Winnipeg.

Brought in to boost a Winnipeg offence that had suffered a major blow with the loss of Willy to a season-ending knee injury, Nichols played seven games for the Bombers in 2015, winning two. Most importantly, for the first time in six CFL seasons, Nichols stayed healthy and was able to start for most of the year.

“That experience was huge for me,” said Nichols. “Overall, it made me a better quarterback.”

Thursday, Nichols’ journey will come full circle. It will mark his official return to Edmonton since the trade, against a quarterback he ultimately lost his job to. He’ll once again be asked to boost the Bombers’ offence. It’s a unit that through the first five weeks under Willy have underwhelmed, averaging just 19.6 points per game, a major reason the Bombers sit at 1-4.

“It’s a good opportunity for Matt and we’ll see where it takes us,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said earlier this week. “I expect Matt to go out and do extremely well and I expect Drew to be ready to go.”

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Earlier this week, just hours after replacing Willy, Nichols acknowledged the significance of where he’ll make his first start this season. He’s admitted there’s an added excitement in playing a group of former friends — ones he said will transform to “nameless faces” come kickoff — and a defensive group he used to line up against every day in practice.

But as familiar as his surroundings will be, so will be the stakes. Nichols is once again in the biggest tryout of his career, and the leash, to be sure, is a short one. A win and that tryout will last another week; a loss, and it will likely mean a return to Willy.

Through the pressure, there’s been a quiet confidence to Nichols all week. Having already played in Winnipeg, he’s comfortable with the receivers. He’s rusty, having not played a full game in close to nine months, but said he can build off what was a strong half-quarter he did play in last week’s 33-18 loss to the Calgary Stampeders, a game in which he led the Bombers to a touchdown on his first drive — an 18-yard strike to Weston Dressler.

“It wasn’t too many years ago he was battling it out in Edmonton against Mike Reilly for that starting job,” said Dressler. “He has a confidence in himself that he can do it, and I know he’s got the confidence of the entire receiving core and this entire team behind him right now. It’s a great opportunity for him and I’m excited for him and I know he’ll make the most of it.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.catwitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

After a slew of injuries playing hockey that included breaks to the wrist, arm, and collar bone; a tear of the medial collateral ligament in both knees; as well as a collapsed lung, Jeff figured it was a good idea to take his interest in sports off the ice and in to the classroom.

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