Zach Collaros spent his 36th birthday working up a sweat throwing passes and running the Winnipeg Blue Bombers offence and then had his wife and two daughters join him on the practice field afterward.
This Sunday he’ll guide his squad into another Labour Day Classic against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in what will be a battle for first place in the Canadian Football League’s West Division.
Yes, it should be said there are worse ways for a guy to spend his birthday.
“It feels great. The older you get the more gratitude you have and you understand that time is precious and all those things,” began Collaros after practice on Tuesday. “I feel great. I’ve got a wonderful family, wonderful wife, beautiful children. I play for a great organization with great teammates… great friends and family, so I’m very blessed.”
A self-confessed football junkie and dedicated family man, Collaros has been everything and that much more since his arrival at the 2019 trade deadline with two Grey Cup championships, four consecutive Grey Cup appearances and two Most Outstanding Player Awards.
He is 50-16 as a starting QB for the Blue Bombers, including playoffs, and already in the franchise’s Top 10 in passing yards and TDs.
“That’s crazy. What is this, his 12th year in the league? That’s amazing, bro,” said receiver Drew Wolitarsky. “I’m in Year 8 and I’m like, ‘How do you have four more years on top of this?’
“He’s just an amazing guy. Even through this whole season he’s so level-headed. I was saying that to my wife the other day — he’s so level-headed through all these ups and downs. He doesn’t have Instagram. He doesn’t have any of this Twitter-stuff. He’s just as old school as it gets and I honestly think that helps him so much because he doesn’t really care about that other stuff.
“He’s really out here because he loves the boys. He does this stuff for the boys. Why else would a 36-year-old be out here risking his life every week?”
Leading the game-winning drive in last Friday’s 26-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats was, to put it simply, ‘Classic Collaros.’ The offence had struggled to find traction through much of the game with two offensive linemen down and receivers slipping on two of his three interceptions.
Yet, when it mattered most — with the Blue Bombers trailing inside the final 100 seconds — there was Collaros leading the team down the field for a critical win.
“He shows his fire when it’s exactly right and it makes a difference,” added head coach Mike O’Shea on Collaros. “Ricky Ray was the same way — just even-keeled and then all of a sudden he’d do something and the guys would just ignite.
“Zach’s got that same leadership quality. He’s got a tremendous amount of fire, but he just keeps it on that slow burn. There’s so much to process at that position, if you’re distracted by your own emotions there’s no way you can succeed.”
BRYANT/WALLACE UPDATES: The Blue Bombers saw two O-linemen fall in Friday’s win over Hamilton, with future hall of fame tackle Stanley Bryant taken off the field on a stretcher and rookie Gabe Wallace finishing the night on crutches.
The club updated Bryant’s status on Saturday, saying he had been released from hospital and was feeling better.
“Any time something like that happens it’s a bit scary,” said Collaros of Bryant. “Obviously, it can happen to anybody but with somebody who has the weight of Stanley Bryant within this organization, in the locker room. He’s not just the greatest lineman to ever play this sport, he’s just the ultimate teammate and probably the most popular guy in our locker room.
“Everybody loves Uncle Stan. So that’s scary. But to hear after the game that he was doing well and he’ll be better was a welcome thing for us, for sure.”
Bryant wasn’t at practice on Tuesday, but there remains a good chance he will be in action for Sunday’s Labour Day Classic.
“Honestly, when I walked on the field and Stanley was talking to us and you talk to the doctor and they do a simple test or something there’s relief,” said O’Shea. “Even on the sideline I was like, ‘OK, this is not what people are projecting it to be.’”
As for Wallace, a second-round draft pick this spring who was improving with every snap, he was at Tuesday’s practice, albeit still on crutches.
“He’s just going to go to work and try to get better as fast as he can,” said O’Shea. “I don’t know where that’s going to put him in terms of timeline… I don’t think it will be the season, but he’ll be back sooner rather than later. I trust that he’s got a fair amount of grit to him.”
The Blue Bombers finished the win over Hamilton with Kendall Randolph moving from right guard to left tackle and with Tui Eli then replacing Wallace after he had stepped into the guard spot. Remember, too, that veteran Pat Neufeld also remains on the injured list. Tuesday’s session also featured CFL rookie Micah Vanterpool getting a lot of work.
“Overall we came together as a team, as a unit, and we had the mindset to compete and finish the game strong and that’s what we came out and did,” said Randolph of how the team rallied after the injuries. “In moments like that you have to step up. There’s no time to second-guess, it’s just time to go out and get the job done. The whole team, the whole stadium, there’s people depending on us to compete and get the job done.
“There’s things I know I have to clean up. I’m preparing this week to perfect my craft in case anything else happens like that. You just have to be prepared and then be ready to step up. Throughout a practice we take reps everywhere so we do prepare for the worst situations. If something were to happen — if a shoelace were to break — guys step up and are ready to do the job.”
SICK BAY UPDATE: More news on the injury front from Tuesday — the Blue Bombers were without FB Bailey Feltmate and DB Nick Hallett, while LB Adam Bighill ran during the session, but was not in gear. The club did add national defensive back Lourenz Bowers (5-11, 210, Western) for more Canadian depth.
Getting Wolitarsky back returns some experience to a receiving corps that has been without Dalton Schoen for much of the year and Kenny Lawler for a good chunk. A veteran presence on the field and in the locker room, Wolitarsky has been out since the OT loss to Toronto in late July.
“He’s extremely smart. He’s extremely crafty,” said O’Shea of Wolitarsky. “The joke on the defensive side in practice, especially through training camp, is ‘Welcome to Woli’s World’ because these DBs will line up against him and they’re watching him and then he’s always open and he’s always catching balls in front of guys or behind them or beside them. He’s just got a craftiness to him and a good understanding of the game and certainly a great amount of trust between the quarterbacks and him.”
Wolitarsky said he’s spent much of his time during recovery doing yoga and, not surprisingly, doing a lot of self reflection. No one, it should be said, does that better than the Californian.
“It’s different. Your role is very different and you get to know a different side of the field,” he said of being out of the lineup. “You get to know the injured guys and guys going through it. You see that side of football and you get humbled and you gain gratitude for what you had and the ability to come out here and run around and live your life.
“It’s been a unique month for me and I’ve gained a lot of respect for a lot of people in the building.”
Asked what he learned about himself, he added with a grin…
“Yeah, I’m really impatient. That’s what I learned. You put so much pressure on your body to heal fast and you want to be out here doing it, especially on game day when your adrenalines hit and it’s like, ‘I think I’m good, bro.’ It’s just having that patience to let your body heal and trust the trainers, trust the coaches, trust the process of getting back out here so you can contribute rather than just force yourself out here and not be ready. In that aspect that was something I had to learn and it’s obviously something I’ve been through before, but it doesn’t get any easier over time.”
Wolitarsky opened his session by telling reporters he would not be talking about his injury. When he was nonetheless asked about it, he joked he had ‘choked on a piece of bacon and I had a coughing fit. It didn’t feel good. On a scale of one to childbirth I couldn’t tell you, bro, having had a baby.”
HERE WE GO: The Blue Bombers had already announced this year the Banjo Bowl is sold out and now comes news from Regina that this weekend’s Labour Day Classic will also be played in front of a capacity crowd.
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