Through three games, 6-foot-1, 205-pound linebacker Tyrice Beverette has 14 tackles, a sack, forced fumble and an interception for the Alouettes.
Through three games, 6-foot-1, 205-pound linebacker Tyrice Beverette has 14 tackles, a sack, forced fumble and an interception for the Alouettes.
This isn’t Tyrice Beverette’s first trip back to Hamilton. But the Alouettes linebacker admits some wounds take longer to heal.
“We definitely have some history,” Beverette told The Gazette. “Had some good experiences and had some negative ones. At the end of the day, it was part of the journey. I definitely mark the game on my calendar. I said that when I first left and I say it now. It gives me more to look forward to.”
While the Tiger-Cats’ management has changed over the years, it was Hamilton where Beverette launched his CFL career in 2019. And it was management that decided Beverette was best suited to playing special teams, almost exclusively, for two seasons before he signed with Montreal as a free agent.
Now a standout on the boundary side of the field, the 30-year-old veteran was the East Division nominee last season as most outstanding defensive player — an award he lost to Saskatchewan’s Rolan Milligan Jr. If Montreal’s loss to Toronto in last November’s division final is motivating Beverette this season, so too was having been deprived of an award he felt was justifiably his.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say that motivated me a lot,” Beverette said. “Going in, I thought I had a great chance of winning. Any player, that’s their dream to win it. You go and play your heart out. You hear from other players who think you deserve it. I’ve used it as motivation. Since college I’ve been getting the short end of the stick when it came to awards. I told myself this year not to make it any question. Do everything possible to get that award. But the team goal obviously is to win a Grey Cup.”
Heading into Friday night’s game at Tim Hortons Field (7:30 p.m., TSN1, TSN4, RDS, TSN Radio-690, 98.5 FM), Beverette’s off to an excellent start. Through three games, the 6-foot-1, 205 pounder has 14 tackles, a sack, forced fumble and interception. The Als (3-0) also are off to their usual quick start, having outscored opponents 105-56.
But as expected, the Als will be without starting quarterback Davis Alexander, who suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter last week at Edmonton. He’ll be replaced by veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson, making his first career start for Montreal. Also missing are injured receiver Austin Mack and defensive-tackle Dylan Wynn. The Ticats (0-2) are coming off a bye week in the schedule — as were the Elks last Thursday.
Bethel-Thompson completed six of eight passes for 77 yards against Edmonton after replacing Alexander in the third quarter. He passed 37 yards to Tyson Philpot on his first play.
“We talked this week about how we’re going to play for (Bethel-Thompson), get him comfortable,” Philpot said. “We know the calibre of quarterback he is. There’s also a little bit of excitement with a new, fresh guy out there. A new dynamic that we’re excited to play with. It was a seamless transition. I’m excited to see him get his first start.
“His experience and the way he commands the offence. The way he coaches us up on little stuff. He has seen it. He has been in those big games. He can tell us exactly where (the ball’s) going at times. That leadership and experience he has. It’s just a little bit different.”
Hamstring injuries can be tricky. Former Als starting quarterback Cody Fajardo suffered one last July 11 against Toronto and didn’t play again until Aug. 25. That opened the door for Alexander to seize the position, and Fajardo eventually was traded last winter to Edmonton for Bethel-Thompson.
After three straight road games, Montreal will host B.C. on July 5.
Although Alexander didn’t practise all week and has been dealing with his left hamstring issue since training camp, Als head coach Jason Maas refused to admit the obvious; it made no sense to play Alexander this early in the season.
“If he can manage it — and he has been managing it — I don’t think it’s much different than what he has been playing on, honestly,” Maas said on Wednesday. “He has been doing that in training camp as well. He knows how to manage it. It’s just a matter of whether it’ll get back to the point of where it was before that (Edmonton) game?”
This marks the second consecutive season in which Montreal has played three straight road games. Last September, against Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto, the Als went 1-1-1.