PHOTO BY CALGARY STAMPEDERS/TWITTER Connor McGough poses as he signs his CFL contract with the Calgary Stampeders Tuesday.
Connor McGough is coming home.
The Medicine Hat defensive lineman, who played in the Grey Cup this past fall with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, signed a two-year deal with the Calgary Stampeders Tuesday.
Having played his university ball in Calgary with the Dinos, the 24-year-old couldn’t be more happy with the new deal.
“It’s very special, it means a lot for me to be here,” he said via cellphone.
Though he won’t need to change his cellphone number – he had a Saskatchewan number anyhow even when he was in Hamilton the past three seasons – it figures to be ringing off the hook as friends and family will get to see a lot more of him now.
“It’s a huge thing, it’s amazing that I can play here and give my family the opportunity to watch me play more, and my friends as well,” said McGough. “That was a huge part of it.
“But for me what really mattered was going to a place where it felt like home, and I was given opportunity to advance my role. I feel Calgary is my best option for me in that.”
The fourth overall pick in the 2017 draft never really got a lot of playing time with the Ticats, relegated largely to special teams duty. He expects that to change with the Stampeders, who have seen an array of linemen forced into starting roles in recent years due to injuries.
It’s all worked well for the red and white, known for having a next-man-up culture and finding ways to keep winning.
“I fully expect to play special teams like I have been, but from the sounds of things they’re wanting me to expand my role to get more rotational opportunities,” said McGough, who registered four tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and 11 special teams tackles last season. “For me it’s just opportunity. I have the skill set to prove I can do what they want and more. I’m eager to learn. I’m nowhere near where I want to be or can be, and my ceiling is very high.”
While his season didn’t end the way he wanted – a Grey Cup loss to Winnipeg in Calgary, of all places – McGough had options when free agency began. The league’s newly-created free agency window let his agent talk to multiple teams in the past week, and allowed the Ticats to make an offer of their own, but it was pretty clear McGough was going elsewhere.
“From that process it worked out smoothly, we were able to get a deal done,” he said of signing mere minutes after free agency opened at 10 a.m. “It was exciting, I knew I wanted to test the market out.”
The biggest difference returning home figures to be what McGough does outside of McMahon Stadium. When he left following his career with the Dinos he was still finishing his university degree, and didn’t get a lot of time to do community initiatives.
The Stamps routinely visit the Alberta Children’s Hospital on weeks before home games, for example, and McGough loved the work he got to do in Hamilton with the team.
“If I’m looking back at it I wish I was more proactive (with community events with the Dinos) in some sense,” he said. “The three years in Hamilton were great, I learned a lot from past players… I took advantage of the opportunity I had in learning the business, learning the game.
“I’m excited to be able to implement my knowledge and my skill set with the Stampeders.”
