If you were asked which receiver was leading the Toronto Argonauts in targets, you may get several answers.
The most popular reply would likely be Kurleigh Gittens Jr., with Brandon Banks and DaVaris Daniels also in the mix. Those answers would all be incorrect, as the busiest Argo receiver is Markeith Ambles. He’s been thrown to 48 times this season; once more than Gittens, five times more than Banks.
He’s tied with Gittens for the team lead with 36 catches.
That shouldn’t be a huge surprise, as last season Ambles led the Calgary Stampeders in targets with 86 and catches with 54. But like it is now with the Argos, Ambles slid under the radar during his days out west, as the attention was usually focused on fellow pass catchers Reggie Begelton, Kamar Jorden or current teammate Eric Rogers.
Ambles is okay with that lack of prominence.
“I never expect anything,” Ambles told Argonauts.ca. “I just try to put my best foot forward. Whatever is on my plate I’m going to take advantage of it. That’s how I always look at it and when it goes better than I expected, that’s just a good thing.”
When Ambles was in in his formative years in McDonough, Georgia, he did anything but fly under the radar. He was a star at Henry County High School and was named All-State as a junior, catching 53 passes for 993 yards and 13 touchdowns.
ESPN ranked him as the No. 4 high-school receiver in the country and he made the decision to go to USC. After a year he transferred to Arizona Western College, then to the University of Houston where he excelled on the field and in the classroom, being named to the AAC All-Academic Team.
He originally signed with the Argos in 2016 but was released without playing a game. Ambles joined the Stampeders in 2018, spending three productive seasons in red and white. Then in February he signed with the Boatmen after a call from one of his old Calgary coaches.
“It was Coach R.D. actually,” he said, meaning Head Coach Ryan Dinwiddie. “He was one of the first guys I connected with when I was there. I started out on the practice squad and had to work my way up. Coach R.D., we had a good relationship.”
He’s developed relationships with his new teammates, and also gained some fans in the locker room. Brandon Banks watched Ambles from the other side of the field for three years, and now finds himself part of the same receiving corps.
The man they call “Speedy B” is an admirer of what Ambles brings to the group.
“He’s an all-around player,” Banks told Argonauts.ca. “He does everything. He’s a guy that’s willing to go into the box and block, he catches the ball well, he’s a good YAC (yards after catch) player; whatever the coach asks him to do, he does it. Any time you’ve got that kind of guy in your wide receiving corps it makes it easy for guys like me that don’t like to block (laughs).”
Banks and Ambles have a lot in common. They had both established themselves as talented CFL receivers before joining the Double Blue this year as free agents. The pair has also become close away from BMO Field.
“Markeith is my closest friend,” said Banks. “We hang out more outside of football. I’ve just known him from a distance and respected his game. As soon as I got here, we just gravitated to each other. We’re roommates on the road; he’s just a good guy all around.”
Argonauts.ca asked Banks to give a scouting report on his teammate and which aspects he appreciates the most about Ambles’ game.
“The little things, the things he does without the ball,” said Banks. “I knew he could catch the ball; I knew he was a good route runner, but the things he does without the ball. He’s opening up, clearing the middle the field, blocking for the running backs. He’s just a good all-around, complete wide receiver. He does the dirty work that nobody likes to do.”
Ambles is currently on pace for 81 catches and 808 yards, which would blow away his career highs of 54 catches and 686 yards. But like Banks said, it’s not just the stats that impress the coaching staff; it’s Ambles’ combination of ability, size and physicality that make his such a valuable commodity.
He’ll get a chance to show off that skill set to his former team this Saturday night when the Stampeders are in town. Kickoff is 7:00, and a ticket to the game gets you free admission to the CNE.