The CFL season is a marathon. Starting with training camps opening in mid-May, teams hope to play until the end of November. Two pre-season games, 18 more in the regular season, then an additional two or three if you’re good enough to get to the Grey Cup final.
It’s hard for players to stay consistent over the course of such a long season, but Kurleigh Gittens Jr. is doing just that.
The third-year receiver – in his second season as a starter – is closing in on his first 1,000-yard season, already establishing career highs in catches with 64, and yards with 836. He’s tied his career high with four touchdown grabs – all coming in Toronto wins – and leads all Argo receivers with 94 targets. He also tops the team in catches and yards and is tied for the team lead in TDs.
“I see the improvement from last year,” Gittens told Argonauts.ca. “But I can always get better because I’m always striving to be better. I’ll never pat myself on the back saying, ‘Great job, great job,’ because there’s something I can always get better at doing.”
There’s been significant improvement in his game from a year ago. The Laurier product says it’s not specifically one area of his game that’s seen an upgrade.
“Just an overall feel for the game, a comfort for the game,” he explained. “Just being able to play more freely. I trust and believe in my abilities that much more. I’m also my biggest critic, I never stay satisfied. After every game I look in the mirror and ask how I can get better.”
He has been better. The Guyana-born, Ottawa-raised receiver set a career high with a 152-yard performance in a win in Regina, then bested it with a 161-yard effort against his hometown Redblacks last month.
Gittens averages about six-and-a-half targets per game, with a couple of three-target games mixed in with a season high 12. That came in the game against Ottawa where he set his career high in yardage, catching eight of the dozen footballs thrown his way that afternoon.
The man getting him the ball is McLeod Bethel-Thompson. He’s seen a growth in Gittens and concurs with the receiver about the main reason for the improvement.
“He’s an absolute perfectionist,” the quarterback told Argonauts.ca. “He’s a great teammate. I can’t say enough positive things about how he approaches practice; how he approaches each route, each game, each practice. Moment by moment he loves to play the game of football and he does it at the highest level.”
There have been moments this year where the QB and a receiver haven’t been on the same page; where the body language of the receiver doesn’t connect with how Bethel-Thompson is reading the situation.
That seemingly never happens with Gittens. There’s a reason for that according to M B-T.
“That’s on Kurleigh because he’s always going to do it the right way. He’s going to do it how we see it and how we see it together. He’s a dynamic route runner that’s always doing the right thing at the right time. The more times we get the ball to Kurleigh the better we’ll be.”
Gittens says the chemistry between the two isn’t accidental.
“There’s a comfort level,” he explained. “I’ve been with Mac for three years, so time obviously helps. I’m an annoying guy to Mac, in a sense. In practice I’ll always go back to him and ask ‘Hey, is that good?’ When special teams are on the field and we have a little time to interact, I’ll always ask him ‘What did you see on this play? Can I run it this way?’ He’ll always give me his feedback on what he wants. Whatever he sees, I’m hoping I see the same thing while I’m running my route and just be in a position for him, that when he does decide to come to me, he’ll trust that I’ll be there and make the play.”
When Gittens steps on the field against the BC Lions Saturday afternoon (4:00, BMO Field), he’ll be looking to improve upon his second-least productive game of the season; a two-catch, three-target, 32-yard performance when the same two teams met in Week Three in Vancouver.
With the intense self-critiquing that’s taken place since then, there’s little doubt he’ll be more of a factor this time out.