The Toronto Argonauts will play the Montreal Alouettes for the fourth time in 2023 on Saturday, this time for a chance to advance to the Grey Cup final.
In the three regular season games against the Als, the Argos were led by a receiver who had 13 catches, despite missing one of the games with an injury.
Which receiver led the team in catches? The obvious guess would be Damonte Coxie, who made two highlight reel touchdown catches against the Als; but that guess would be wrong.
DaVaris Daniels would be a strong choice, as would David Ungerer, who had a huge game in the first meeting of the season; but those guesses would also be incorrect.
It would likely surprise you that Tommy Nield was the leading pass catcher against the Larks this year. His 13 receptions totaled 166 yards, second to only Coxie in that category. If you were taken aback by that, don’t be embarrassed because Nield himself was not aware of that stat.
“That would surprise me because I don’t think I’ve made any huge plays,” said Nield when informed by Argonauts.ca about those numbers. “I guess it was from being consistent. It was just being consistent and staying ready when my number was called.”
Nield played in just two of the three games against Montreal, finishing with 16 targets in those outings, just one less that Daniels, who had the most on the team.
“Tommy is probably an underappreciated player because he hasn’t played a whole bunch,” explained Pete Costanza, the Argos receivers coach and pass game coordinator. “But what he offers is his versatility – he can play inside, he can play outside – it really allows us to game plan a little more fluidly, knowing that if you had to make a change, or somebody went down and Tommy had to change positions, we can shuffle guys around.”
The Guelph native has really come into his own this season, despite missing the first nine games due to a concussion. Since returning to the lineup, he’s received solid playing time in the last eight games.
One of the Argos two fourth-round selections in the 2021 CFL Draft – Trevor Hoyte was the other – the 6’3”, 200-pound McMaster product caught 32 passes for 384 yards this year despite not playing his first game until September 9.
Why has the Nield been so much more impressive in this, his third season?
“That’s really easy,” Costanza said with a big smile. “Tommy has a better understanding of the offence. He knows all five spots for us. He’s played three of the five and his overall understanding of the offence and what we’re trying to do is his biggest growth football wise. He’s got a good feel for how to use the waggle and how to set guys up. He’s also become a more polished route runner than he was at the start of the year.”
The receiver agreed with his coach’s assessment.
“It’s the comfort level out there on the field,” he explained. “Getting used to the speed of the game; at the end of the day, it’s still football. I’ve been playing since I was a kid, so that part of it really hasn’t changed. But being in this offense – this is my third year – I’m just a little more comfortable with the timing and playbook.”
Nield won’t be in the starting lineup against Montreal, but with the rotation of receivers he’ll no doubt get a lot of opportunities against the Alouettes. Like his teammates, getting the chance to play before over 25,000 fans at BMO Field will create a true adrenaline rush.
“I can’t wait,” said a beaming receiver. “BMO Field is always a great environment, but I haven’t seen it with that many people in there before, so it’s going to be exciting for sure. I can see that energy, feel it.”
He added that Argo fans can help the Double Blue get to the Grey Cup if they’re their usual loud selves on Saturday.
“It’s a huge advantage. When the opposing team’s offence is out there and they can’t hear because the crowd is bringing the noise, that makes a huge difference in the game. Football is a game of momentum, and the fans contribute to that; so whenever something is going well for us and the fans are going crazy that’s exactly what we need, and when something doesn’t go Montreal’s way and the fans go crazy for that, that’s exactly what we need too.”
Saturday will see the largest attendance for an Argos game since the team moved into BMO Field in 2016. Nield and his teammates have brought the excitement to the fans all season long, and now the fans can give the Argos the biggest home field advantage they’ve had since moving to the Exhibition grounds.
Kickoff time on Saturday is 3:00 and fans are asked to get there early. There will be reduced parking on the Exhibition grounds because the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair is underway.