The question asked by many fans at the Double Blue scrimmage was a valid one; “Who is wearing number 82 on defence?”
They may have been surprised to find out it was the same player that was wearing number 82 on offence, he had simply changed from a white to a blue jersey after a couple of series.
Derek Slywka arrived in Toronto last September and spent the rest of the season on the Argonauts practice roster as a receiver, but has spent the last few days of training camp as a defensive back.
It’s an interesting story best told by Skywka himself, someone who never played offence while at Ithica College, but was asked to play receiver while with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
“I went into a workout with them because they had a safety that had gotten hurt,” he explained to Argonauts.ca. “I was doing DB (defensive back) drills and I had a couple of crazy catches. They were also doing a receiver workout right after, so when they asked me if I had ever played receiver before, I told them I did in high school, then they had me do it and they liked how I looked. They had me come to their mandatory minicamp that week and they signed me after that.”
He only had a couple of months to work on his new position before Indy’s training camp.
Fast forward to this season. When the native of Waterloo, New York – located roughly halfway between Rochester and Syracuse – arrived at training camp, he was expecting to play receiver. That changed late last week and he now finds himself playing on the defensive side, mostly at safety, though he did play on the corner in the Double Blue scrimmage.
Defensive co-coordinator and defensive backs coach Jason Shivers now works with the Swiss Army knife on a daily basis. He explained to Argonauts.ca that prior to the positional flip, his fellow co-coordinator, Kevin Eiben, told him that Slywka could really play on the defensive side of the ball.
“I said, okay,” Shivers recalled. “I hadn’t seen him all camp, then they said they were going to flip 82 over to us. I said alright, great, and threw on some film and watched a couple highlights and said this kid can really play free safety, he might make some plays. He got out there and the ball just seems to find him.”
That has certainly been true. In Slywka’s first practice as a safety he picked off a pass and ran it back for a touchdown. In the Double Blue game he had an interception, though it was negated by an offside penalty.
At 6’3”, 215 pounds and with long arms, Slywka has great size for a safety, but Shivers likes his mental approach as much as his physical traits.
“He’s got good intuition because he plays both sides of the ball,” said Shivers. “He’s really able to harness what he’s learned on offence and bring that to the defensive side. He understands splits and releases and it allows him to play fast.”
The DB agrees that getting some pro experience as a receiver has helped him in his more natural environment.
“Football IQ is a big part of our game,” the 24-year-old explained. “You kind of know what a receiver’s mindset is on the routes he’s running and it helps, and vice versa. When I got switched to receiver, having the mind of a DB, you know those little leverage things you can attack. Honestly, it’s been really fun flipping back and still having the brain of a receiver and reactivating my DB brain.”
Coaches are always looking to find out what a player’s superpower is. Aside from his obvious skill level, Slywka’s versatility has allowed him to stand out among the other receivers and defensive backs trying to make the Argo roster.
ARGO NOTES: It was cold and rainy in Guelph on Wednesday morning, so head coach Ryan Dinwiddie called off practice 45 minutes early, which was much appreciated by everyone involved…Kicker Alfredo Lozada reported to camp and will hold the fort until Lirim Hajrullahu is taken off the injured veterans list…The club announced on Tuesday that fullback Bruno Labelle had been released…The Blue Jays used a little Argo magic by inviting Nick Arbuckle and Dejon Brissett to throw out the first pitch. The appearance of the Grey Cup heroes had a postive effect as the Jays put up a couple of touchdowns in a 14-0 win over San Diego…The Argos are in Hamilton Saturday night at 7:00 for their first pre-season game.