OTTAWA — Some might consider 32-year-old Jerome Messam on the older side when it comes to football, but the Calgary Stampeders running back bristles when asked about his age.
“Age is just a number,” said Messam. “In football once you get 30 plus they start to say you’re old, but it’s all about how your body feels and I got a lot of football left. My legs feel young. I haven’t taken a beating or a lot of mileage because I didn’t play a lot when I started earlier on in my career.”
Indeed, Messam looked fresh this season, playing in 17 games and piling up 1,016 yards, good for third in the league and just 19 yards short of league-leading Andrew Harris, who played one more game.
He plans to cap his standout season with one more big performance when the Stampeders take on the Toronto Argonauts in Sunday night’s Grey Cup game.
“I believe the running back position is the toughest one to maintain when you’re in your 30s,” said Stampeders coach Dave Dickenson. “It’s a young man’s game, you take a pounding, you’re getting a lot of carries, a lot of catches and for Jerome to be doing what he’s doing at this age, I think, is a tribute to him and he’s doing a great job.”
A native of Brampton, Ont., Messam initially signed with the B.C. Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2010. In the seven years since he’s played for Edmonton, Montreal and Saskatchewan.
In 2015 Messam was the league’s second leading rusher when he was traded to Calgary at the trade deadline. With star rusher Jon Cornish sidelined with a concussion, Messam was able to make an immediate impact with the Stampeders.
Cornish retired at the end of the season and Messam went on to have a career year in Calgary in 2016. For the first time ever he played in all 18 games and set career highs in carries (206), rushing yards (1,198) and touchdowns (11) earning him the award for Most Outstanding Canadian for the second time in his career.
It would have been the perfect season for Messam had it ended with a Grey Cup victory, but the heavily favoured Stampeders fell just short losing 39-33 to the Ottawa Redblacks in overtime.
The loss was devastating for the Stampeders, and perhaps most difficult for Messam was not having the opportunity to make the big play when it counted most. With the Stampeders down 33-30 late and on the Ottawa two-yard line, Dickenson went with his short-yardage team rather than leave quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, the league MVP, and Messam in the game. Andrew Buckley was stopped for a one-yard loss and Calgary had to settle for a field goal to force overtime
“It was tough from the way I envisioned the game to end in a fairy tale ending to how it ended was drastic for me,” Messam said. “Just to be able to get the opportunity to come back and be here again I feel blessed to be given another chance.”
Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell spoke of the disappointment of those final moments from last season when the game slipped through their fingers.
“I think (Messam) and I felt the exact same that one of us wants the ball in our hands at that point because as great players and prominent players in this league we’ve always dreamt of having the ball in your hands at that moment,” recalled Mitchell. “You know, third and one, game’s on the line to win the championship game.”
In the Western Final last weekend Messam had 13 carries for 71 yards and one touchdown. Dickenson admitted he felt Messam was a little worn down by the end of the season.
“He’s been fighting an injury for most the season and didn’t look like he had that same jump at the end of the year. It was concerning to me. We challenged him, but he definitely rose to that challenge and gave me everything he had and had a great performance last week.”
The Stampeders are hoping he can rise to the challenge once more on Sunday.