It has been a wild two seasons for Yorkton's Jordan Matechuk as he tries to break back into the CFL's longsnapping circle after a steroid bust put him in jail and out of the game just before Hamilton Tiger-Cats training camp in 2011. After being signed to the Saskatchewan Roughriders training camp roster and failing to make the team, Matechuk was claimed off the Riders practice roster by the Lions on waivers Tuesday.
Matechuk participated in the Riders two preseason games, surviving the first cut, but failing to make the final cut after the Riders final preseason game against Calgary. Cory Chamblin cut Matechuk that weekend, but Matechuk decided to stick around in Regina on the practice squad, luckily for him the Lions struggles with their long snapper has given Matechuk a second chance at cracking a CFL team in 2013 and is planned to be the Lions Week Three long snapper against the Edmonton Eskimos Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.
The journey from being an up and coming special teams specialist in Hamilton to getting a second chance in B.C. as a starter has been a long one for Matechuk. Two years ago, the linebacker/long snapper from Yorkton was stopped and arrested by American officials at the Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.-Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. border crossing. In his possession were copious amounts of anabolic steroids, in pill and liquid form, syringes, replacement needles, oxycontin and 1.25 grams of marijuana. Caught at the Ontario-United States border, Matechuk was headed to jail and once the news of his arrest went national he was out of the CFL after being instantly released by the Tiger-Cats.
As part of his rehabilitation, Matechuk made a phone call to ever CFL General Manager, explaining how he was off of his bipolar medication and that he was battling depression which led to a series of unfortunate life choices that led him to his arrest. Matechuk also made it clear that he was remorseful with the shame he brought upon the league in those calls with CFL GM's, one of them being Lions boss and CFL legend Wally Buono, who doesn't see Matechuk getting a second chance as being an issue.
Talking to Mike Beamish of the Vancouver Sun, Buono was quick to say good things about Matechuk and his maturity following what could have been a life altering mistake. "My reaction to these things always is, if someone sees the error of his ways, and he apologizes for it, then you give him a second chance," Buono explains. "We all make mistakes. He did something. He got caught. Hopefully, he's learned from it. An apology is the beginning of learning. He was aware enough to realize his action affects all of us."
Matechuk's openness and remorse about the darkest period in his life has made CFL GM's and coaches quick to give Matechuk a chance to earn another shot in the league.
Winnipeg gave Matechuk a chance last season, but a 2011 without football and the aforementioned personal battle with depression and no real issues in the snapping game for the Bombers made it understandable that Matechuk didn't crack the 46 man roster.
In Regina, Matechuk was once again snakebitten by the fact that at the long snapper position you only move up the depth chart when someone can't do their job. On the practice roster in Saskatchewan with an ability to be picked up from any team in the CFL, Matechuk was on the waiting list and looking for a long snapper to slip up, Matechuk may have found his big break by the way of Tim Cronk's meltdown to start the Lions season.
In two starts, Cronk has botched two snaps to punter Hugh O'Neill that resulted in scores for the Lions opponents. With that in mind, Buono and coach Mike Benevides felt the need in addressing their long snapping issue enough to snap Matechuk off the Riders practice roster, a move that is always available as per CFL rules, but is rare as teams keep an unwritten practice to avoid raiding another team's spare players.
With CFL rules dictating that a player claimed from another team's practice roster waivers cannot move to another team's practice roster, Matechuk will make the Lions Week Three active list by default and is expected to start with coach Benevides telling the Sun he is not overly happy with Cronk's snapping execution. "Proficiency and efficiency," added Benevides. "That was something we saw last year that is not there this year. Tim snapped one over his head and Hugh had one blocked against Toronto. That's not acceptable. As a coach, you have to look for someone who can do it better."
That someone better is Matechuk, who from all indications will be expected to start and replace Cronk despite being picked up on just Tuesday, giving him just two days of practice to prepare for his first CFL start since the 2010 season, given the long journey Matechuk has taken to get to this point if he does start, don't plan on him not being prepared.
Matechuk, who has claimed in various interviews that prison has changed his life around, now has been given his best chance to date to get his career back to the spot it was before his arrest when he was a regular with the Tiger-Cats. On Saturday a redemption story that started at the United States border will open up another chapter in Edmonton, Alberta as Matechuk will at the very least, dress in a CFL game for the first time since that fateful day two years ago.
