Joey Payeur
The black-and-gold’s best bet to be behind centre this fall has some well-placed coaches’ hopes riding on him this spring.
Quarterback Brady Meeks was among 33 out of 55 tryout candidates to be selected for the Thunder Bay Minor Football Association U16 Knights.
The squad will play a pair of exhibition games May 14 at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ home stadium against a U16 team from there and again May 21 in Sault Ste. Marie versus a junior varsity team.
Meeks took part in the three-day audition in an effort to polish his skills in readying himself for the Muskies’ next WHSFL campaign.
“I wanted to learn more about the quarterback position, and it was a great opportunity for me to go down there and see if I could make it or not,” noted the 14-year-old Grade 9 student.
Meeks was up against four other quarterbacks in a battle for two spots.
“There was good competition there,” he said.
“Everyone was fairly equal, but I think I had a slight edge with my arm and my movement in the pocket.
“I already had a year of high school [football] under my belt and while the others there had been back-ups, I already had some playing time to fall back on,” added Meeks.
He also believes demonstrating the intangibles he brings to a team helped his cause.
“I think my leadership helped me stand out,” he remarked.
“I was congratulating everyone I could and trying to be a good teammate, telling the other kids what they were doing right and wrong and what to fix.”
Meanwhile, Meeks feels being part of the Knights will pay off in spades when he pulls his Muskies jersey back come September.
“This will help a lot,” he stressed.
“The Thunder Bay coaches are always letting you know what you’re doing right and wrong,” he noted.
“I can learn more skills and take them back to Fort High, and hopefully lead the Muskies to a better season.”
Muskie lineman Graham Anderson also was in Thunder Bay trying to make the roster for the U18 Knights.
But he’ll have to wait until April to see if he made the cut.
