He’s never been the five-star recruit or a top draft choice, but receiver Reggie Begelton has always prided himself on being one of the hardest workers.

Throughout his high-school years, Begelton was a plucky 5-foot-7 and 160 lbs. Despite his small stature, he racked up big numbers in his senior year and was a first-team district all-star for West Brook High School in Beaumont, Texas.

Begelton was one of 35 players who hit the field at McMahon Stadium today for the opening of the Stampeders rookie camp.

“I was a late developmental type of guy,” Begelton said of growing into his 6-foot-2, 201-lb. body in university. “I graduated young, I graduated at 17, so I really didn’t get to grow right out of high school. I knew I had to work for everything. I didn’t get an offer out of high school.”

Without a scholarship in his pocket, Begelton turned his focus to landing a spot on the Lamar Cardinals, his local university team.

“The best opportunity for me was to walk on at the local university in my hometown,” said Begelton. “The whole goal was for me to actually get film and transfer, but everything started working out there. I thought, ‘If the Lord allows me to go to the next level, then it’s going to be out of this school.’ ”

Things more than worked out for Belgelton as he started 46 games over four seasons with the Cardinals and left Lamar as the team’s all-time leader in catches (227) and yards (2,435).

Following a spectacular run there, the talented receiver went undrafted by the NFL. After stops with the Atlanta Falcons and the Oakland Raiders, Begelton turned his focus to the CFL. He attended the Stampeders mini-camp in Florida, where he impressed coaches and management and signed with the team on May 17.

“It’s a little timid, trying not to mess up,” Begelton said of his first practice. “As long as you fly around and have confidence in yourself, I believe you’re doing the right thing. As long as you play fast, you’ll do alright.”

Although there are some differences between the American game and the Canadian one, Begelton admits that it doesn’t really affect him because of what he’s expected to do on the football field.

“Not at all,” Begelton said. “I’ve played slot all of my life in college and everything. It looks the same for me, especially since I’m the boundary slot most of the time. I won’t really have any trouble adjusting.”

Begelton made plenty of plays on the field Thursday and looked right at home, highlighted by a high-pointed catch in between two defenders during team drills.

“I saw the ball in the air and I went to go get it,” explained Begelton. “If it’s in the air, it’s anybody’s ball. I knew I needed to catch it, it was coming my way.”

Begelton got off on the right foot with a strong first practice, but he knows he still needs to bring it every play.

As one of nine rookie receivers looking to make the team, he’ll need to keep making plays to separate himself from the pack.

“They have a great group of guys and it’s a lot of competition. We all care about each other, we all help each other out, but at the same time, it’s a business. We know we need to come out here and play to the best of our abilities and there’s a lot of talent out here, I’ll say that.”