Kamar Jorden was born and raised in Pennsylvania.

He attended university in Ohio (Bowling Green State) and his professional career has brought him to Minnesota (rookie camp with the NFL’s Vikings), Washington state (a stint with indoor football’s Spokane Shock) and finally Alberta (signed with the Calgary Stampeders in 2013).

So naturally, Jorden does his off-season training in . . . Michigan?

“My first agent out of college was based in Michigan,” the receiver explains with a laugh, “and he set me up with a trainer there.”

Even after Jorden switched agents, he stuck with the trainer from the Wolverine State.

“It’s easier for me to come out here,” he says, “because I can focus more on football, without the distractions of being at home – friends calling you and all the other stuff that goes on with being at home.”

Photo by David Moll

After making a breakthrough with the Stamps in 2016, Jorden has extra motivation to stay focused.

He joined the Stamps’ practice roster all the way back on Oct. 2, 2013. By late September of 2016, almost three full years later, he had appeared in a grand total of six games. The lack of game action was the result of a combination of injuries and getting caught in the numbers game with the talented and deep Stamps pass-catching corps.

Then an injury to Bakari Grant in Week 13 created an opening at slotback and Jorden took full advantage. In his first game back in the lineup, he had nine catches for 126 yards and a touchdown against Winnipeg. He added another 100-yard game and another major two weeks later against Toronto.

Jorden made at least three receptions in each of the Stamps’ final eight games of the season including five in both the Western Final and the Grey Cup.

“Most definitely I want to build off that,” says Jorden. “I want to keep that momentum rolling from last year. This last year was really what I knew I could do. The first two years, I was dealing with injuries and everything else. Last season was the first year I was able to go out there and do my thing.”

Jorden has certainly had to be patient during his first couple of years as a Stamp. In 2014, both Jorden and Eric Rogers were members of the practice roster for much of the year. Then, late in the season, both players got a chance to play. Rogers got the call in Week 18 and made five catches for 72 yards. The following week, it was Jorden’s turn and, in snowy conditions at McMahon, he managed just one reception for seven yards.

Photo by David Moll

So the Stamps went back to Rogers in Week 20 and a standout performance – including two touchdowns – in the regular-season finale earned him a roster spot in the playoffs. The following season, Rogers led the CFL in receiving while Jorden appeared in just two games.

Through it all, Jorden remained determined and simply waited for his chance. Finally, in the second half of 2016, he was rewarded.

“Every off-season is the same focus of being better than I was the year before, and to add on to my skills from the previous year,” he says. “I don’t want to keep harping on the Grey Cup but that was the biggest game I ever played and I know it was a big experience for me. It made me want to be a greater receiver. Not just good – I want to be one of the top receivers in the CFL and I want to be able to make plays for Bo (Levi Mitchell) that people don’t expect me to make. That’s my focus – to do that extra rep or whatever it takes to make myself one of the best receivers in the CFL.

“As long as I believe that and I show that to myself, then the rest of the league will see what type of receiver I am.”