After their season came to an end in November of 2016, there was a long break from football for CFL draft hopefuls Ante Milanovic-Litre and Felix Gacusana.

Even with workouts, the CFL Combine, and interviews to help time pass faster, it seemed to move at a snail’s pace.

“There was a bit of contrast,” said Milanovic-Litre. “Leading up to the draft, it was really slow. You were waiting for phone calls and time couldn’t pass fast enough. All of a sudden you’re watching the draft and you finally get the phone call and everything starts picking up real fast.”

Mid-way through the draft, full-back Milanovic-Litre (4th round, 28th overall) heard his name called by the Stampeders. In the very next round, the Stamps selected his Simon Fraser University (SFU) teammate and offensive linemen, Felix Gacusana (43rd overall).

“After I got drafted, I was really happy and when I saw Felix get drafted by the Stampeders I got even more excited,” admitted Milanovic-Litre.

The two SFU grads aren’t just teammates, but they’re close friends who spend time together off the football field. The two have known each other since their high school days when they used to play against one another in Vancouver.

Now, the two rookies have extended their friendship to the professional ranks.

“It was crazy,” Gacusana said when he found out he was joining Milanovic-Litre in Calgary. “We’re good friends. We have an annual group road trip to Washington and it’s good times. We played against each other in high school, too, so we’ve known each other for a long time.”

For Gacusana, being drafted wasn’t even something he had thought was possible.

But the nasty o-linemen has worked extremely hard to earn this opportunity. He continued to improve his game throughout university, culminating his career with SFU as a second-team all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

“It’s surreal. From playing university — I never thought about playing pro football,” he said. “Having been drafted, now it’s real. It was exciting coming into camp and now I’m just trying to learn stuff and catch up with everyone else.”

When the draft hit the rearview mirror, Felix and Ante hit the road together and began the journey to become Stampeders.

“Next thing you know, you’re driving out to Alberta, training camp hits, and here’s this playbook,” Milanovic-Litre said. “You’ve just got to pick up as much as you can as fast as possible. I’ve really enjoyed this process and it’s been surreal, especially to have Felix drafted to the same team.”

Now through two days of Rookie Camp, Gacusana has spent his time learning from offensive line coach Pat DelMonaco and the older, more experienced linemen.

Being the youngest linemen in camp, he’s really appreciated the help he’s received so far.

“A lot of those guys are helping me out,” Gacusana said. “I’m 21 and straight out of college and they have experience in the NFL and other camps, so they’re helpful and there’s no animosity. It’s all good stuff.”

Having played tailback and fullback at Simon Fraser, Milanovic-Litre ran for 789 yards as well as receiving 72 catches for 516 yards. He was recognized for his efforts in 2015 as he was second-team all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Just like Gacusana, Milanovic-Litre has been spending a large amount of time trying to learn from his teammates and coaches.

He has spent one-on-one time during each practice with running back coach Marc Mueller, something he isn’t taking for granted.

“It’s been cool. He’s a really good coach,” said Milanovic-Litre. “He’s got deep knowledge of football in general because he played quarterback in Regina, so he’s a typical QB; great leader, great understanding of the offence. But when he first came to Calgary, he was also a defensive assistant, so there’s a lot to learn from him. I’m just trying to soak up as much as possible.”