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June 4, 2017

Sky’s the limit for Durant

Receiver Lemar Durant during 2017 training camp

The difference between wondering and knowing. Hoping and doing.

Between gravity and weightlessness. Dithering and decisiveness. Between accepting a role in the chorus and welcoming – no, demanding – the glare of the spotlight, smack-dab centre stage.

“He’s like any other rookie receiver that’s come in,’’ says Pete Costanza, who’s seen this routine played out many, many times over his 10 seasons as the man at the helm of the Stampeders’ receiving corps.

“First year, you hope they catch on. Normally that takes about half the season.

“There’s a lot to absorb.

“Last year, you saw strides made. He probably didn’t get as many looks as he’d have liked but he was open plenty of times.

“This season, Year 3, just like Anthony (Parker) in Year 3, you see them not thinking. They aren’t wondering ‘Should I be here?’ Or ‘Is this right?’ You see them playing. There’s a freedom that understanding and familiarity bring. They’ve got Level 101 Football down pat. The knowledge-base is in place.

“He’s playing fast. He’s a big, strong physical kid. Just let the athletic ability take over.

“Definitely, the sky’s the limit for Lemar.”

No more remedial stuff, then.

Lemar Durant has his sights on a very particular type of PhD this year: Doctor of Catchology.

From then to now, draft day to today, the former SFU star chosen 18th in 2015, feels like a new man.

“Night and day, from before,’’ acknowledges Durant, with the 2017 pre-season curtain-raiser only two days away. “Just being used to everything makes such a difference. Knowing the playbook inside and out, my teammates, the city, the set-up, what I can do.

“This feels like home now.

“When I come here I just feel very, very comfortable.

“The first year was just kinda getting settled in. The second year, there was the injury and that kind of set me back.

“This year I want to start strong and go from there.”

Progression is easily charted. A dozen snags for 170 yards and three touchdowns over his freshman campaign. Encouraging.

A year ago, a nice bump up to 35 catches for 402 yards and one TD, despite the ongoing frustrations of a nagging high ankle-sprain.

“He was nicked up a lot last year, which was unlucky, but I still saw a big jump in his play,” praises the gold standard for pass-catching hereabouts, seven-year slotback Marquay McDaniel. “You can see his ability to make plays. He’s got good hands, reliable, can run sweeps, go up and get the ball when he has to.

“We’ve definitely seen flashes, glimpses, of what he’s capable of so hopefully he can stay healthy. What I noticed most is his comfort level in the offence. That’s means so much to a young guy.

“If you’re comfortable, as soon as you break the huddle, it’s like: ‘OK, I’m good. I know what I got.’ Everything’s just … easier.

“In the playoffs he did some really meaningful things for us.

“Definitely a guy you’d like to see get the ball more. Big dude. Can do a lot.”

Arguably the most encouraging aspect of Durant’s 2016 showing was his finish – saving the best for last is never a bad thing.

He caught two passes, one for a TD, in a 42-15 dismantling of the B.C. Lions in the West final and followed that up on Grey Cup Sunday at BMO Field against Ottawa by latching onto four Bo Levi Mitchell tosses for 59 yards and a touchdown, as well as running for a major from three yards away.

“Those games were a great experience,’’ reckons Durant, a powerhouse at 6-foot-2 and 230-lb. “Kind of what you dream of as a kid. In the playoffs, I probably had my best games. That’s always good to build off.

“That’s where I want to start from this year, and improve on.”

There are, as is custom out at McMahon Stadium, no shortage of options for the Katy Kid at QB to play pitch-and-catch with. The balletic DaVaris Daniels. Reliable Mr. McDaniel. Parker. Kamar Jorden. Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ alumnus Rory Kohlert.

In Year 3, working towards his PhD, Durant is after a bigger slice of the pie, no matter how many hungry folks are seated at the table.

“I just want to be me,’’ he says. “I feel like if I can do that, I’ll have a good year.

“I feel strong. I feel confident.

“I hope they’re expecting more of me.

“I know I’m expecting a lot more of myself.”