Not all surprises are created equal.
There are good surprises, like finding $20 in the pocket of a coat you haven’t worn for a while or a friend phoning with two tickets for Saturday night’s game.
Then there are the bad surprises, like the car suddenly breaking down or discovering that expensive bottle of wine you ordered wasn’t worth the price.
Tunde Adeleke has been a pleasant surprise for the Calgary Stampeders. The Canadian rookie from Carleton University has looked right at home in his three starts at safety filling in for the injured Josh Bell.
“Sometimes I just let him go out there and play and see what he can do,” said Kahlil Carter, Calgary’s defensive backs coach. “I’m surprised he’s doing so well at this level, this early.
“What’s not surprising is he has the ability do better. We are looking forward to his continuing growth in the defence.”
At just 22 years old, Adeleke filled in nicely for the injured Josh Bell at safety (David Moll/Calgary Stampeders)
The Stampeders selected Adeleke 25th overall in this year’s CFL Draft. Since then it’s been on-the-job training but Adeleke has received plenty of help from the other veterans in the Calgary secondary.
“I have great players all around me,” said the 22-year-old native of Nigeria. “They make it a lot easier in games.
“When I mess up on something there already is a guy correcting me before the (next) play even starts. It’s just great for me being in this situation with these players.”
What the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Adeleke lacks in size he compensates for in speed and heart. He had four tackles in Calgary’s 21-17 win over the BC Lions last week. He also broke up a couple of passes and didn’t hesitate laying a lick on the Lions’ Emmanuel Arceneaux who is four inches taller and 20 pounds heavier.
“Today he answered a lot of questions for us,” said Carter.
Adeleke saw only limited time at safety while during his four years at Carleton. John Hufnagel, Calgary’s president and general manager, liked what he saw when Adeleke ran the fastest 40-yard time at this year’s CFL Combine presented by adidas.
“I do feel like he’s been a steal in the draft for us,” said head coach Dave Dickenson. “He’s smart, he can run, he’s athletic.”
Any safety coming into the league faces a steep learning curve. They are the last line of defence and not only need to know their job, but be ready to jump in if someone else messes up.
“It’s very tough,” said Carter. “They have to know so much about what everybody else has to do and where they are supposed to be. Sometimes they have to cover up for them when they are not there.
“He (Adeleke) has the football IQ to get that done. He’s a very bright young man with a very bright future.”
Adeleke has managed not to look out of place playing beside all-stars like Jamar Wall, Tommie Campbell and Ciante Evans.
“He’s smart,” said Wall. “He’s a young guy who is eager to learn. He picks up things really quick.
“There’s not a whole lot of coordinators that will trust rookies to come in and start with a veteran group like this. He’s taken control. He does a good job. We like how he flies around the ball. He gets in the right spots.”
Adeleke credits the veterans for accepting him, whether it’s in the film room on the field during a game.
“At all times I feel like I’m a group of six,” he said. “Me and the other DBs are always communicating.
“There is never a point in the game when we set up and somebody isn’t telling me something or I’m not telling them something. It always feels like we are one big unit.”
Having people in your ear can get confusing sometimes. Adeleke has been able to listen and absorb.
“It’s hard to process (the information) but at the same time this is pro football,” he said. “This is what you have to do.
“If you are a rookie and you can’t process this stuff you’re not going to be here long. When I got here I made sure I got into the playbook right away and I understand as much as possible.”
Adeleke also has skills as a returner. He has returned five punts for 102 yards including taking one 71 yards for a touchdown.
As well as lining up on defence, Adeleke has returned punts for the Stampeders (David Moll/Calgary Stampeders)
Adeleke was six years old when his family moved to Canada. He had no idea what football was until his older brother started playing the game.
“Eventually my mom put me into it,” said Adeleke. “He (his brother) helped me get a lot better. Football has been my main sport for most of my life.”
At Carleton Adeleke played both defensive back and returned kicks. He earned all-Canadian honours as a returner in 2015 and 2016. During his college career he averaged 16.0 yards on 122 punt returns and 26.2 yards on 44 kickoff returns. He also recorded 127 total tackles, including four tackles for loss, four interceptions and seven pass breakups.
Bell is expected to return to the lineup this Saturday when the Stampeders (6-1-1) host the Toronto Argonauts (4-5-0) at McMahon Stadium. Carter said Adeleke can be used as a backup or moved to another position in the secondary.
“Athletically he can do anything,” said the coach. “We put him in a number of positions when he’s not at safety and he’s learning as he goes.
“As a rookie we don’t want to overload him. There are a couple of positions he could play and play well. We feel confident with him at a number of positions.”
No surprise, Adeleke is thrilled with how things are shaping up.
“This is as fun as it gets,” he said.