Playing my first game, obviously I’m ecstatic and it’s a dream come true. But you have to put that aside, you’re a professional now. It’s not about being the young guy and thinking you’re just there and it’s a great experience. You have to prepare like a pro and be a pro and act like you’ve been there before. Just don’t let yourself get caught up in the moment.

There have been a lot of injuries on the defensive line lately, but you can’t really think like your opportunity to play is coming. You just have to prepare every week like you are playing that week. It’s your job and you need to be ready to go at any time the bell calls. The opportunity came for me and I was ready but I’ll be a lot better this week if I get the opportunity.

There are a lot of things I need to improve on. I expect a lot out of myself so I wouldn’t exactly give myself a high grade for my first game. There were some good plays and some bad.

You grow up watching this league and Darian Durant has been a guy that’s been around forever. You watch him with Saskatchewan and now Montreal. You line up and you see him walking out from the opposite sideline and it’s just crazy. You can’t let yourself get caught up in the moment. He’s just another guy on the field just as equal as you are. You need to keep him in check. He’s very elusive and you need to try to get your feet out from under you and don’t psyche yourself out.

We were talking all week how we need to wrap up that throwing arm and I was trying to get it and I missed it. Luckily Tommie was there on the spot to make the play. I mean a lot of quarterbacks just take sacks but Darian’s been doing a good job of getting rid of the ball. Next time I’ve just got to wrap up that arm. It’s better than a sack when you get a turnover in the offensive end so I guess it turned out for the better.

My mom and my dad made the trip from Courtice, Ontario. It’s a bit of a drive but I was happy to have them there. They’re ecstatic to see me playing and it was awesome to play in front of them. It’s a dream come true and hopefully there’s many more to come.