Q&A with Shawn Gore


WATCH SHAWN’S HILITES NOW

The Packers recently signed wide receiver Shawn Gore to a contract after he was invitied for a tryout to last week’s minicamp.

What makes Gore’s story a little special – beyond being signed after a tryout – is he is from Canada and has not played professionally (although he was a first-round pick in the latest CFL draft).

READ MORE: [url]http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/93045524.html

I had a chance to talk with Gore for about 10 minutes about his football past and future. He’s very well-spoken and if you listen hard enough, you can tell he’s Canadian. Gore will definitely be someone to watch at training camp. So without further adieu, here’s the transcript of our Q&A:

Q. Growing up in Canada, did you think about the NFL, or was it the CFL or just playing football?

A. Pretty much just playing football. For Canadians, usually the CFL is a viable option and the NFL is a really faraway dream. There’s not many Canadians who get the opportunity to even try out for a team, much less make a team or sign a contract. So it wasn’t really in my plans to be able to try out with the Green Bay Packers.

Q. How did the tryout come about?

A. I was at the Canadian combine and they got some information from that. I did very well there and they called me up and asked for some game tape so they could further do some research on me. So I sent that tape and after the NFL draft they called me and said they wanted me to come out as a tryout player to their minicamp. And I agreed, so I came down and that’s all she wrote.

Q. Football is not the No. 1 sports in Canada, and not even the No. 2 sport. How did you get involved in it?

A. I used to play rugby, actually, in high school. Me and one of my friends decided to join one of the football teams during the summer that wasn’t affiliated with our school, it was just a summer league team. So we joined that, played it, loved it and played it ever since then.

Q. I read there’s no scholarships for football in Canada. So do you just pick a school and walk on?

A. Kind of. There are some other incentives and things like that. And there is recruiting from coaches to get you to go to their school. So after high school I had a few different schools recruiting me, trying to gain my interest to go to their school. I ended up choosing Bishop’s University in a small town Sherbrooke in Quebec.

Q. Do you speak French?

A. Actually, I do speak a little French. I went to an all-French school for four years.

Q. I was watching some of your highlights (see below) and it looks like it is CFL-style football with the Canadian universities, where a wide receiver can get a running start. Is that something which will be an adjustment for you?

A. Not really because I also played outside receiver. In Canadian rules, the outside receivers are usually lined up on the line. So they start from a starting position just like American football. So I’m used to that. It’s not a big change. I showed that this past week at the minicamp, that I’m very used to the environment of starting from the start of the line of scrimmage.

Q. What were your expectations coming in going against American college players? I’m sure the quality of football here is higher just based on numbers and experience.

A. Oh definitely. I talked to a lot of coaches before I came down who have been around American football and they gave me some confidence saying I had the physical ability to compete. Knowing physically I could compete, I knew mentally I could. I know I’m a pretty smart individual and could pick up the playbook and be able to play the style of American football, picking up the nuances and the coverages. I was very confident, very confident.

Q. There was player from your school, Jamall Lee, who signed with an NFL team last year. Do you know him and did you have a chance to ask him for advice?

A. Me and him are real good friends. I talked to him before – and after – the minicamp and he gave me a lot of insight on what to expect, and also how to mentally prepare and attitude to go in with to be successful.

Q. What can you tell us about your style of play?

A. I think I play with, first, a lot of energy. I’m a very energetic individual. I play special teams. I’m a person that plays physical. I just want to make a play, it doesn’t matter really where. Put me on kickoff, punt, punt coverage, any of those positions. I’m going to give my all and not go through the motions. I’ll go all out to make a play.

Q. Do you think special teams will be the key for you making the roster?

A. Oh definitely. That’s going to be one of the most important things for me to make an NFL roster. All receivers can catch. I think I can make an impact at the receiver position, I think I can play. But what I think will separate me will be my special teams play. I think that will make me unique and an asset that the Green Bay Packers will want to keep.

Q. Here comes an ignorant question – is special teams in Canada different than it is here?

A. There are a few rules. One of the major ones is in the CFL there is no fair catching for punt returners, but there is a 5-yard halo rule. So you have to stay 5 yards away when the punt returner catches the ball then you can advance closer than the 5 yards, while in the NFL they have the fair catches and if you don’t fair catch you can get laid out. That’s the only big one.

Q. So on special teams are you more of a gunner or blocker than a return guy?

A. I’m usually more of a blocker or gunner. I did returns in high school but I didn’t at university because we had a really good kick returner – Steven Turner, who was at the Chicago Bears minicamp – so they didn’t really need my services at kick returner too much (laughs).

Q. Is this a new wave, guys coming down from Canada? Is this something they’ve been prepping you for?

A. It’s just that we’re getting better. Canadian football is getting a lot better. Our athletes are training a lot harder, a lot more. We’re just improving. Over the years I think there will be more and more – I won’t say we’ll ever get to the same level as the Americans – but we’re improving.

Q. Had you ever been to Wisconsin before?

A. Before the minicamp, no. It seemed very similar to where I was in Quebec, where it’s just a very beautiful place. A lot of trees, a lot of very nice scenery and the people seem very welcoming. They seem like a very good type of people.

Q. There’s no fan quite like a Packer fan. Have you found that out already?

A. I already found that out a little bit. I’m not used to people being outside at a practice before and after for autographs. Especially when it’s just a rookie minicamp without all the big-name guys like Aaron Rodgers and Donald Driver around.

Q. What are your expectations for yourself as far as to make the roster or practice squad?

A. One of my things my coach Leroy Blugh from Bishop’s taught me is to always handle what you can control. So with that, my expectations is all on myself to give 100 percent effort and go as hard as I can and be in that playbook. Learn it all and not have any assignment breakdowns. Just be the best football player I can possibly be and live up to my potential. And the rest I don’t really have an expectation or have a concern with. Making the roster is up to the coaches, but I’m going to handle what I can handle and that’s playing good football and continuously improving.

By Dave Heller of the Journal Sentinel

Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.

Leave a Reply