Keon Hatcher Sr. spent the BC Lions’ bye week embracing his most important roles in life — husband and dad.
In a brief break from diaper duty, he paused to reflect on his journey over the past 23 months — from rupturing his Achilles tendon to standing alone atop the CFL receiving leaderboard.
“To be honest, I’m just so blessed,” he said, his voice catching over the phone in an interview with CFL.ca. “God blessed me tremendously, and I can’t thank Him enough.”
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Hatcher’s gratitude comes with good reason. Through 16 games this season, he leads the CFL in receptions (90) and receiving yards (1,516).
He’s on pace for 1,705 receiving yards, which would be the league’s highest total since 2016 when Edmonton slotback Adarius Bowman reeled in 120 catches for 1,761 receiving yards
For Hatcher Sr., those numbers are beyond impressive considering the torn Achilles, a known career killer for so many in football, basketball and other sports.
“I wouldn’t say it’s just a painful injury,” Hatcher Sr. said. “It’s one of the hardest ones to get back from — if not the hardest.”
The injury came on only the second offensive series for BC in the 2023 West Division Final. After breaking his route, Hatcher Sr crumpled to the turf.
There was no contact on the play — just bad timing and bad luck.
“I remember just falling on the ground, getting up, hopping to the sideline on one leg, throwing my helmet and telling them I just tore my Achilles,” he said “It happened really fast. It was really a blur from that moment on, for the rest of that night.”
Hatcher Sr. had arrived in Winnipeg for the West Division Final with visions of advancing to the Grey Cup. Instead, he faced a gruelling rehab with no guarantee of full recovery.
And all this came after he finished the 2023 regular season with 78 catches for 1,226 yards and six touchdowns. His yard total that year was the second-highest in the league, behind only Hamilton’s Tim White.
Earlier this week, Hatcher Sr. asked his wife to be honest and tell him if she ever doubted his ability to return to peak form after the injury.
Her answer? No, she said. Not once.
“From the time it happened, I told her that everything was going to be okay, and I was going to be back the same,” Hatcher Sr. said. “She said she believed in me wholeheartedly.
“Having that support from her means so much.”
The original timeline looked like a 12-month recovery, at best.. In the end, Hatcher returned to the field in eight months thanks to what he calls grit, hunger and self-assurance.
“A lot of long days grinding,” he said. “Shout out to Marc Rizzardo in Burnaby for my rehab.”
Hatcher Sr. returned in Week 9 of the 2024 regular season, hauling in 38 passes for 608 yards. Decent numbers, to be sure — but some fans wondered out loud whether the star receiver’s best days were behind him.
The Tulsa, Okla. product was never known for blazing speed. He’s a scrappy, physical receiver who never shies away from heavy traffic and fights for every yard.
“I came back with 11 games last year and felt like I had a solid outing,” he said. “But coming off a torn Achilles, that’s not really easy to do.
“I knew after getting this full off-season in — putting in the work I usually put in — I would come back and have a good season.”
Good? Try great. The chemistry between Hatcher Sr. and quarterback Nathan Rourke is pretty to watch.
“Me and Nathan, we’ve known each other for a while,” Hatcher Sr. said. “We both are, I would say, football junkies. We both love the game, and we see the insides and the outsides of the game. We see the big picture, and not just the X’s and O’s and stuff like that.”
The Lions possess other offensive weapons which give Rourke plenty of choice. Justin McInnis has 68 catches for 1,115 yards this season. Ayden Eberhardt is sitting at 39 catches for 713 yards. Tailback James Butler has 206 carries for 1,103 yards along with 38 catches for 378 receiving yards.
But Hatcher Sr. is not satisfied. The ultimate goal, of course, is hoisting the Grey Cup next month in Winnipeg. And from an individual perspective, Hatcher Sr. has another target in mind — the great Geroy Simon.
“I actually had my eye on his franchise record,” he said of Simon’s 1,856-yard mark set in 2006. “I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to do it this year, but next year I’m coming for it.”