It’s too long ago now to recount every detail, but Warren Burrell does remember this: Milt Stegall always had some gems to tell about Winnipeg, the Blue Bombers and playing in the Canadian Football League.

All these years later, some of Milt’s tales now seem to be coming true to life as Burrell has just completed another day of training camp with those same Blue Bombers that were once folklore.

“When I was a kid, we’d be over at my uncle Rodney (Lumpkins) house and Milt, who was a family friend, would tell me stories about his playing days,” Burrell told bluebombers.com after practice on Sunday. “Milt would tell us all these crazy stories, like how he would drink honey on the sidelines straight from the bottle.

“When you’re a kid, you’re not always really paying attention to it. But as I got older — and especially after finding out I was going to be coming here — you start to realize more about what he was saying.

“And then when I was looking into it further, he was waaaaay better than I thought he was. I always thought he was good, but he’s truly a legend. So, to come here and see his name outside the stadium and then in here on the Ring of Honour… it’s really, really cool.”

Burrell has been one of the newcomers standing out through the first week of training camp as he continues to get a lot of reps with the starting defence at the cornerback spot next to Deatrick Nichols.

A product of Georgia Tech and Tennessee, Burrell’s last football opportunity was in mini camp with the New York Jets. When that didn’t lead to a shot, he went back to Georgia Tech to finish his masters in international affairs — he has a specific interest in climate change.

The opportunity he is chasing now, though, is here with the Blue Bombers — the team he heard so much about from one of the franchise’s legends and has since studied up on since signing here in January.

“Not everybody is family friends with Milt Stegall,” said head coach Mike O’Shea when asked of Burrell’s pre-camp prep on the CFL. “The bottom line is you don’t always have access to information. But you would expect in any job interview… I hope for my kids when they go on a job interview, they do some research on the company they’re talking to, who they’re going to be dealing with, who they are interviewing with.

“I do think the young guys coming up to the CFL for the first time need to watch some CFL games. They can get them and if they know anybody that’s ever been in the CFL they should be reaching out and talking to them and figuring out what it is — the major differences and what they have to look forward to. It’s sometimes hard for guys in all three phases to watch a game and go, ‘Oh, I understand what they’re doing here.’ You can read a rule, but when you get on the field things can be different.”

O’Shea noted Burrell’s cover skills and how quickly he’s picking the Canadian version of the game up while fighting through the ups and downs every player — rookie and vet alike — experiences during camp.

What’s also been evident is how much Burrell covets this opportunity. Putting his master’s to work in the climate change field can wait.

“Right now my focus is to see what I can do on the field,” he said. “It’s one thing when you know you’re not good enough or you don’t have it. Then it’s easier to move on. It’s another when you know you can play at that level.

“It was just about patience for me. Maybe if I had got that opportunity at the time I wouldn’t have been ready for it. Now, going through that process and having that time to get my conditioning right, lift more weights, finish my masters… I feel it’s prepared me better for this moment.

“I was able to have a conversation about this place with Milt before I got here and he said all good things,” Burrell said. “He told me about the standard that they have and so I feel I was pretty well prepared before I got here.

“Now… I love it here. I love the guys here, the coaches… everything is great. Everything happens for a reason. I’m where I’m supposed to be. All we have is today. I can’t look too far ahead; I can’t look at yesterday. All we have is today. It’s right here and right now for me.”