Hamilton takes on the B.C. Lions on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET\/2 p.m. PT on TSN1, TSN4, and TSN5.<\/a><\/p>\nBo Levi Mitchell, the rejuvenated Hamilton quarterback who leads the league in passing yards (1,812) and touchdowns (eight), said that Lawler\u2019s instant success with his new team begins with how he\u2019s treated his new teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt started in the locker room,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cHe\u2019s a guy\u2019s guy. He\u2019s a locker room dude. He brings everybody together. He talks to everybody\u2026in the weight room, he\u2019s working out with everyone, not just the receivers. He\u2019s always coming over to chat with the o-line\u2026it\u2019s the ability to talk and assimilate with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawler said that those relationships formed in the weight room and during film study have a direct correlation on the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to get to know everybody on the team, everyone on the staff, name by name,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen the o-line knows that you\u2019re going to get a pass and they\u2019re really closely connected to you, the o-linemen are going to block a little bit harder. When you\u2019re connected to other guys in the receiver room and they have to open up something for you to get you a ball, they\u2019re going to do it\u2026because they have a deeper love for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawler, a California Golden Bears product and seventh-round draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2016, starred for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for parts of five seasons. He’s also had stints with the BC Lions and Edmonton Elks. He signed a two-year deal with Hamilton last off-season.<\/p>\n
Mitchell reached out to Lawler to sell him on the Tiger-Cats during free agency. He emphasized head coach Scott Milanovich\u2019s ability to draw up plays that would bring out the best in the 31-year-old veteran wideout.<\/p>\n
Mitchell also pointed out that with Tim White, Jr. lining up opposite him and a strong offensive line up front, Lawler could have a big year because Mitchell could push the ball downfield that much more.<\/p>\n
Mitchell compared Lawler to Eric Rogers, who starred alongside Mitchell for parts of four seasons in Calgary. Rogers led the league with 1,448 receiving yards in 2015.<\/p>\n
\u201cBig, tall guy who can go and make plays,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cIf you have that type of receiver, there\u2019s a lot of things you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawler has made 50-50 catches look routine this season. Mitchell said that they\u2019re actually 80-20 balls given Lawler\u2019s ability to come down with the ball in double or triple coverage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes it very easy and fun for me to go out there and play football,\u201d the quarterback said. \u201cOne thing you love is the ability to know that sometimes in a one-on-one and you have a guy that, you don\u2019t care who he\u2019s matched up against, you believe in him to go up and make the play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawler said his connection with Mitchell dates back to Hamilton\u2019s first preseason game when he had seven targets in the first half.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just knew that he wants to get the ball in my hands,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just continue week in, week out, working on it\u2026it\u2019s just giving him the looks he wants to see, being in the right spot. There\u2019s a lot of trust and faith that has to happen between me and Bo. When we\u2019re all dialled in on that, magic happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for those 80-20 balls that often make SportsCentre highlights, Lawler said he has a simple mindset.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s for me to make a play or get a [pass interference penalty],\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just wanting it badder than the other person.<\/p>\n
\u201cI put a lot of work into this, a lot of mental preparation, but at the end of the day, a dog has to be a dog. You don\u2019t really tell a dog what to do. It just goes and [does] it. That\u2019s what I consider myself. I consider myself as a dog, one of the best to do it in the league. I pride myself on when that ball is in the air, coming down with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stegall feels that should Lawler break his record, everyone will benefit.<\/p>\n
“It’s good for him, it’s good for the CFL, it brings notoriety, and he’ll deserve it,” he said. “He’s a special talent. The way he contorts his body, the way Bo believes in him. It’s something special to see.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A decades-old Canadian Football League record could fall this season, and the man who set it admits he’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-23141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}