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John Woods \/ The Canadian Press files<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker Ja\u2019Kobe Clinton (left) impressed in the pre-season game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders last Saturday, recording a pick six in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat set the bar way tremendously high for me. But like I tell everybody, we got two different roads and I kind of took the harder route,\u201d Clinton told the Free Press after Bombers practice on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody respects me for that because they know that I\u2019m not a guy who just always talks about my brother \u2014 I want to make a name for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clinton\u2019s road to Winnipeg started on the floor of his grandmother\u2019s home in Orlando, Fla. That\u2019s where he slept for nearly three years after high school while training relentlessly to play at the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know how hard it is to grind for two and half, three years knowing you\u2019re not getting results? A lot of people would\u2019ve gave up, a lot of people would\u2019ve quit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a bed back at home, but I chose to sleep on the floor just to keep myself humble. I wanted to make sure I won\u2019t ever go back to the bottom again.\u201d<\/p>\n
He finally caught a break when he happened to check the spam folder in his email and found an invite to work out for Southeastern University \u2014 an NAIA program down the road in Lakeland, Fla.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe coach eventually liked me, and I told him I\u2019m going to make of the most my opportunity and that I\u2019m gonna get to the league. I didn\u2019t say which one, though \u2014 and now I\u2019m here,\u201d said the 24-year-old.<\/p>\n
After two seasons at Southeastern, Clinton made his way to the NCAA Division II level to suit up for West Florida. He had an offer to go to Notre Dame for his senior campaign, but he elected to stay put.<\/p>\n
It proved to be a wise decision as the six-foot-two, 230-pounder had a sensational season where he was named Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2025 after recording 78 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, seven sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 12 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat season was very remarkable, but you haven\u2019t seen nothing yet,\u201d said Clinton.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was just the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without any NFL offers, Clinton started to explore his options, and he discovered on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that the Bombers owned his CFL rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told my agent, \u2018Hey, get on that,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He officially signed on May 5, but to travel up north, he needed to get a passport. Clinton drove three hours to Miami to pick it up and was planning to fly to Winnipeg that same day, but a wrench was thrown into his plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cA deer hit my car. Yeah, so, I gotta pay for that,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t end up making the flight, but they brought me in the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite being a newcomer, Clinton felt well prepared heading into Bombers training camp. After all, he grew up competing in his own household.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother has always been very strict with me about what I got to sacrifice and what I got to do to be great. The competition level is super crazy between me and him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when he was in his prime in the NFL and I was out of school, me and him were still working out and I was going at him hard. Eventually, he saw that I was very serious about this and that I had a chip on my shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Bombers don\u2019t have any obvious openings at linebacker, Clinton is making a strong case to be kept. He made arguably the play of the game in Saturday\u2019s pre-season loss in Saskatoon when he jumped up and intercepted a Brayden Schager pass and took it 42 yards to the house in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s pretty evident that he\u2019s a grinder. We like those type of guys,\u201d said head coach Mike O\u2019Shea on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey generally have a lot of gratitude for being where they\u2019re at because their journey\u2019s been tougher and they usually are not afraid to express that and they show it with the way they attack the day, how they play, and how they run around. I think that\u2019s generally noticeable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clinton will have one last chance to show what he can do when the Bombers close out the pre-season on Friday at Princess Auto Stadium against the B.C. Lions (7:30 p.m. kickoff).<\/p>\n
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\u201cI just got to show them why they should keep me here on this team and when they do, that\u2019s going to be the best decision they\u2019ve ever made,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Even though the CFL won\u2019t grant him the same level of fame and fortune that his family experienced previously, he\u2019s eager to stick around.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis stadium is crazy. I went D2, we didn\u2019t have this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t take this for granted\u2026 And looking at those 12 Grey Cup championships up there, I want to be able to contribute to the team and maybe we can go and get another one.\u201d<\/p>\n
winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n
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Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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