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Joe West needed a job.
The 6-foot-1 receiver bounced around the NFL and spent a couple of seasons in the United Football League after a successful collegiate career at Texas-El Paso. He was released by the St. Louis Rams during training camp in 2011, but he wasn’t ready to give up on pro football quite yet.
West had been training for years with some CFL players in the Dallas area, including Ken-Yon Rambo and Quincy Butler — both Stampeders at the time — and asked them about playing in Canada.
“I knew Ken-Yon played over in Canada and I knew he was doing really well out there,” says West. “I talked to him about it because I knew I needed a job and I needed a home somewhere. He was like, ‘Hey, you know there’s going to be a workout in Dallas so you should get yourself in some kind of shape and you can come out there and put your skills on display.’ So I did that.”
West admits he didn’t know anything about Canadian football when he went to that open tryout in Dallas in the spring of 2012. He was just anxious to get on the field again.
“Before we went out on the field,” he says, “we started off in a little mat room and we did our vertical jumps and we did our 5-10-5 shuttle, just letting them get a feel of what our strengths are.”
And then it was time to hit the field.
“I did a lot of running routes on air,” West continues, “and then I got to compete against some of the defensive backs and we did one-on-one drills. It was fun just being able to go out there and compete.”
West impressed Stamps personnel enough at that open tryout to earn an invite to a minicamp in Florida a few weeks later. From there, he signed with Calgary in May and arrived for training camp in June.
“I thought I had gotten used to (the CFL) and then, when training camp started and all the vets started coming in, the game changed a little bit,” admits West. “The speed, the tempo . . . it got a little faster. It was fun. It was a really good experience.”
West earned a spot on the roster and now has two CFL seasons under his belt. He’s battled injuries, but has been impressive in the 13 games he has suited up for the Red and White, hauling in 43 passes for 630 yards and five touchdowns.
Calgary is holding open tryouts in several cities across the United States over the next couple of months. The Stampeders coaches and player personnel encourage all athletes who want the opportunity to showcase their football skills to attend one of the open tryouts.
>> Click here for a list of dates and cites and to pre-register for open tryouts