By Stampeders.com Staff

It’s still weeks until training camp gets under way, but Marquay McDaniel already knows one thing about the Calgary Stampeders’ 2015 season.

“With Nik and Mo gone,” the veteran Calgary Stampeders slotback said with a chuckle, “the receiving corps is definitely going to be a lot quieter.”

Yes, with Nik Lewis having signed with Montreal and Maurice Price now in Ottawa, the receivers’ section in the Stamps locker-room is populated by more low-key types such as McDaniel, Jeff Fuller, Joe West, Anthony Parker and Eric Rogers.

McDaniel will never match Lewis’ volume level — when you get right down to it, not many players could — but as a seven-year CFL veteran he knows that he will have to speak up more often this season.

“I know I’ll have to be more vocal now,” said McDaniel from his off-season home in Virginia. “I’ve always been a guy that leads more by example but I do know that in some situations on the sidelines and in the pre-game meetings with receivers, I’ll be a little bit more vocal than I have been.”

McDaniel already has had a taste of the role — when an injury sidelined Lewis for the second half of the 2013 season and did not accompany the team on road trips, it was McDaniel who gathered the other receivers around him prior to kickoff.

“I’m not really a rah-rah guy,” he said. “When you’re playing in the CFL, I personally don’t need anything extra to motivate me. Besides, it’s a long time from the pre-game speech to the kickoff. But if something needs to be said, I’ll say it.”

And McDaniel knows he’ll have lots of help.

“Simp is a great leader,” he said of middle linebacker and defensive captain Juwan Simpson. “And there’s a good chance Bo (Levi Mitchell) will become more vocal now that he’s going into his second season as the starter. There’s also Rob Cote and a lot of other guys. We’re in good shape on this team when it comes to leadership.”

It’s a trait that will come in handy as the 2015 Stamps look to accomplish something no Calgary team has ever done — repeat as Grey Cup champions.

“That’s just more motivation and just one more goal for us,” said McDaniel. “Teams always brought out their best against us but now that we’re the Grey Cup champs, we’re really going to be a target. That’s a challenge that we’re all looking forward to.”

McDaniel has shown an ability to overcome obstacles during his career. After getting released by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2011, he signed with the Stamps and finished the season on the Calgary practice roster.

After a 53-catch season in 2012, McDaniel earned CFL all-star honours with career highs of 76 receptions and 1,047 receiving yards in 2013.

The Hampton University product was on pace to match those numbers last season when he suffered a broken arm that sidelined him for six weeks. He returned to action for the regular-season finale and had a night for the ages — 12 catches for 165 yards — and followed that up with a touchdown catch in the Western Final and six receptions in the Grey Cup win over his old club.

McDaniel also has the benefit of knowing who will be delivering the ball to him as long as he’s a member of the Red and White.

“Bo signed that long extension and Drew Tate also signed an extension,” he noted. “So we have two No. 1 quarterbacks, really. As a receiver, that’s a great position to be in knowing we have those two guys.

“Bo won a Grey Cup in his first year as a starter. And I’m going to guess he has at least one more championship in his future.”