In an unusual coincidence, the Calgary Stampeders are on pace to have team members reach the 100-games-played milestone in three consecutive weeks.

On Sunday, it was punter Rob Maver. Next Saturday in Edmonton, Maver’s kicking comrade Rene Paredes is on target to see his regular-season odometer roll over to 100.

But in between, running back Jerome Messam will hit 100 when he takes to the McMahon Stadium turf for Monday’s Labour Day Classic against the Eskimos.

But not all milestones are created equal.

While Maver and Paredes have taken more-or-less direct paths to the century mark — they arrived in Calgary and kept suiting up until the game total approached triple digits — Messam is on the cusp of the milestone after a mess of broken-field running.

There have been plenty of pit stops along the way, and more than a few detours.

“It’s been a rocky road,” nods Messam after a hard workout at McMahon, “but things have straightened out for me and I’m in a great place right now.”

That place, in a literal sense, is Calgary, his football home since being acquired in a trade with Saskatchewan a little more than 10 months ago. Figuratively, Messam is also referring to the inner peace he’s achieved after some hard knocks earlier in his career.

Jerome Messam as a member of the Edmonton Eskimos during a game against Winnipeg on October 15, 2011 (Photo by Canadian Press/Ian Jackson)

It goes back to the very beginning when Messam made U.S. college stops at the North Dakota State College of Science and Iowa’s Graceland University, teams that are never going to be mentioned by Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and the rest of the gang on ESPN College Gameday.

“Two small schools,” he acknowledged. “I was just happy to be able to play football down south. But no matter where you are, you’ll get your looks. If you’ve got the talent and you’ve got the work ethic, the scouts will find you.”

That may be true, but not a single CFL team spent a 2010 draft pick — there were 47 in all — on the running back out of Brampton, Ont. Instead, Messam signed as a free agent with the BC Lions and was used sparingly — just 23 carries in 17 games — during his rookie season.

In training camp the following season, the Leos traded him to Edmonton for the low, low price of a fifth-round draft choice. Besides the lack of production on the field, there were some off-field incidents.

Messam admits his attitude was an issue.

“Immaturity and feeling like I was a know-it-all,” is how he puts it. “I was thinking that I’ve made it and now that I’m here, that I can rest. Then I realized that when you think you’ve made it, that’s when you have to turn it on and push to get even better.”

That improvement happened in 2011 with the Eskimos as the big man rumbled for 1,057 yards and was named the league’s top Canadian. But then came another huge, axle-smashing pothole.

Jerome Messam holds his award for the 2011 CFL Outstanding Canadian as a member of the Edmonton Eskimos (Photo by Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward)

“I got hurt in 2011 and it kind of put me in a bad headspace,” he says. “And then, trying to recover from the injury, I just wasn’t myself for the next two seasons. Going into Montreal (in 2013), I wasn’t really healthy, I was kind of fighting through it and just going through the motions.”

After one season in Montreal, the Alouettes decided to go in a different direction at tailback and released Messam.

With the exception of an NFL tryout with the Miami Dolphins in 2012, it was the first time in his career he had been cut.

Messam eventually found work with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but a crowded backfield — Anthony Allen and Will Ford were also employed by the Green Riders — meant a lot of fullback duty and limited touches for the veteran Canadian.

The arrival of Jacques Chapdelaine as the Riders’ offensive coordinator in 2015 proved to be the spark Messam needed.

“It was a new regime,” explains Messam, “and Chapdelaine went with a Canadian running back and gave me an opportunity to show that I still had it.”

Messam was leading the CFL with 826 rushing yards through Week 16. He didn’t see the field again until Week 19 because of the trade that took him from a Riders team that was on a Week 17 bye to a Calgary squad that was on a bye in Week 18.

Jerome Messam as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders runs the ball against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on September 6, 2015 (Photo by Canadian Press/Mark Taylor)

Still, Messam cracked the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his career and set career highs with 53 catches and 497 receiving yards.

The trade also gave him a chance to move from a team heading to a 3-15 finish to one that won 14 games and reached the West Division final.

“It was just a blessing for me to be able to come here and to get an opportunity to be on a great team,” he says. “I had admired these guys for a long time and I was able to come here and help out, which is awesome.”

Messam’s contract expired at the end of the 2015 season but he chose to remain with the Red and White.

“It wasn’t about the biggest contract for me,” he declares. “I’m a guy who’s been on a lot of teams. I’m in my seventh year right now and it’s all about winning. I want to win to win a Grey Cup. I want to be a champion. I feel like this organization and this group of guys are the best chance for me to do that.”

Messam is in the thick of the 2016 rushing race as he heads into Week 11 just 23 yards back of leader Andrew Harris. He’s also on pace to surpass his career bests in the receiving stat categories.

“Anytime I’ve been given the opportunity,” he says, “I think I’ve done the job well. To have a coach here in Calgary that believes in me and a GM that believes in me means a lot. My teammates, ever since I’ve been here they’ve embraced and made me feel like a brother. I just love the way Huff runs the team. It’s just different than any place I’ve ever been.”

And now, with his fifth CFL team, he prepares to put on the armour for his 100th contest on what is arguably the most celebrated date on the CFL’s regular-season slate.

“I think it’s a huge accomplishment and I feel like I’m very blessed to be able to make it to 100 games,” he says. “Other guys play in the CFL and can’t even dream about making it to 100. Hopefully, I can play for many more years.”

Jerome Messam before a game in Winnipeg on July 21, 2016 (Photo by Johany Jutras)

And, if he could go back in time to Lions training camp in 2010, what would almost-100-game Jerome Messam tell zero-game Jerome Messam?

“I would tell myself to be humble,” he says after a brief pause. “I would tell myself that it’s a game, but it’s also a business and you have to approach it like a pro and approach it like it’s your job. People out there are fighting to get to where you are and you can’t take it for granted.”

It took some time, but Messam eventually saw the light.

“It was just me persevering and believing in myself, no matter who counted me out,” he says. “I always believed that when I was healthy and got an opportunity, I would be able to do great things in this league. It was just a lot of time to mature and grow and figuring who I was as a person and the things that were important to me.”