DRESSLER WINS ANOTHER AWARD

Sportsman of the Year


Dec 28, 2008 - 04:05:17 CST

By STEVETHOMAS BismarckTribune

The tumble was roller coaster-like:From big man on campus to unheralded rookie.Weston Dressler's much-celebrated feats at the University of North Dakota didn't earn him much respect last spring as a rookie in the Canadian Football League."Nobody knew me on day one," Dressler recalled. "... I went into training camp just hoping to make the team. They dress 42 guys for a game and there were about 90 guys there at the start of camp."So, just as he has done before, Dressler clenched his teeth and went to work and began his climb up the depth chart. He succeeded so well as a slotback and kick returner for the Saskatchewan Roughriders that he was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie.

Thirty-seven of 46 voters put Dressler No. 1 on their ballots.That phenomenal first year of pro football earned Dressler The Tribune's Sportsman of the Year honors. He has now won four times in six years.Other finalists considered were JoashOsoro, Greg Amundson, Justin Schlecht, EvanGross and Brent Qvale.

Dressler grabbed 56 passes for 1,128 yards and six touchdowns for the Roughriders in 15 regular-season games. He also returned 39 punts for 411 yards and 29 kickoffs for 603 yards.In addition, Dressler had five catches for 93 yards in the Roughriders' 33-12 first round playoff loss to British Columbia.The lion's share of Dressler's production - 49 catches for 1,000 yards -was packed into the final dozen games of the season. He missed Saskatchewan's fourth, fifth and sixth games due to a hamstring pull and lost most of the ninth game due to a concussion.Fan favoriteWhile he may have reported to rookie camp in May as a mere number, Dressler quickly caught on with the Saskatchewan fans, who he deems the CFL's best."By day three of training camp the fans and staff on the team saw what I could do on the field. That's when the buzz started," Dressler said. "Ithought Ihad a really legitimate shot at that point, not just at making the team but being a big part of the team."Due in part to injuries in Saskatchewan's receiver corps, Dressler became a viable part of the offense in the third game. He caught six passes for 122 yards and a touchdown before pulling his right hamstring.After returning from the leg injury he racked up five 100-yard games in the Roughriders' final 12 regular-season outings.His season highs were eight catches in a loss to Calgary, 145 yards in a loss to British Columbia and two touchdowns in a win over Winnipeg.

Making adjustmentsWhen he crossed the border in May,Dressler said he expected the jump to professional football to be difficult. Still, he was ill-prepared for what he experienced."You hear stories about how college and professional football are different, but until you experience it you can't grasp how different it can be," he said."In college, unless you screw up big time, you pretty much assume you're going to be somewhere for four or five years," he continued. "I'm signed for two years (with an added option year), but I really have to go up there and make the team again next year.

"The 2009 training camp should be easier in one respect, though."Iwon't have to study the playbook and the rulebook. It won't be as intense mentally for me,"he said.As it turned out, the rules and playbook were just the tip of the iceberg. Where Dressler really went to school was learning to take advantage of the CFLrules that worked to his advantage."A lot of the game is geared toward offensive success," Dressler said.

"The field is bigger so even with 12 players there's more space to operate. And there's the motion aspect. ... All the receivers can be moving. We can have six guys moving at the snap of the football with four of them going toward the line of scrimmage.""When you have the ability to run full speed toward the line of scrimmage at the snap of the ball you can create an advantage for yourself," he saidd.Learning to make the most of that advantage was a season-long process. In fact, Dressler said he's still learning to fully exploit the CFLrulebook."The main part of my success was to keep on learning everything I could every day -to continue to improve and adapt," he said.Dressler said having 24 men of the field presented special difficulty."Recognizing the (12-man)defense was completely different," he recalled. "... That was the hardest adjustment for me.""It's fun when you start to learn it and understand what you can do," he added. "You can create a lot of confusion for the defense. ... "As a receiver you feel you should win every time with all the rules in your favor."During his days at UND, Dressler said there were games were he simply overpowered opposing defenders with speed, estimated at 4.48 seconds at 40 yards last spring.

Those days, he said, are long gone."It's not a situation where Ican beat (a defender) on a post route because I'm faster.You have to understand your opponent to be able to beat him,"Dressler said.

"The athleticism of the players is very good. You have to exploit a lack of discipline or other things to beat them.""Most of the defensive backs I faced up there were as fast as me or faster in a straight-away race," he continued. "But once you're able to dictate what he can and can't do it appears you're running by him.

"Next levelWhen Dressler finished his four-year run at UND, his preference was a shot at the NFL. He wasn't chosen in the NFLdraft nor was he signed as a free agent, so he looked north of the border to discover the CFLhad been looking at him.Dressler has a two-year contract with Saskatchewan with an option year. If an NFLteam chose to make an overture to Dressler it couldn't happen until his option year, but he's not holding his breath."My biggest goal was to play in the NFL and that's still my goal," he said.

"But because of the experience Ihad in the CFLlast year Icould see myself playing (inCanada) as long as Iplay football and being completely happy with it."The Roughriders seem happy that it took a chance on Dressler.

"He is a football player. There is so much more to that statement because there are other guys out there who are good players, but Weston was born to be a football player," Joe Womack, the Roughrider director of player personnel said.That's music to Dressler's ears."It's kind of interesting. It's cool to hear someone say that about you," he said.

"Football is something I love to do and as long as I can do it I'm going to play."The Roughriders list Dressler at 5-foot-8 and 164 pounds, which puts him on the bottom end of the CFLsize spectrum.

Early on Dressler learned that hard work goes a long way toward transferring the focus from his size to his ability. "I'm one of the smallest players in the league but it's always been that way," he said.Dressler said Mike Skytland, now the BismarckGovernors Legion baseball coach, gave him some advice almost a decade ago that's never left him."One thing that's always stuck in my mind was something my (Babe Ruth) baseball coach, Mike Skytland, said one year," Dressler recalled.

"He talked to us all individually at the end of the season. He said 'if you always work as hard as you do now, you'll make any team you try out for.' "So far, Skytland is 100 percent right.