The Tight End is alive and well in Hamilton.
He is a receiver, yes, and that’s how the CFL web site labels him, but Camren McDonald returned to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats because head coach Scott Milanovich calls the former Florida State Seminole exactly what he wants to be called. A tight end.
“I talked to another team in the off-season but I wanted to play as a true “American” tight end,” says McDonald, referring not to nationality but to functionality.
Last year Milanovich’s Ticats were the only CFL team which officially listed ‘tight end’ as one of their positions, filled mostly by Global player Jevoni Robinson and occasionally by a fullback-type blocker/runner like Ante Litre or James Tuck.
Milanovich likes what’s often referred to as a “true” tight end who can line up attached to the rest of the line or separated by a few feet like a wide receiver. The blocking and pass-route options are numerous with such a multi-purpose player but the athletic combination of physical skill sets is hard to find …and even harder to attract north and adapt to the wider spaces of the Canadian game.
McDonald was a late cut during last year’s training camp but was re-signed only a few days later and played two July games for the Cats, catching two short passes in a win against the Toronto Argonauts. He was eventually released again in October but the Cats brought him back again this year.
“He’s a very good athlete,” Scott Milanovich says. “He can play special teams. He can run, he can block. Great upside. Another guy that just needs to get dialed in on the mistakes and, every now and then the mental errors. But, he’s a talented guy.”
McDonald says he appreciates Milanovich’s commitment to the position and the creativity he brings to the plays designed for it.
“And I also came back here because I love working with this offensive line,” he said before Tuesday’s practice.
McDonald grew up in Long Beach, California and was rated as the top tight end in the state after his high school senior season. When he arrived here last year he fell in love with Hamilton last season “because of its ruggedness.
“Coming from southern California, it’s a change of culture for me and I like it. It’s a town with some rough edges and people want us to emulate that.”
