Rookie Jordan Terrio made the most of his chance to display his receiving talents for the Guelph Gryphons.
Terrio got his first taste of OUA play in the Gryphons’ game against the McMaster Marauders Oct. 1 after recovering from an injury originally suffered playing summer football.
“I had a hamstring issue and then I hurt it again at the beginning of training camp,” he said following a practice session at Alumni Stadium. “I was out for a few weeks.”
A lot of hard work and following orders got Terrio’s name on the dress roster for games against the Queen’s Gaels and Ottawa Gee-Gees, although he never saw any game action in either.
“It took maybe four or five weeks altogether,” he said of his recovery. “(There was) a lot of exercises on your own and exercises with the athletic therapist (Teresa Budwal). A lot of individual stuff and a lot of sleeping, taking care of your body and everything, eating right. Everything matters.”
And, of course, the hardest part was having to watch the games.
“That’s the worst,” he said. “You always want to go in and make a play. At that point, I wanted to show what I could actually do and that I could actually play. It was nice to get to get in and actually get to do that after battling an injury and not really expecting to play.”
When he did get to play, Terrio hauled down five passes from quarterback James Roberts for 86 yards and his first touchdown, a 19-yard reception in the McMaster endzone in the final minute of the game.
“It was OK,” Terrio said of his performance. “It was nice to get in for once. I wish we would have won, of course, but it was good.”
Terrio was named the Gryphons’ offensive player of the game, a 27-15 loss.
“I love it here,” Terrio said. “The team’s great and everybody’s friendly, takes you under their wings, especially A’dre (Fraser). I’ve been sort of like shadowing him and he’s been helping me out a lot.”
The league has lived up to his expectations.
“It’s everything I expected. It’s very intense and it’s a lot more disciplined,” he said. “I actually like that compared to high school. I didn’t like when it wasn’t disciplined and kids weren’t showing up and stuff like that.”
Terrio caught 39 passes for league-high totals of 792 yards and 10 touchdowns with the Niagara Spears in the Ontario Varsity Football League. One of the adjustments the 6-foot-1, 185-pound receiver has had to make in his rookie season is going up against players bigger and stronger than he is.
“It’s pretty hard to adjust to,” he said. “The biggest part is blocking. You have to use proper technique and you have to learn how to block people who are stronger than you using leverage or whatever the case is.”
The Gryphs, 2-4 on the season, have two games left on their regular-season schedule. They’re to play the Laurier Golden Hawks at Laurier Friday at 11 a.m. and host the York Lions Oct. 22.
“I just want to help the team win, get to playoffs and keep going,” Terrio said. “That’s my mindset.”