Despite punishing style, Bombers’ Oliveira eyes long career

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A handful of players were idle for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers practice on Tuesday, nursing nicks and bruises acquired in Hamilton.

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Running back Brady Oliveira was not one of them, despite the season-high 24 times he carried the ball against the Tiger-Cats.

It’s not just the number of carries, though, that sets Oliveira apart and leaves you wondering what he must feel like after a game like that.

It’s the way he carries the ball, avoiding tackles but embracing hits, often initiating them.

At times it’s like watching small vehicles collide, only Oliveira’s chassis somehow doesn’t come away needing repairs.

“I’ll never be a guy that’s going to avoid hits,” the 27-year-old was saying, Tuesday. “It’s not part of my DNA. I don’t think this team wants it to be part of our DNA. I’m a guy that’s going to face you head-on. It’s been my game my entire career … going back to high school, college days – it was just north-and-south, physical running that I bring to the table. And it’s got me to where I am today.”

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It’s the same place he was a year ago: At the head of the table, with more yards than every other CFL back.

If they tracked hits, he’d top that list, too.

Toss in the 48 times he’s caught the ball, and nobody clan claim more touches.

It’s the being touched that can hurt. Which raises the question of sustainability.

“Running backs, it is a short shelf life,” quarterback Zach Collaros acknowledged. “The thing about Brady that’s impressive, and a lot of the great backs that I can remember watching over the years, specifically backs that run like him, is they deliver the blow. They don’t take it, necessarily.

“He has that in spades. It will probably help him with longevity.”

Where quarterbacks might learn over the years to avoid taking some hits, that’s not really an option for Oliveira.

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That would be like asking a carpenter to stop building, an artist to stop painting, Bob Dylan to avoid rhymes.

“That’s what makes him who he is,” is how offensive coordinator Buck Pierce put it. “So you don’t want to change that.”

His head coach agrees.

“We like his running style,” Mike O’Shea said. “He likes his running style. Hard to change that.”

Oliveira doesn’t plan to.

How he sustains it is no fluke.

One look at his legs tells you something about his off-season work ethic.

But the road to a career in pro football is littered with workout fiends and weight-room heroes.

The stuff that goes on between games, away from the iron and the mirrors, is equally important to sustain rushing titles and 250-carry seasons.

“I do a ton of recovery behind closed doors,” Oliveira said. “At this time of year you’ve got to stay strong, you’ve got to make sure you get your workouts in. But you’ve got to spend even more time taking care of your body, recovering.”

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The Winnipegger’s running recipe includes a cold tub in his back yard and an eye mask in bed every night.

“That’s been a game-changer,” he said. “It really elevated my sleep. The way I play this game, I need that.”

He credits his girlfriend for getting him on a “strict sleep schedule” of at least eight hours a night.

“If I don’t, I just don’t feel myself. That’s a big part of why I’m able to come out here … and practise hard.”

Nobody is sleeping on Oliveira’s potential place in franchise history, even if he is following the cleat marks of future Hall of Famer Andrew Harris.

With the same hometown and an eerily familiar style, Oliveira’s early-career production actually surpasses that of his predecessor.

The year in which he turned 27, Harris reached 3,220 career yards.

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Oliveira is at 4,218.

It took Harris until he was 30 to compile three consecutive 1000-yard seasons, something Oliveira already has done.

Harris admitted he wasn’t exactly a barbell boss, but he managed to bench press 13 CFL seasons, leaving the huddle for the last time at 36, more than 10,000 yards in his rear view.

His successor isn’t quite halfway there. But if he plays even until age 34, at his current pace he would pass Harris with room to spare.

And while neither has scared defences silly with breakaway speed, Oliveira does have his sights set firmly in the distance.

“I want a loooong career, man,” he said. “Very, very long. My body feels good, I’m going to continue to play. If I love the game, which I will love the game, I will continue to play.”

With that, the hottest runner in Canadian football headed home to his cold tub and his sleeping mask, eyes wide open about just how far he wants to run, how many more people he wants to hit.

paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca
X: @friesensunmedia

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