O'Leary: 3 reasons Makai Polk will impact the Eastern Semi-Final
11/01/2024 09:00 AM
Sometimes, teams just have a feeling about certain players.
When Makai Polk‘s opportunities in the NFL didn’t pan out, the Toronto Argonauts were elated to welcome the six-foot-three, 197-pound receiver aboard in late May.
“Athletic ability, I mean, we could see it right away from when he got here and he got on the Jugs machine,” Argos receivers coach and pass game coordinator Pete Costanza said of Polk.
“We knew he had great hands, good receiving skills. To see him now playing the way we thought that he would play, we’re not surprised by it. We’re happy that he’s hit that stride and in our eyes, he’s not a rookie anymore. He’s learning and figuring it out and adapted to our game.”
On the heels of a 61-catch, 1,024-yard and eight touchdown season, Polk has managed to handedly come away as the team’s nominee for Most Outstanding Rookie, while playing much of the year like a seasoned veteran. The 23-year-old will likely be a primary target for quarterback Chad Kelly on Saturday, when the Argos put their season on the line at BMO Field, hosting the Ottawa REDBLACKS in the Eastern Semi-Final. Here are three ways that Polk will impact Saturday’s game.
2024 CFL PLAYOFFS
» O'Leary: 3 storylines to watch in the Eastern Semi-Final
» Hall: 3 reasons why Argos’ defence is trending up ahead of ESF
» Buy Semi-Finals Tickets: Ottawa at Toronto
» Head To Head: Who has the edge in the Eastern Semi-Final?
HOT AT THE RIGHT TIME
Polk had been consistently productive from Week 1 while he learned the ins and outs of the CFL game playing in the slot position. He averaged 35 yards through his first 10 games and had two touchdowns, while working with three different quarterbacks, from Cameron Dukes to Nick Arbuckle and finally to Kelly.
With Kelly in under centre for eight of the Argos’ final nine games of the regular season, Polk’s productivity exploded. He broke the 100-yard receiving mark five times in the team’s final seven games, posting a season-best 122 yards in the Week 21 finale against Edmonton. He finished the season as the Argos’ leading receiver, top touchdown scorer amongst receivers and tied with Damonte Coxie for the most 30-plus-yard plays, with eight.
Makai Polk making his 1000-yards on the season look easy!
Congratulations to Polk on surpassing 1000 receiving yards on the season. #CFLpic.twitter.com/70lURxeyvV
— CFL (@CFL) October 26, 2024
“Just getting more comfortable within the offence, just trusting myself,” Polk said of what’s worked for him in the second half of this season.
“Going out there and just having that kind of me-or-nobody-else mentality in terms of when the ball is in the air, making sure that I make every play that comes my way. Also Chad coming back and getting in tune with him and getting to really build our chemistry.”
BUILT FOR THIS
It’s rare for a rookie receiver to come in and lead his team in yards and touchdowns. Costanza has watched Polk and been reminded of DaVaris Daniels‘ debut season in Calgary in 2016 (both coach and receiver were with the Stampeders at that time and now are both with the Argos). Polk is the first Argo rookie receiver to break the 1,000-yard mark in a season since Kenny Shaw did it in 2016.
“It’s rare, but at the same time when you have a guy that puts in the work that he does…he asks a lot of great questions,” Costanza said of Polk. “He’s really tried to embrace the role in the slot. You see that happen and you’re happy with the way he’s developed. So it’s surprising, but not surprising.”
The lights always get brighter in the playoffs, but Costanza isn’t worried about his star rookie having a deer-like stare into them. He’s seen a cool and calm presence from him throughout the year.
“He played division one football (at Mississippi State). He was in the NFL on practice rosters. The games are the games,” Costanza said. “Whether we’re in training camp, you know, you walk across the balance beam and it’s three inches off the ground and you do it 100 times. Well, now we’ve just raised it up 10 feet. You know you can still do it again.
“Yeah, there’s more people watching and the games are more exciting. But it’s not like the lights are too bright. It’s nothing we haven’t done already.”
PRODUCING AGAINST THE REDBLACKS’ DEFENCE
there goes that boy, Makai Polk! #CFLGameDay
: @ctv
: CFL+ pic.twitter.com/abzayoXhgb— CFL (@CFL) October 19, 2024
If Polk does need anything to put his mind at ease about Saturday’s game, he can just watch film from this season. Of those five 100-yard games he had this year, two came against the REDBLACKS. He had seven catches for 105 yards in the Argos’ Week 14 loss at TD Place and he had three catches for 104 yards and a touchdown in the Argos’ Week 20 win at BMO Field.
“They’re pretty good,” Polk said of the REDBLACKS’ defence. “They throw a bunch of different stuff at us that we have to be ready for in this game.
“They’ve got some good players over there. They lost a really good SAM linebacker in Adarius Pickett, but they’ve still a really good defence. We’re just going to go out there and do our job, take it one play at a time and not really trying to think ahead of (that). Just think in the now.”
He knows the game will mean more on Saturday than the other two, but Polk’s approach to the game has been the same his whole life.
“My goal is just to just come in and do me,” Polk said. “That means just dominate. “I didn’t really know about (All-CFL) or rookie of the year and stuff like that. I just wanted to come out here and prove to myself that I’ve still got it.”
