From playoff scratch to CFL all-star, it’s been quite year for Bombers’ Houston

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Being a healthy scratch in the playoffs a year ago was a low point of Demerio Houston’s football career.

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The 27-year-old cornerback had finished rehabbing an injury and was ready to go, but the Bombers couldn’t find a place for him in their secondary when they took on the B.C. Lions in the West final and then lost to the Toronto Argonauts in the Grey Cup.

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Some players might have taken that as an indication that they were no longer wanted by the organization, but Houston saw it more as inspiration, using the whole scenario as motivation to get better.

“I had a chip on my shoulder because I wasn’t able to play, wasn’t able to help my team finish the run last year,” Houston said on Wednesday, after the Bombers practised at IG Field. “This off-season I worked real hard to make sure my body was good, so I could last the whole season and be in this position, where I’m able to start in the West final, play down the stretch, and help the team win ball games.”

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He’s earned it

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea on Demerio Houston’s all-star nod

Not only will Houston start at boundary corner — one of the most important positions on a Canadian football field — in Saturday’s West final rematch with the Lions (5:30 p.m., IG Field), but on Wednesday, he was named a CFL all-star.

Houston was recognized as one of the two top cornerbacks in the CFL — the other is Garry Peters of the Lions — for leading the CFL with seven interceptions, including one pick-six, and 10 total takeaways.

“It sounds great, sounds amazing,” Houston said. “It’s definitely a blessing and a great achievement, but at the end of the day, the job’s not done yet.”

It has been a strong season for the Blue Bombers’ entire secondary.

Winnipeg led the league in pass defence, allowing just 229.4 yards per game and only 12 touchdowns, five less than any other team in the CFL and 19 less than the worst teams.

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Houston got the CFL all-star nod, but it could have gone to just about anyone in the Winnipeg secondary, which includes veterans Deatrick Nichols, Brandon Alexander, Evan Holm and Winston Rose.

Alexander and Holm were West Division all-stars but did not make the cut for the league honours.

“It’s a lot of characters in that DB group but they all seem to come together and gel very well,” Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson said.

“The communication with that group is continuous, with the movement of wide receivers and running backs, and all the different formations and changes. Those guys have to be on the same page, all the time, and when we’ve given up only 12 passing touchdowns this season, it shows the hard work and dedication between those guys and the coaching staff.”

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It’s a good thing Winnipeg has such a stingy and productive secondary, because the Lions have the most potent passing attack in the league.

Quarterback Vernon Adams has been slinging the ball all over the field, and he has great receivers like Keon Hatcher, Alexander Hollins, Dominique Rhymes, Jevon Cottoy and Lucky Whitehead at his disposal.

“They’re good enough to be in the Western final, so that’s all that matters,” Nichols said Wednesday. “We’re in the Western final too, so our season is going good enough. We’re here, we’ve got an opportunity to play another football game when most people are not playing. So, it’s going well.”

Houston put up his league-leading numbers despite missing three games this season. He missed one to be with his wife for the birth of twins, and two due to injury.

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There’s no doubt the all-star voters were swayed by his eye-popping stats, but Houston said those numbers were only made possible by the play of his teammates, particularly Nichols at boundary halfback and Alexander at safety.

“It’s great playing beside those guys,” Houston said. “They have the experience, the talent, and they’re coaching me and helping me to become a great player as well.”

Even Rose, who got moved to field-side cornerback last season, and again at the start of this season when Houston claimed the boundary side, has been impressed by what he’s seen from his teammate.

“It’s a testament to his off-season, to his hard work, to what he started last year,” Rose said. “To come back this year, have seven interceptions, and have an all-star CFL year? My guy, he deserves it. It’s a testament to the kind of person he is. He’s so willing to learn. He listens and makes it happen in the games.”

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It’s obvious that Houston’s hard work did not go unnoticed for the coaching staff.

“He’s earned it,” head coach Mike O’Shea said.

“He put in such production early on in the season, taking the ball away. He was Johnny-on-the-Spot whenever there was a loose ball.

“I think he was disappointed with the way the end of the year went last year. He obviously trained differently and came in and won a spot this year.”

Twyman@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/Ted_Wyman

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