With RedBlacks, hard-hitting John Boyett finds balance

At an Ottawa RedBlacks practice this week, John Boyett made an interception and took it the house, front-flipping into the end zone.

A pick in practice is not a big deal. Pro football players often enliven their serious work environment with some footloose, fancy-free flourish. It was, though, a peek at the athleticism the RedBlacks have found in Boyett, and a glimpse of the Oregon Ducks grad at relative ease after years of adversity, some self-inflicted. It's also a reminder that the 26-year-old defensive back has regained something valuable after his NFL goals went awry.

Boyett knows his backstory is why a visitor to the dressing room would pass on scrumming around quarterbacks Henry Burris and Trevor Harris to interview him. It's not a requirement for him to be an open book, but it's interesting to hear why the Napa, Calif., native has found a fit in Ottawa.

One thing I really liked that (RedBlacks) coach (Rick) Campbell said when I first got here was 'make sure you treat this job, football, like it's the most important thing in the world, but then when you're done, at the end of the day you have to realize it's not,'" Boyett said this week. "I really liked that. Although this job is important, it let me know that it's all about balance and being able to handle all the different things.

"You have to focus on the small goals at hand, obviously you have goals for the future but it's the small things that get you there," Boyett added. "I try not to worry about the outside distractions or things that could be going on - this or that."

As a junior at Oregon in 2011, the 5-foot-10, 203-pound Boyett was a standout strong safety for the Rose Bowl-winning Ducks. The next three seasons were lost years - surgery on each patellar tendon after only one game as a senior in 2012, a drop to the sixth round of the 2013 NFL draft, and releases from the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos following two arrests. He signed with Ottawa last July, two months after going public about his commitment to sobriety.

When asked if he believes everything happens for a reason, Boyett answers affirmatively.

"You have to take everything, whether it is good or bad, and take it as a learning experience. When things are going good, you can still find things you can do better. I kind of compare life to football in a lot of ways. At the end of each day, you go back to the drawing board and try to get better and grow on it. If you do that, and if you learn that when you're young, over the years you'll become the man you want to be."

Ottawa's kickoff and punt coverage was lacking in the first half of 2015. Each unit got better after Boyett came aboard.

Despite week-to-week shuffling in the secondary, Ottawa (4-2-1) leads the East Division entering their home game against the Montreal Alouettes (2-5) on Friday. Boyett has filled in at safety when needed, while pushing for time at outside linebacker, the pass-heavy CFL's rough equivalent to a strong safety.

"He's valuable because he can do multiple things," Campbell said. "We've lined him up mostly as a safety, but we've put him in at weakside linebacker and he's done a great job, so, so far so good on that front."

Ottawa has allowed the fewest TD passes (7) and is giving up both the second-least yards per rush (3.7) and pass (7.9). The RedBlacks more than meet the CFL's ratio requirement of seven national starters, which frees them to have Boyett be a fly-to-the-ball utility man.

"He is a heck of a player - blue-chip guy, I would want him on any team," Kanneh said. "He is a great playmaker. Tremendously smart. Knows what's going on with every position. So what he brings to the field is he just brings another level of greatness. He's really that good of a player. He doesn't second-guess. Once he makes up his mind, he goes and makes the play.

"We all have a story," Kanneh continued, citing Boyett's path north. "John's come a long way. He's doing a great thing for himself."

The CFL, of course, isn't the destination league for Americans. For many, though, it's a means for getting what they need. For Boyett, a West Coast native, working nearly 4,000km from home has provided some valuable perspective.

"I've been playing football my whole life, but the older you get, the more mature and the wider your eyes are, you get to see how big football is, how big sports are, Boyett said. "I thought football was just the United States, but now I'm seeing how it's all across Canada.

"You just try to learn and grow - try to enjoy the experience."