Latest news with #Beverette
Ottawa Citizen
3 days ago
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Alouettes linebacker Tyrice Beverette using awards snub as motivation this season
This isn't Tyrice Beverette 's first trip back to Hamilton. But the Alouettes linebacker admits some wounds take longer to heal. Article content 'We definitely have some history,' Beverette told The Gazette. 'Had some good experiences and had some negative ones. At the end of the day, it was part of the journey. I definitely mark the game on my calendar. I said that when I first left and I say it now. It gives me more to look forward to.' Article content Article content Article content While the Tiger-Cats' management has changed over the years, it was Hamilton where Beverette launched his CFL career in 2019. And it was management that decided Beverette was best suited to playing special teams, almost exclusively, for two seasons before he signed with Montreal as a free agent. Article content Article content Now a standout on the boundary side of the field, the 30-year-old veteran was the East Division nominee last season as most outstanding defensive player — an award he lost to Saskatchewan's Rolan Milligan Jr. If Montreal's loss to Toronto in last November's division final is motivating Beverette this season, so too was having been deprived of an award he felt was justifiably his. Article content 'I'd be lying if I didn't say that motivated me a lot,' Beverette said. 'Going in, I thought I had a great chance of winning. Any player, that's their dream to win it. You go and play your heart out. You hear from other players who think you deserve it. I've used it as motivation. Since college I've been getting the short end of the stick when it came to awards. I told myself this year not to make it any question. Do everything possible to get that award. But the team goal obviously is to win a Grey Cup.' Article content Article content Heading into Friday night's game at Tim Hortons Field (7:30 p.m., TSN1, TSN4, RDS, TSN Radio-690, 98.5 FM), Beverette's off to an excellent start. Through three games, the 6-foot-1, 205 pounder has 14 tackles, a sack, forced fumble and interception. The Als (3-0) also are off to their usual quick start, having outscored opponents 105-56. Article content But as expected, the Als will be without starting quarterback Davis Alexander, who suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter last week at Edmonton. He'll be replaced by veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson, making his first career start for Montreal. Also missing are injured receiver Austin Mack and defensive-tackle Dylan Wynn. The Ticats (0-2) are coming off a bye week in the schedule — as were the Elks last Thursday.
Montreal Gazette
3 days ago
- Sport
- Montreal Gazette
Alouettes linebacker Tyrice Beverette using awards snub as motivation this season
Montreal Alouettes This isn't Tyrice Beverette 's first trip back to Hamilton. But the Alouettes linebacker admits some wounds take longer to heal. 'We definitely have some history,' Beverette told The Gazette. 'Had some good experiences and had some negative ones. At the end of the day, it was part of the journey. I definitely mark the game on my calendar. I said that when I first left and I say it now. It gives me more to look forward to.' While the Tiger-Cats' management has changed over the years, it was Hamilton where Beverette launched his CFL career in 2019. And it was management that decided Beverette was best suited to playing special teams, almost exclusively, for two seasons before he signed with Montreal as a free agent. Now a standout on the boundary side of the field, the 30-year-old veteran was the East Division nominee last season as most outstanding defensive player — an award he lost to Saskatchewan's Rolan Milligan Jr. If Montreal's loss to Toronto in last November's division final is motivating Beverette this season, so too was having been deprived of an award he felt was justifiably his. 'I'd be lying if I didn't say that motivated me a lot,' Beverette said. 'Going in, I thought I had a great chance of winning. Any player, that's their dream to win it. You go and play your heart out. You hear from other players who think you deserve it. I've used it as motivation. Since college I've been getting the short end of the stick when it came to awards. I told myself this year not to make it any question. Do everything possible to get that award. But the team goal obviously is to win a Grey Cup.' Heading into Friday night's game at Tim Hortons Field (7:30 p.m., TSN1, TSN4, RDS, TSN Radio-690, 98.5 FM), Beverette's off to an excellent start. Through three games, the 6-foot-1, 205 pounder has 14 tackles, a sack, forced fumble and interception. The Als (3-0) also are off to their usual quick start, having outscored opponents 105-56. But as expected, the Als will be without starting quarterback Davis Alexander, who suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter last week at Edmonton. He'll be replaced by veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson, making his first career start for Montreal. Also missing are injured receiver Austin Mack and defensive-tackle Dylan Wynn. The Ticats (0-2) are coming off a bye week in the schedule — as were the Elks last Thursday. Bethel-Thompson completed six of eight passes for 77 yards against Edmonton after replacing Alexander in the third quarter. He passed 37 yards to Tyson Philpot on his first play. 'We talked this week about how we're going to play for (Bethel-Thompson), get him comfortable,' Philpot said. 'We know the calibre of quarterback he is. There's also a little bit of excitement with a new, fresh guy out there. A new dynamic that we're excited to play with. It was a seamless transition. I'm excited to see him get his first start. 'His experience and the way he commands the offence. The way he coaches us up on little stuff. He has seen it. He has been in those big games. He can tell us exactly where (the ball's) going at times. That leadership and experience he has. It's just a little bit different.' Hamstring injuries can be tricky. Former Als starting quarterback Cody Fajardo suffered one last July 11 against Toronto and didn't play again until Aug. 25. That opened the door for Alexander to seize the position, and Fajardo eventually was traded last winter to Edmonton for Bethel-Thompson. After three straight road games, Montreal will host B.C. on July 5. Although Alexander didn't practise all week and has been dealing with his left hamstring issue since training camp, Als head coach Jason Maas refused to admit the obvious; it made no sense to play Alexander this early in the season. 'If he can manage it — and he has been managing it — I don't think it's much different than what he has been playing on, honestly,' Maas said on Wednesday. 'He has been doing that in training camp as well. He knows how to manage it. It's just a matter of whether it'll get back to the point of where it was before that (Edmonton) game?' This marks the second consecutive season in which Montreal has played three straight road games. Last September, against Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto, the Als went 1-1-1.
Winnipeg Free Press
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Alouettes enter CFL season with unfinished business: ‘Get that revenge'
MONTREAL – Tyrice Beverette has some unfinished business after what transpired last year. The Montreal Alouettes star linebacker watched the Toronto Argonauts hoist their 19th Grey Cup to end last season. Beverette knows that could have been his team — if not for a string of mistakes. 'We all know in this locker room what we should have did last year,' he said. 'We fumbled that ourselves.' After posting the CFL's best record, Montreal fell 30-28 to Toronto at home in the CFL East Division final after committing five turnovers, coming up just short of a booking a second consecutive trip to the title game. The Argonauts went on to roll past the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, while the Alouettes missed a golden opportunity to repeat as champions. 'Left a bad taste in our mouth,' Beverette said. 'It's our duty to go out here and prove what should have happened in that last game. 'We couldn't want any other game but this one.' Montreal won't need to wait for a chance to avenge last season's crushing ending. The Alouettes host the Argonauts to kick off their season Friday at Molson Stadium. 'It's a big game, means a lot,' said safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy. 'Trying to get that revenge.' Montreal is running it back with much of the same core, save for a major change behind centre. Quarterback Davis Alexander — last year's third-stringer — is the new leader of the offence after the Alouettes traded '23 Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo to the Edmonton Elks. Alexander climbed up the depth chart while Fajardo missed time last season, seizing his opportunity by leading a comeback off the bench and posting a 4-0 record as a starter. Now the 26-year-old American enters a CFL season as a No. 1 QB for the first time. 'I'm excited,' he said. 'Trying to take it all the same, not really change much and just believe in our guys, believe in myself, and just do what we're meant to do.' Added head coach Jason Maas: 'He started in the past, but first start this year, leading a team, I think everyone's truly excited about that.' Veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson, acquired from Edmonton in a swap for Fajardo, will begin the season as backup. In a surprise move, the Alouettes released incumbent starting running back Walter Fletcher as part of their final cuts. Fletcher rushed for 764 yards and four touchdowns on 141 carries while making 71 receptions for 682 yards and three TDs last season. Maas has said the decision to cut the 28-year-old Fletcher had more to do with how others played in camp. Montreal-born Sean Thomas-Erlington will start at running back Friday, while rookie Travis Theis backs up. The receiving corps remains loaded. Tyson Philpot returns from last year's season-ending surgery to line up alongside Austin Mack, Charleston Rambo and Tyler Snead. 'They're phenomenal,' Alexander said. 'I've said it probably 10 times this year already that I feel like we have the best receiving corps in the league. 'I trust those guys to death.' Beverette, a nominee last year for defensive player of the year, again leads the defence alongside fellow linebacker Darnell Sankey and Dequoy, while all-star defensive lineman Shawn Oakman joins the fray. Although Montreal came so close to another Grey Cup berth and brought back much of the same team, ranked the Alouettes last in the East and sixth overall in its power rankings. It's a perceived slight the Alouettes are becoming used to. Montreal was ranked ninth to start the 2023 season before beating the odds and winning its eighth title. 'Since I got here, it's been nothing but disrespect,' Beverette said. 'Even the year we won a Grey Cup, even last year, when we were No. 1. 'We know what we put in, we know what we have here, and we know we believe in, so I guess we're going to see when we step on that field Friday.' 2024 record: 12-5-1, first, East Division Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Did you know?: In past years, Davis Alexander worked a second job during the winter months as a waiter at a sports bar in Arizona. That trend stopped this past off-season after the former third-string QB signed a contract extension as Montreal's starter. Key additions: QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson (Edmonton), DL Shawn Oakman (Edmonton), DL Byron Vaughns (first year), DB Tiawan Mullen (first year) Key losses: QB Cody Fajardo (Edmonton), RB Walter Fletcher (cut), OL Kristian Matte (retired, joined B.C. coaching staff) Players to watch: QB Davis Alexander, WR Tyson Philpot, LB Tyrice Beverette, DB Marc-Antoine Dequoy This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
