Saskatchewan Roughriders' head coach Corey Mace praised undrafted Canadian rookie receiver Brayden Misseri and shared how he reminds him about a former Green and White player who is now in the NFL.
"I guess nobody's quite like Ajou [Ajou] but his personality is along that line. He wasn't the type to come in and be shy -- he's an extroverted kid," Mace told the voice of the Riders, Dave Thomas.
"He works his tail off and he capitalizes on his opportunities. Talking about that Canadian receiver depth, he's definitely in that conversation of guys that we've been pleased with in camp."
Ajou signed with the Indianapolis Colts in January. Last year, he was selected by Saskatchewan in the seventh round, 59th overall during the CFL Draft. He suited up in 12 games for the Roughriders, recording 20 receptions for 307 yards and two touchdowns.
Misseri was humbled when told about the comparison made by Mace.
"It's a good testament to who I am as an individual, but Ajou was his own person and I'm trying to do me. My parents always say: 'Do your best of your ability, find the good in every scenario and live your life how you want to live it.' That's exactly what I bring to the table," Misseri said to Thomas.
"I'm always going to be the happy, extroverted individual, always trying to make guys laugh and have fun in the locker room, but there is a point of seriousness where you have to bring in that professionalism. That's something I'm still trying to wrap my head around in certain scenarios."
Now that Misseri is playing pro football, the one thing that took him a little bit to get used to was the level of difficulty at the pros.
"Honestly, my welcome to the CFL moment was when the vets got here, seeing the intensity and the speed that the jump brings from university to here. People always talk: 'The jump is incredible.' You come in thinking: 'I've played football for long enough,'" Misseri said.
"I wasn't prepared enough for the jump to the next level, but I got my feet underneath me an settled into it, I feel like I deserve to be here and I feel like I can play at this level with all these guys, it doesn't matter who's lined up across from me. I think this jump -- learning from these guys -- has just allowed me to become the best version of myself."
The six-foot-three, 205-pound receiver suited up for the Riders in the team's first preseason game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday, May 24. He caught three passes for 51 yards, including a 25-yard corner route from Jake Maier.
Misseri spent his collegiate career at Western University and returned punts along with being a receiver.
"In my university career, I was the starting punt returner for Western for numerous years and had one of the highest punt return averages in the country. That was something I've always prided myself in doing," Misseri recalled.
"I've done it since I was little and even when I got here, I may not be out there catching punts, but it doesn't matter where I get put. The only thing I'm going to do is do my job to the best of my ability. Whatever's going to push this team forward and help us get a win, I'm going to do that. It doesn't matter where I'm on the field."
