Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Dane Evans has admitted that the recent season was likely the toughest he’s ever had to go through mentally.
The 28-year-old was under very different pressure over the past year, with Jeremiah Masoli moving to the Ottawa Redblacks in free agency. Evans had shared QB duties with Masoli prior to his exit but was the starter for the first time in his career and made starter money, earning $430,000 this year.
Evans also had a new daughter in 2022, a different challenge in itself, but one that obviously affected his view on football and life.
“I think this was a year for me personally that was probably the toughest mental year of sports in my life. I’ve played team sports since I was three years old and this was the toughest one by far,” he told Hamilton reporters this week (H/T 3downnation.com).
“I had some really amazing things happen this year, too, like the birth of my daughter and becoming a father. I felt like I became a better husband this year, too, so I had some really great things going on but at the beginning of the year, it just wasn’t working on the football field.
“I think just becoming ‘the guy,’ having a daughter whose due date was game one in Saskatchewan all the way across the country, having the birth be kinda tough — not crazy, definitely not what some people go through — but it wasn’t smooth sailing. Anybody that’s a parent can tell you what that’s like, especially in the first couple months of your infant’s life.
“It was just a lot and I’m never gonna blame anybody else and I think I just put all that on me and for my whole life, it’s never been really that much but this was a lot.”
The player worked with sports psychiatrist Dr. Carla Edwards during the campaign and feels a lot better for it. He had his best game of the year following his revelations as it pertained to their sessions, throwing for 327 yards and five touchdowns in a convincing 48-31 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Tiger-Cats went on to win five of their next six games to earn themselves a playoff spot. Betting platforms such as Ontario BetMGM likely got plenty of fans who bet on the Tigers going all the way, but it wasn’t to be.
The QB set a new career high during the season, throwing for 3,883 passing yards, however, he had difficulty protecting the ball as he led the league in interceptions and fumbles.
“I think if it wasn’t for Dr. Edwards, honestly I don’t think I would have made it through this season,” Evans offered. “I think she helped me see how strong I actually am. I think she helped me see how good of a football player I actually am, which I think I had lost at a point, especially at the beginning of the year.”
Evans also had a difficult postseason, throwing for 123 yards and an interception in the East semis. He was taken off early in the third quarter, with Hamilton down 22-6 to the Montreal Alouettes, and Matthew Shiltz finished what turned out to be a 28-17 loss, throwing for 127 yards, one TD, and one interception.
The former is due to make $455,000 next season, which some folks already consider too much given his performances last season. The Tigers could ask him to restructure the deal or release him; the direction they choose to go remains to be seen.
“I know some people probably think that sounds crazy since I got pulled or whatever, but I still think I’m a pretty damn good football player,” Evans said defiantly. “I really would like to have finished that game and I think I came in strides from how I started this season. I really view this as two seasons: when I wasn’t me and when I was me. I think you can see that when we got hot, I was me.”
Despite the disappointment, the player is happy with the way his teammates fought in the playoffs.
“(I’m) insanely proud of how even when we were 0-4 and also when we were 3-9 after Labour Day, after losing to Toronto, who we never lose to at home, nobody flinched. Nobody turned on each other,” he added.
“I don’t think it had anything to do with coaching, I think it had everything to do with the guys in the locker room, the special people that they are because we have some insanely special people on this team, some insanely special characters, guys that I’ll never forget, memories that I’ll never forget. I think that’s what allowed us to even be in the playoffs in the first place because let’s face it, everybody had written us off after Labour Day.”
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