Issa can reach for the sky
Issa can reach for the sky
GERRY PRINCE, EDMONTON SUN
Jabari Issa could hunt ducks with a rake. At six-foot-five and a trim 295 pounds the Edmonton Eskimos defensive lineman is an imposing presence on the football field.
Toss in a reach that's almost half his height and Issa is tough to get around and even tougher to throw the ball over.
Although Issa isn't clubbing mallards out of the blue with a tined garden implement, he has knocked his fair share of pigskin out of the air by putting his arms up.
"I can just about hunt ducks with a rake," grinned Issa, Arizona's sixth-round pick out of the University of Washington in the 2000 NFL draft.
Bagging quarterbacks is a more down-to-earth pursuit and something the California-born lineman did routinely during his time with the Huskies, but only once as an NFLer.
"I think I have a pretty good first step and long arms," offered the 26-year-old, who had a team-leading eight QB sacks during his sophomore season at Washington.
"It's kind of easy for me to get extended and keep the offensive lineman's hands off of me."
APPEARED IN 25 GAMES FOR ARIZONA
Issa appeared in 25 games, five as a starter, during his two-year career with Arizona. Left unprotected in the NFL expansion draft, Issa was selected by Houston. The Texans liked what Issa brought to the table but cut him loose at the end of camp.
The defending Grey Cup champs also liked what they saw. When the Esks made their final camp cuts Issa was on the 40-man roster.
"He's a big man," said Esks offensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall. "And he moves well for a guy his size. He's done a good job right from Day 1 of coming in and competing and giving himself a chance to get into the lineup.
"Let's face it, it was a pretty stacked deck for him coming in. But he didn't let that slow him down. Whenever he's had a chance to play, he's done a good job."
After being turfed by Houston, Issa wound up with Barcelona's NFL Europe entry. On the heels of the '03 European season, Issa signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers but was a late cut.
Issa hooked on with the Arena Football League's Austin Wrangler last November and was placed on waivers days before the start of the '04 AFL campaign.
When Edmonton GM Paul Jones called, offering a chance to get his football career back on track, Issa jumped at the opportunity.
"Playing football is something I love to do, to tell you the truth," said Issa, who traded 20 pounds of his frame for added speed. "If it gets me back to the NFL, great. But if this is where I am, this is where I am."
TOOK IN B.C. LIONS GAMES
The CFL wasn't totally foreign to Issa. He and a few Huskies teammates would make the short drive from Seattle to Vancouver and occasionally took in a B.C. Lions game under the dome at B.C. Place Stadium.
Issa became even more familiar with the Canadian game when teammate Willie Hurst landed work running the ball for B.C. Ultimately, it was name recognition that paved the way for Issa's signing with the Green and Gold.
"Edmonton, B.C. and Toronto were the only three teams I knew," he confessed. "Argonauts is a name that kind of stuck out and I remembered Edmonton because of (ex-Huskies pivot) Warren Moon."
With no shortage of defensive linemen, the Esks put Dorian Boose, who plays tackle and end positions, on the roster for the season opener.
With larger-than-life defensive end Kelvin Kinney back in an Esks' uniform, Albert Reese still recovering from off-season elbow surgery and Boose's play keeping him in Marshall's doghouse, the door swung open for Issa in Week 2.
"I set out on a mission to make the team and be on the roster," he said. "I was a little disappointed, but it was all situations and that type of thing.
"Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice for the team and sit back and accept the fact you're not playing the first week.
"It was a little weird sitting there watching TV and being at home. But that made me hungrier to practise harder and show them that I can play."
Issa made his CFL debut against B.C. in last week's 41-34 loss and finished the night with three defensive tackles. He'll be in the lineup again tomorrow when the Esks take on the Renegades in Ottawa.
"He played well against B.C.," Marshall said. "I think like everybody on defence he can play a little bit better. But I think he was one of our better guys out there.
"Hopefully, that's a sign of things to come. He played well enough to hold on to that spot.
"We'll just have to see what happens as far as that spot goes and the rest of our roster."
GERRY PRINCE, EDMONTON SUN
Jabari Issa could hunt ducks with a rake. At six-foot-five and a trim 295 pounds the Edmonton Eskimos defensive lineman is an imposing presence on the football field.
Toss in a reach that's almost half his height and Issa is tough to get around and even tougher to throw the ball over.
Although Issa isn't clubbing mallards out of the blue with a tined garden implement, he has knocked his fair share of pigskin out of the air by putting his arms up.
"I can just about hunt ducks with a rake," grinned Issa, Arizona's sixth-round pick out of the University of Washington in the 2000 NFL draft.
Bagging quarterbacks is a more down-to-earth pursuit and something the California-born lineman did routinely during his time with the Huskies, but only once as an NFLer.
"I think I have a pretty good first step and long arms," offered the 26-year-old, who had a team-leading eight QB sacks during his sophomore season at Washington.
"It's kind of easy for me to get extended and keep the offensive lineman's hands off of me."
APPEARED IN 25 GAMES FOR ARIZONA
Issa appeared in 25 games, five as a starter, during his two-year career with Arizona. Left unprotected in the NFL expansion draft, Issa was selected by Houston. The Texans liked what Issa brought to the table but cut him loose at the end of camp.
The defending Grey Cup champs also liked what they saw. When the Esks made their final camp cuts Issa was on the 40-man roster.
"He's a big man," said Esks offensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall. "And he moves well for a guy his size. He's done a good job right from Day 1 of coming in and competing and giving himself a chance to get into the lineup.
"Let's face it, it was a pretty stacked deck for him coming in. But he didn't let that slow him down. Whenever he's had a chance to play, he's done a good job."
After being turfed by Houston, Issa wound up with Barcelona's NFL Europe entry. On the heels of the '03 European season, Issa signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers but was a late cut.
Issa hooked on with the Arena Football League's Austin Wrangler last November and was placed on waivers days before the start of the '04 AFL campaign.
When Edmonton GM Paul Jones called, offering a chance to get his football career back on track, Issa jumped at the opportunity.
"Playing football is something I love to do, to tell you the truth," said Issa, who traded 20 pounds of his frame for added speed. "If it gets me back to the NFL, great. But if this is where I am, this is where I am."
TOOK IN B.C. LIONS GAMES
The CFL wasn't totally foreign to Issa. He and a few Huskies teammates would make the short drive from Seattle to Vancouver and occasionally took in a B.C. Lions game under the dome at B.C. Place Stadium.
Issa became even more familiar with the Canadian game when teammate Willie Hurst landed work running the ball for B.C. Ultimately, it was name recognition that paved the way for Issa's signing with the Green and Gold.
"Edmonton, B.C. and Toronto were the only three teams I knew," he confessed. "Argonauts is a name that kind of stuck out and I remembered Edmonton because of (ex-Huskies pivot) Warren Moon."
With no shortage of defensive linemen, the Esks put Dorian Boose, who plays tackle and end positions, on the roster for the season opener.
With larger-than-life defensive end Kelvin Kinney back in an Esks' uniform, Albert Reese still recovering from off-season elbow surgery and Boose's play keeping him in Marshall's doghouse, the door swung open for Issa in Week 2.
"I set out on a mission to make the team and be on the roster," he said. "I was a little disappointed, but it was all situations and that type of thing.
"Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice for the team and sit back and accept the fact you're not playing the first week.
"It was a little weird sitting there watching TV and being at home. But that made me hungrier to practise harder and show them that I can play."
Issa made his CFL debut against B.C. in last week's 41-34 loss and finished the night with three defensive tackles. He'll be in the lineup again tomorrow when the Esks take on the Renegades in Ottawa.
"He played well against B.C.," Marshall said. "I think like everybody on defence he can play a little bit better. But I think he was one of our better guys out there.
"Hopefully, that's a sign of things to come. He played well enough to hold on to that spot.
"We'll just have to see what happens as far as that spot goes and the rest of our roster."
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