Blue Bombers Star Quarterback Says Backup Could Be 'Best' in CFL
Since quarterback Dru Brown entered the CFL in 2021, he has been a reliable backup for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and performed well. The guy in front of him on the depth chart, Zach Collaros, knows that better than anyone.
Zach Collaros recently spoke about Brown’s pending free agency and the respect he has for his understudy.
“Under the right leadership and coaching and play calling and all those things, I think he can be one of the best if not the best guy in the league,” Collaros said. “I truly feel that way about Dru.
“I just love his makeup. The person that he is, he loves football, he’s a good guy. He’s a great husband, I’m sure he’s going to be a great father one day. He’s been really special to me in our room. I don’t wanna belittle him when I call him like a little brother, but I am quite a bit older than him.”
“Whatever the team needs – it’s cliché – but I’m here for it.”
— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) August 21, 2023
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Brown had his welcome to the CFL moment in his second season with the Bombers in 2022 where he threw for 452 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for three touchdowns that season.
Last season, Brown started two games for Winnipeg at quarterback and finished the season completing 69.7 percent of his passes for 983 yards and nine touchdowns to zero interceptions. He set a league single-season record for most touchdown passes thrown without an interception.
There is a lot of buzz regarding Brown landing in a new CFL home this offseason with a chance to start. For Brown though, he needs to take care of things with family before shifting his focus to be a starter in the CFL.
“I’ve got some stuff that I need to kind of wrap up family-wise, so that’s kind of what’s on the forefront of my mind right now,” said Brown, who finished his collegiate career at Oklahoma State in 2019. “And when that time comes, I’ll deal with that. I’m not gonna pretend to know the business side of [CFL free agency] because this is my first time going through this. If I’m being honest, I just haven’t necessarily given that too much thought.
“I want to be a starter. I like to compete, I like to play. I’m not gonna sit here and say that I like watching, although I think it’s what I needed as a young player. But the desire to be a starter is obviously there.”
There are teams that will be in search of a quarterback and Brown will be high on the list of must-signs. The 26-year-old QB could be a star in the making.
Blue Bombers Pending Free Agents
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Anthony Miller has been covering professional spring football since 2019 including XFL, USFL, and CFL. He was a local news reporter in Texas before transitioning to sports. Other sites he writes for includes College Football Network and NTZ Network.