  Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman Keith Shologan catches snowflakes with his tongue in a light snowfall during a practice in Calgary, Friday November 27, 2009. The Roughriders will face the Montreal Alouettes Sunday in the 97th CFL Grey Cup. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
|
CALGARY - The name Keith Shologan kept popping up during an unscientific survey of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, when asked who was the team's unsung hero.
Fellow defensive lineman Jon Chick won the CFL's award at that position Thursday. He and the extroverted Stevie Baggs have drawn the most attention of the Roughrider front four during Grey Cup week.
Shologan played a quieter, but no less important, role on Saskatchewan's road to Sunday's Grey Cup game against the Montreal Alouettes (TSN, 6:30 ET).
"Keith's a big part of why Jon, along with our entire unit, has done such a great job," defensive line coach Mike Scheper said Friday.
"There have been at least a handful of games where he's made immense contributions for us and specifically in these last two games that got us into this position right here."
Shologan, a Spruce Grove, Alta., native who celebrated his 24th birthday Thursday, played one game as a 'Rider rookie last season.
Just six games into the 2009 campaign, he was suddenly a starter at nose tackle because nine-year veteran Scott Schultz abruptly retired to run an insurance brokerage.
Shologan had huge shoes to fill. Schultz, born and raised in Saskatchewan, was one of the faces of the franchise. He didn't miss a game due to injury his entire career and was a big presence both on and off the field.
While the Roughriders didn't see Schultz's departure coming, they nevertheless had prepared for it by rotating Shologan in at tackle in the first six games of the season.
"Scott wore big shoes and Keith just spilled right out of them," Scheper said. "Before Scott decided to retire, Keith was really making a name for himself as being one of the rotating internal defensive lineman for our team. It was a seamless transition."
While Shologan, six foot one and 275 pounds, has talent for defending against the run, he's made great strides in pass defence, according to Scheper.
"As a one-on-one pass rusher and getting matched up with internal offensive linemen, the guards and the centre, he's done a great job and really improved that part of his game as we've gone along."
Shologan was surprised and pleased when informed his name was among those his teammates felt deserved more glory.
"Nose tackles and d-tackles don't get too much credit, especially with your defensive ends getting all the big stats, but we're in the trenches fighting hard every play," he said.
He's revelled in being one of the players the Roughriders have counted on this year.
"I didn't really like football last year because I wasn't playing and this year I'm just loving it," he declared.
