THE CANADIAN PRESS
Kevin Glenn believes he’s getting the fresh start his career needs with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and there’s an added bonus for the veteran quarterback in signing with the Tabbies.
"Agustin Barrenchea won’t be able to hit me no more," Glenn said with a wry laugh Friday, referring to the ferocious linebacker who crushed him with a helmet-to-helmet hit last season.
"I don’t have to look out for him anymore."
No he doesn’t, not after signing a one-year contract with an option for the 2010 season with the Ticats.
The deal comes less than two weeks after Glenn was dumped by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers following a miserable season that included the vicious hit from Barrenchea that left him with concussion-like symptoms, and earned the linebacker a $1,000 fine.
Glenn is expecting some better times this year with the Ticats, where the 29-year-old will serve as a mentor to, and insurance for young quarterback Quinton Porter.
"I’m a competitor so I want to play, but also, I’m a team guy and I want to be able to help the team," Glenn said. "You just want to have an opportunity to compete and I think Hamilton is giving that to me.
"At the same time they’ve expressed that Quinton’s the guy and he’s a good guy. I think we have a lot of quarterback depth and when you have depth like that, you tend to win a lot more games."
That is something the Ticats haven’t done much of lately and coming off a 3-15 season, they can only hope last year was an aberration for Glenn.
The East Division’s most outstanding player in 2007, when he led the league with 5,114 passing yards and threw for 25 touchdowns, he struggled badly in 2008 and was even benched for a few games as Winnipeg stumbled to an 8-10 mark.
Glenn ended up calling his own plays and completed 294 of 455 passes for 3,637 yards and 20 touchdowns, while also giving up a league- and career-high 20 interceptions.
His future with the team became murky when Mike Kelly took over as Bombers head coach, and Glenn was cut after Winnipeg traded for former Edmonton quarterback Stefan LeFors.
The five-foot-10, 203-pound Detroit native knew his days were numbered once Kelly was hired.
"When a new coach gets hired and doesn’t contact the quarterback, that sends a message," said Glenn. "It didn’t take the trade to feel that something was going on but what can you do but sit back and wait. …
"My season last year, in my mind, was a learning situation and I learned a lot from that season. You kind of make decisions now and not put yourself in those kind of situations."
If Glenn can regain some of the form he had in 2007, when he led the Bombers to a 10-7-1 record and a berth in the Grey Cup final before an arm injury sidelined him, he could prove very valuable to Hamilton.
In 132 career games with Saskatchewan (2001-03) and Winnipeg (2004-08), Glenn has thrown for 20,339 yards and 109 touchdowns while adding 939 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
"Kevin’s talent, experience and leadership will make him a valuable member of our team," Ticats GM Bob O’Billovich said in a release. "He will be a great fit in our offence and will give us a better chance to win in 2009."
Glenn is thinking of ’09 and beyond in Steeltown.
"I’m ready to play right now. I’m excited, really excited about being here," he said. "That stuff happened for a reason and it put me in a better situation."
