THE CANADIAN PRESS
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — As he and his fellow Buffalo Bills rookies were receiving a rousing ovation from a group of high school students, a sense of envy came over Leodis McKelvin.
"I wish I had something like this when I was in high school," said the talented cornerback-kick returner who was selected 11th overall by Buffalo in April’s NFL draft. "It’s a lot of fun to come out here and put smiles on kids’ faces.
"I mean, it’s just a great feeling."
On Tuesday, McKelvin and the Bills rookies, in conjunction with NFL Canada, visited with students at Lincoln M. Alexander Secondary School in Mississauga, Ont., to discuss the importance of sport and activity as well as deliver $3,000 in new equipment for the school’s football program, which is in just its second year.
"It means a lot," said Anthony Meeks, a linebacker with the school’s football team. "They gave us a lot of tips and pointers on how to become successful in the sport.
"I’m going to take as much from this as possible and carry it on to the field."
But football wasn’t the prime message McKelvin and the Bills players tried to deliver to the students.
"Basically we want the kids to get their education," said McKelvin, who played collegiately at Troy University. "If they get their education they can bring themselves into this world and become somebody.
"Basically, that’s what we had to do. We made it to the NFL but we need our degrees so we can fall back on something. Education is very important."
It’s a message Meeks said he sincerely appreciated.
"They told us that with hard work, anything is possible," he said. "They didn’t have to do this, they did it because they wanted to.
"It means a whole lot to us as a school and a football team that these guys take time out of their day to come and talk to us. This is the best thing to happen to Lincoln, the Buffalo Bills coming here. I’d appreciate it if they came back another time."
McKelvin and the Bills will be back in Toronto, but it will be to face the Miami Dolphins in a regular-season game Dec. 7 at Rogers Centre. The contest will be the second of eight the Bills will play in southern Ontario over the next five years.
McKelvin has fond memories of the first game, which was a 24-21 exhibition win over Pittsburgh in August. He returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown before 48,434 spectators, which was more than 5,000 short of capacity.
"I scored my first touchdown in Toronto so hopefully when I come back I’ll get the same thing," McKelvin said.
The Bills have continually maintained the eight-game series is part of the NFL club’s attempts to become a regional franchise and get its foot further in the lucrative southern Ontario marketplace. However, it has also prompted steady speculation that, given the economic difficulties in western New York, it’s the first step in the Buffalo club eventually re-locating to Toronto.
Predictably, McKelvin said the players don’t listen to such talk.
"The talk is now," he said, pointing to the Bills’ 5-1 record and perch atop the AFC East. "We can’t talk about the future or the past.
"We’ve got 10 more games and these games are very valuable to us. We’ve got to go out there and win. We just try to be a team and prove everybody wrong that the Buffalo Bills are for real."
McKelvin is also looking to prove he’s for real after the five-foot-10, 184-pound cornerback earned his first career NFL start in last week’s 23-13 home win over San Diego.
"I felt good and thought I did a pretty good job but it’s just one step," McKelvin said. "My return abilities will always be there.
"The more I get at it, the more dominant I’m going to be at my position."
Buffalo certainly has high hopes for McKelvin, both as a returner as well as in the secondary. But McKelvin said the Bills are content to let him progress slowly.
"We’ve got veterans here," he said. "They just don’t want me to put any pressure on me to go out there right away.
"They want me to go out there and learn from the veterans and get my feet wet. As games go on, I will get better and better."
