Argos LB Wynton McManis: The best football player nobody knows

You probably don’t know the name Wynton McManis, but you should.

He’s one of Toronto’s best players, if not the best player. He’s a leader, a winner, a game-changer, a big-game player. He’s everything Maple Leafs fans yearn for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to become.

But he’s an Argo. So we turn the channel. Or we talk about what used to be. Or we turn the page in the newspaper, if there is even a page to turn.

And the most competitive of all Toronto athletes, the brilliant linebacker, goes mostly unnoticed because that’s the way the world has changed around here.

But what you see are two different Argo teams if you’re paying attention — the one without McManis, who missed seven games to injury this season; or the one with him at linebacker, where he seems to lead and follow the ball and do everything a championship linebacker is supposed to be.

Who are the best linebackers to ever play for the Argos? The Argos have never had a Dan Kepley, a Solomon Elimimian, a Wayne Harris. They did have Willie Pless for a few seasons and Danny Bass for a short time as well. And later, they did had a lot of Mike O’Shea. But really, the three seasons of McManis in Toronto are equal to or better than anybody who has ever played here.

And now this is getting to late October, almost playoff time in the Canadian Football League, and the Argos have a huge game Saturday afternoon at BMO Field against the Ottawa Redblacks. A Toronto win, and the Argos get home field advantage for the Eastern semifinal the teams will play against each other on Nov. 2. A Toronto tie or loss, and the Redblacks still would have a chance to host the playoff game.

This is when football in Canada really matters. This is when McManis can be a difference between a win and a loss.

Last Friday night, the Argos beat the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg, ending the Bombers’ eight-game winning streak. More than that, they physically pounded the best team in the West.

And for the first time in this up-and-down season, the Argos looked to be a team capable of winning the Grey Cup.

They had McManis back at linebacker. They had a defensive line dominating the offensive line of the Bombers. They had Chad Kelly, looking more like Chad Kelly than any time in this challenging season of suspension, reputation loss, and spotty play.

With two regular-season games to go, the Argos are looking formidable in this season of questions, controversy and too many mistakes.

Last year, the 16-2 Argos coasted to the finish line and it cost them badly in the Eastern final.

“Last year I would say that everything that glitters isn’t gold,” said McManis, who spent time with San Francisco, New Orleans and Miami before coming north to Calgary. This is his ninth professional season.

“This year, I would say we’re like an ancient artifact that you might find and it needs a little dusting off. And once you get beyond what you see you have something special. We’re that artifact.”

The Argo Artifact.

“That’s what a championship team looks like (the win over Winnipeg), when everybody comes together, when we’re running around, flying around, hitting people, getting after the quarterback, it’s exciting to play, it’s exciting to see,” said McManis.

The more McManis talks standing outside the Argos dressing room after practice, the more wound up he gets. His interviews are not unlike the games he plays. They’re full of moments to remember.

“I’m an emotional guy,” said McManis. “That’s just what comes with getting a guy like me on your team. I’m a high-energy guy. That’s how I play. That’s how I’ve always played.’

McManis has played six seasons in the CFL. It’s not accidental that his teams have played in three Grey Cups, he’s won two. The regular-season record of his clubs in those seasons: A remarkable 72 wins, 31 losses.

That’s the equivalent of a 112-win season in baseball. In the Blue Jays’ greatest regular season, they won 99.

“Wynton is a different leader,” said Argos coach Ryan Dinwiddie. “When he plays great football, when he gets a turnover, we win. He’s great in coverage. He’s great on running plays. Just seeing him back at full strength is great to see.”

Kelly the quarterback, after all that went wrong in his life, is still a football player. That mostly defines who he is but also what he’s about. A year ago, he went from Most Outstanding Player in the CFL, best player really, and bombed in the Eastern final. Not just bombed, but bombed big.

This is a chance for him to do some rebuilding. Of his name and reputation. A game this week against Ottawa. A game Nov. 2 against Ottawa. Maybe after that, if there is an after that, an Eastern final rematch with Montreal.

McManis likes what he sees in Kelly, likes the way he has grown up, matured with all the turmoil around him, is more prepared now for a big game than he was with a better record and better statistics a year ago.

“I like this team,” said McManis. “I like where we’re at. That (last Friday night) was what a championship defence and a championship team looks like. It’s exciting to see. We understand what it takes to win and what it’s going to take to get to the next level.”

The next level — that’s the place where Wynton McManis hangs out and plays most of his football.

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