The day Seth Coate has been waiting for, working toward and dreaming about is finally here.
#87 Seth Coate (back row, 3rd player from the left)
Coate will suit up for a regular-season game as a wide receiver for the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa Redblacks when they play the Toronto Argonauts Friday night in Ottawa.
Coate became a pro football player when he signed his CFL contract, but the move up from the practice squad marks an official arrival point.
Coate was a standout player at Homestead High School, then set receiving records at the University of Saint Francis in helping the Cougars to their first NAIA championship in 2016.
“All this time I’ve put in is paying off, and I know it would eventually, but no one knew when,” Coate said in a phone interview Thursday. “I’ve tried to stay the course, put my head down and listen to the veterans. We have good veterans on the team. They told me, ‘Everyone’s been in this situation. You’ll get through it.’ ”
The Redblacks clinched first place in the CFL Eastern Division, and a playoff bye, so they will use Friday’s game to rest some regular starters and play a few younger players, such as Coate. It might be only a one-game promotion but Coate plans to make the most of the opportunity.
Coate played in the Redblacks’ preseason games, but his last “real” game came when he caught nine passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns as the Offensive Player of the Game for Saint Francis in the NAIA title game in December 2016.
Coate with a spectacular Touchdown catch in a exhibition game for Homestead in 2011. (Photo courtesy of Ben Mikesell)
“It’s been awhile, but I’ve played in some pretty big games before,” Coate said. “You sort of learn to calm your nerves. You get a little anxious and nervous, but after that first catch, that first hit, you relax and have fun.”
Coate spent a year out of organized football after he graduated from Saint Francis, but earned a second chance last spring when he participated in another Pro Day at Ball State and parlayed that into a tryout with the Redblacks in Indianapolis. They invited him to camp and signed him to the practice squad.
There has been a lot to learn for Coate about the quirks of the CFL game and about being away from home. He played at Homestead, then joined Saint Francis, where his father Doug is part of the highly successful coaching staff. He had to adjust to all new surroundings.
“It was definitely tough at the beginning of the season, the first month or two being away,” Coate said. “For me, I’d never really left home, playing at Homestead and Saint Francis right there in town. It was a big learning curve for me.”
Coate also had to learn the intricacies of the CFL game, including playing on a longer and wider field and with offensive rules that allow the multiple players to be in motion prior to the snap.
The end zones are also larger.
“You’re running a lot of different routes,” Coate said. “Catching a ball through the uprights, running behind the goalposts trying to get open is something else. You pick up a new skill, practice it and go use it.”
Coate’s mother Julie, sister Kaylene and girlfriend Samantha Roush are planning to drive up for Friday night’s games. His father can’t make it because he’ll be prepping for Saint Francis’ final regular-season game at Taylor. “I’m sure Dad will be with some of my buddies watching it on the big screen,” Coate said.
“I wouldn’t be able to do this without the support I have back home,” Coate said. “That’s huge for me.”
The game will air on ESPN Plus at 7:30 pm EST.
Coate reaches for the pylon on a Touchdown reception for Saint Francis in a 2016 playoff game. (Photo courtesy of Aaron Suozzi)
