In the NFL, the best players are full of confidence and that’s the case of Benjamin St-Juste. The Quebec cornerback is entering his third season and believes he has what it takes to establish himself as one of the star players in his position with the Washington Commanders.
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Last fall, St-Juste showed his full potential, starting his side’s first 11 games and regularly coming up against opposition’s top receivers. However, an ankle injury he sustained against the Texans on Nov. 20 has sidelined him in five of his last six games. The 2021 third-round pick had 42 tackles, including two quarterback sacks, and also knocked down seven assists.
He thought he had his first two interceptions of his career, but each time they were canceled due to penalties. Then St-Juste feels more attacked than ever.
“If I stay healthy all season, I have no doubt that I can become an All Pro,” he summarized in an interview with Le Journal, referring to the players who make the league’s star teams were chosen.
“The progress I’ve made up until my injury last year has been encouraging. This year I know the defense even better and I’m even more familiar with the playbook,” he said.
welcome contest
AFP
In last April’s draft, the Commanders selected a promising young cornerback, Emmanuel Forbes, in the first round. Some saw this as a departure from St-Juste, which the former Spartan refutes.
“When a franchise recruits players, they don’t think about the present moment, they think about the future. If you’re not recruiting defensive backs every year because you have two that are good right now, and then someone gets injured, asks for a trade, or their contract expires, what do you do going forward? mentioned the one who expects internal and external advancement with the arrival of Forbes.
“I can play multiple positions, and with a third year in the NFL comes more responsibility. I’m willing to take them on as veterans so we can put up one of the best defenses.
“We always need depth. The season is very long and you need players who are on the same level as the starters. I’ve always been someone who passed on my knowledge to help young people. I myself had players like Kendall Fuller who helped me as a rookie. It is my duty to do this on my part,” he assured.
air change
The Commanders will not only see new faces in the dressing room this season, but also at the helm of the team. After years of contentious rule, Daniel Snyder has come to terms with selling the team to the group of Josh Harris, who will be officially announced as the new owner shortly. The change is likely to do the most good for the unloved organization of recent years.
“Already in the team, among the fans and sponsors, we can feel that the energy is coming back. We have the Chiefs offensive coordinator (Eric Bieniemy), we have a young quarterback (Sam Howell), and we have new owners. We feel like people are ready to come back and the energy will be really different,” St-Juste said.
A popular camp for returning youth
AFP
After last year’s resounding success, the football camp “Return to the Origins” organized by Benjamin St-Juste will take place again on June 30th and July 1st.
The camp is still held at Curé-Antoine Labelle High School in Laval, where St-Juste played his school football with the wolves. 625 young people are expected to be attracted in groups of 8–13, 14–15 and 16–19 years old. It would be even better than last year with an amazing total of 500 participants.
Once again, several pro players, current and former, will be there, including Matthew Bergeron (Falcons), Kwity Paye (Colts), Luiji Vilain (Vikings), Darrick Forrest (Commanders) and Jesse Luketa (Cardinals). .
“A lot of young people see these players on TV and on social media, but that’s not the reality until they have the opportunity to talk to them and ask them questions. “We have to get our youngsters to be coached by players like that,” said St-Juste, who will of course also be part of the coaching staff.
positive influence
The cornerback is pleased that the first version of his camp has attracted so many young people to the field.
After all, football hasn’t always had good press in recent years and there have been some serious issues like the impact of concussions. St-Juste is among those who continue to champion the benefits of sport beyond the risks.
“We have read a lot in recent years about young people no longer registering for football. We talked about bottoms and schools closing their programs since COVID.”
“When we organized the camp and 500 young people came, we felt it gave them an incentive to talk to players in the NFL, CFL and NCAA. It shows them that we have to keep working hard because sport can change lives.”