The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE NEXT step on the path to professional football for one Bahamian gridiron star will be another attempt to find a place on a Canadian Football League roster.

Enrico Forbes signed a free agent contract with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL on May 25, and has joined the team in training camp.

Forbes became the second Bahamian on the Stampeders’ roster, joining five-year veteran Karl McCartney who won the Grey Cup with the franchise last year.

Last season, Forbes signed a free agent contract with the British Columbia Lions and was on pace to become a major contributor with the club.

However, he was sidelined with a hairline fracture and was subsequently released.

Forbes was invited to rookie camp with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, prior to signing with the Lions.

The 6’6”, 305-pound offensive lineman found his way back to NCAA Division I football when he enrolled at Washington State in 2011. He participated in spring drills during his redshirt season and eventually missed the entire year with a leg injury suffered during fall camp.

In his senior season, he earned a varsity letter after he appeared in all 13 games, earning five starts at right tackle.

Forbes was a member of the Frank Rutherford Elite Development Programme based in Houston, Texas.

“Going through the disappointments made me appreciate where I am right now a whole lot more. Me just being here means the world. To make it back to DI at Washington State, even though I was only able to play for a year it had a great impact on myself and my career,” Forbes said.

“I really did not have an outlet for it back in the Bahamas but football was something that I have always wanted to do. The opportunity was not there so I was very appreciative of Mr Rutherford for guiding me through the process all these years.

“From the moment he saw me and brought me into the programme he instilled the confidence in me that I would be able to get here one day. I feel like we need more people with that belief and ability to make it a reality for a lot of other Bahamian kids out there.”

Forbes played high school football at St Pius X in Houston, Texas, where he earned a varsity letter as a junior as he helped the team to an 11-2 record and captured Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) D1 state title.

In his senior season he was unable to play, suffering the first in a series of injuries and graduated from Christian Life Center Academy in Houston.

Despite the injury he was ranked No. 61 nationally among defensive ends by Scout.com and signed a letter of intent to join the Baylor Bears in 2009. He was not cleared by the NCAA Clearing House and played two seasons at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.

As a sophomore he helped Navarro to an 11-1 record and the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship before progressing to the DI ranks at Washington State.

The Stampeders will open their preseason schedule 7:30pm June 12 at home against the BC Lions.