Jacob Brammer is making his first start in green for the second time.
Brammer, who is to play right offensive tackle for the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, made his college football regular-season debut with the University of North Texas Mean Green on Sept. 8, 2018.
That evening in Denton, Texas, Brammer helped his team register a 58-16 victory over the Incarnate Word Cardinals.
He provided airtight protection for future Roughriders quarterback Mason Fine, who threw for 418 yards (including 281 in the first half) and four touchdowns while not being sacked over 3½ quarters of duty.
Fine operated a high-powered North Texas offence that amassed 607 total yards and 32 first downs.
Can Brammer adhere to that script in his first CFL start?
“I can’t promise anything,” he said with a laugh. “We’re just going to go out there and do our job every day.
“We know we’re going up against a great team. They have a great coaching staff and their players are coached really well. We’re going to go out there and do our job and stick to the plan.”
The Roughriders’ original plan was to start two-time CFL All-Star tackle Jermarcus Hardrick against his former team on Friday (7:30 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
However, Hardrick — nickname: Yoshi — suffered a serious quad injury on Saturday against the host B.C. Lions. Brammer, who was impressive during training camp and the pre-season, has been activated from the practice roster to fill the void.
“Losing Hardrick was big,” quarterback Shea Patterson said. “He’s a leader on our team. The energy that he brings to the huddle and into the room is contagious.
“But Brammer has done a great job coming in and trying to fill those big shoes that he has to fill. He has done a great job in practice all week. We all believe in him and trust in him. He has done a great job of staying ready and staying in it through the first part of the season.”
Corey Mace is also impressed with Brammer.
“I’m always a glass-half-full guy,” the Roughriders’ Head Coach said. “Prior to Yosh going down, we’d given him a day or two off here and there (in practice), just to make sure that he was ready to get going for game day.
“Only some guys can get away with that and, being a cagey vet, he certainly was one of them. Saying that, someone had to take those reps, and it was always Brammer.
“He’s really intelligent, he studies his tail off, and he plays the game physically — which is the mental makeup we want specifically at that position, and on the offensive line in totality.
“(Brammer) is a very good player. He’s more than capable. I think we saw flashes of that in the pre-season, so we’re excited to see what he looks like now when the bullets are flying.
“Don’t play scared, because mistakes are going to happen. They happen for guys who have played for years. Know it’s coming. Just limit them as much as possible.”
Brammer and left tackle Trevor Reid already know what’s coming in the form of towering Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson, who has long been one of the CFL’s premier pass rushers.
“Honestly, you can’t ask for a better matchup, being a young buck coming in, to see if you’re ready to play in this league,” Mace said.
“(Jefferson) is a guy I have a tremendous amount of respect for. Even if he’s not rushing, he’s a threat to knock the ball down.
“He does a lot of really good things, so Jacob’s going to have to get his mind right, as will Trevor on the other side. But if you study enough tape, there are some things that you see that you can take advantage of.
“It’s always going to come back down to execution. But if there’s an opportunity for you to go out there and slow down Willie — which not a lot of people have been able to do over the course of his career — you can leave the game feeling confident in yourself.
“You can’t ask for a better opportunity.”
The 25-year-old Brammer can hardly wait for it to unfold on the field.
“I’ve always wanted to play professional ball, so this is the first step to making a real name for myself,” the 6-foot-4, 301-pounder said. “I’m just trying to build on that from here on out.”
The first steps on a football field, period, were taken with some reluctance when Brammer was a youngster in Richmond, Tenn.
“I really didn’t want to play tackle football at first when my parents signed me up,” he recalled. “But the first day in pads, I just loved it all.
“At first, I just didn’t want to get hit, but then I found out in the first practice that if you hit them, it doesn’t hurt or anything.
“I pride myself on being physical, so that helped a lot to find out all that at a young age. I would be the most physical on the team.”
Brammer starred at Foster High School in Richmond before attending North Texas on a scholarship. He also fielded offers from Rice University — the alma mater of Roughriders centre Peter Godber — and the University of New Mexico.
Following a redshirt year, Brammer made his debut with North Texas on Sept. 1, 2018. He was elevated to a starting role, at left tackle, one week later.
“I remember just wanting to go out there and prove myself and play fast and physical,” he said. “That was the big emphasis for me. It was a whirlwind of emotions, getting the first start.”
And now …?
“I’m trying to treat it just like any other game day,” said Brammer, who played for North Texas from 2018 to 2021 before starting at right tackle for Vanderbilt in 2022.
“I’m sure the anxiety will get up there, but usually after the first play when you get the first hit out of the way, everything goes back to normal.”
The looming matchup with Winnipeg is hardly a normal game for the home team, which will wear its Obsidian Green-coloured Rider Nation Alt Jerseys for the first time.
“We have the best stadium environment in the CFL, so getting to play in front of this crowd is going to mean a lot,” Brammer said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
