RAVENEL, SC -- The knock on the door. The long, long walk down the hallway and that infamous face-to-face.

It wasn’t the plan Cleve McCoy had in his head when he rolled the dice, passed up a tryout with the New Orleans Saints, and headed to Canada to try to play quarterback for the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. But, Saturday, the former South Carolina State star quarterback answered the door, took the stroll and got the talk. For the time being, the Blue Bombers don’t need his services.

“It’s a long walk,” McCoy reflected Tuesday afternoon. “A long walk.”

Back on the ground in the United States after a several-plane trip, McCoy got home late Monday night. Tuesday, he was trying to figure out what’s next, and the answer wasn’t clear. He’s on waivers in the CFL so a team could call any second -- maybe while you’re reading this story. But, he’s also out of football with no apparent opportunities on the table.

“I’m still trying to get something as far as getting into an NFL camp,” he said. “I’m working on that with my agent. I’m on waivers...so I could get picked up any day. It’s an 18-game season.

“Right now, I am just trying to let it all set in,” he added. “Whatever happens happens. I’m not going to stress. I’m not going to do that to myself.”

McCoy’s official line with the Blue Bombers wasn’t bad. He played in the team’s first preseason game against Hamilton and was 2-for-4 passing for 24 yards. He also rushed four times for 13 yards. The deciding factor was two-fold, the three quarterbacks in front of him, Kevin Glenn, Ryan Dinwiddie and Bryan Randall, all played well, and according to McCoy, his fate may have been sealed weeks ago when the team cut long-time kicker/punter Troy Westwood, a Canadian, and brought in American kicker Alexis Serna from Oregon State.

“They have to keep so many Canadians,” he said. “They cut (Westwood) and he had been here like 18 years. They normally keep four quarterbacks, but they had to let one of us go.”

McCoy said his agent is trying to rekindle the interest of the Saints as well as any other NFL team that may be interested in giving him a look at wide receiver. Until then, he will stay in shape and wait on the call.

“It’s the nature of the beast,” he said. “You have to keep your head up. A guy told me he had been cut four or five times.

“I will get a call,” he continued. “I will get on a practice squad or something like that. Right now, I’m just getting home, and I am going to enjoy myself. I have missed my family.”

T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. Check out his blog, Welcome to Linderland, at www.thetandd.com.

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