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They're known to teammates as A.K. and A.J., so it's only appropriate that the duo has had initial success with the Toronto Argonauts.

When the Argos opened training camp this season, they knew their starting safety would be Jermaine Gabriel. After that, all bets were off. Four players were going to have to earn jobs in the secondary, but it was apparent early that the cornerback spots would be manned by two men who headed north because they just wanted to play football.

"A.J." is Anthony Jefferson. After starring as a defender and kick returner at Fresno State, the Bakersfield, Calif., native took his talents to the NFL, where he had stops in Arizona, Minnesota and Seattle.
He's now the boundary corner.

"A.K." is Akwasi Owusu-Ansah. He played his high-school ball in Columbus, Ohio, before catching NFL scouts' attention during his NCAA career at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He was a fourth-round pick of the Cowboys, eventually playing in Dallas, Jacksonville, Oakland and Detroit before a stop in the arena league.

He's now the field corner for the double blue.

Jefferson stood out early in camp, and not just because he was wearing fluorescent yellow shoes. He was constantly making big plays in one-on-one drills, dominating the receivers he was lining up against.

When you watched him a little more closely you could tell he had a nose for the football. The Saskatchewan Roughriders found that out a week ago when he stepped in front of Taj Smith, picked off a Kevin Glenn pass and returned it for a 100-yard touchdown - perhaps the key play in the Argos 42-40 double-overtime win in Regina.

Owusu-Ansah was asked by TSN.ca to provide a scouting report on Jefferson.

"A.J. is a beast," he said. "He has natural talent and he's only going to continue to get better each game. [His] big play last week changed everything. I'm excited to play on the other side with him."

Jefferson had equally high praise for Owusu-Ansah, whose first name translates to 'Sunday born' and whose family traces its roots back to Ghana on the African west coast.

"A.K. is my guy," said a broadly smiling Jefferson. "He's a big guy, he's a physical player and I know we're going to make plays out there."

Of the two, Jefferson is the bigger risk-taker. It has worked well for him for the most part, but he has given up a couple of big plays, one for a touchdown in Week 1 against Edmonton. Both came after the first-year CFL player bit on a quarterback pump fake.

He says occasionally getting beat is a byproduct of his aggressive style of play.

"I'm a high-risk, high-reward type of player," confessed Jefferson. "I like to play with my eyes and if the quarterback's going to pump it, I'm willing to take the risk if I can make the plays that will change the game.

"I have to put my eyes in the right place. If I see the quarterback then I also have to see the receiver and I have to take a better angle to keep him from getting past me so fast."

Owusu-Ansah had a 40-yard pick six this season in the Argos preseason game in Montreal. He agreed that, to be successful, a cornerback has to play on the edge.

"You have to learn to take risks," said A.K. "If you play soft and timid you're not going to make as many plays as you're supposed to. I like to think of myself as a high-risk player too."

That said, he's playing field corner, which isn't quite as busy as playing the boundary corner spot occupied by Jefferson.

On the field [the wide side] there's not as much action. The boundary [the short side] is where it's at, but you've got to keep your attention up, keep focusing, and when that time comes to make a play you've got to be ready to make a play."

Both players have proven in a relatively short period of time that they're capable of making those big plays.

The Argos have been blessed over the years with some pretty dynamic corner combos. This pair has all the potential to become memorable - and not just because they're both known by their initials.