Roughriders linebacker Sankey leading CFL in tackles once again

He's in a different city with a different team but Darnell Sankey is in a familiar place.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker has a CFL-high 104 tackles, three more than Hamilton's Jovan Santos-Knox. Last season — his first in Canada — the six-foot-one, 245-pound Sankey registered a league-leading 97 tackles with the Calgary Stampeders.

"First and foremost I'm incredibly blessed," Sankey said in a recent telephone interview. "To be honest, I felt I could come in here and do the same, if not better, than last year.

"To me, this is what I'm supposed to do to be honest."

Sankey has also registered more special-teams tackles (two), sacks (three) and interceptions (one) than last year. In 30 CFL regular-season games, the 28-year-old San Jose native has 201 tackles, three special-teams tackles, four sacks, an interception and two forced fumbles.

"It's more than just leading in tackles," he said. "It's also about making every single play you possibly can and maximizing every single opportunity you have on the field and playing fearless.

"What you see on (the) field is when preparation meets opportunity."

Sankey is coming off a season-high 12 tackles in Saskatchewan's 18-14 loss in Hamilton on Oct. 7. It marked the second time this year he's had double-digit tackles in a game, registering 10 in a 54-20 road loss to Winnipeg on Sept. 10.

He's had nine tackles in three other contests.

"(Defensive coordinator Jason Shivers) does a great job allowing us to be playmakers," Sankey said. "We have a lot of on-field adjustments we're allowed to make and do as the game goes on.

"Obviously the coaches want certain things … but when it comes down to it, can you play ball or not? I love the defence I'm in."

Sankey should garner support as Saskatchewan's nominee for the CFL's outstanding defensive player award. But he's not worrying about that.

"If that's what God has in store for me then that's what it is," he said. "I feel like if you get your head wrapped around accolades … it takes your focus away from the task at hand.

"If I do what I have to do every single game, perform to the best of my ability and how I know I can, when it's all said and done, we'll go from there."

A more pressing concern is Saskatchewan (6-10) being precariously close to missing the CFL playoffs. The Riders can only do so as a crossover team and they don't control their post-season destiny after losing to Hamilton (6-10).

Saskatchewan concludes its regular season with two games against Calgary (10-6) while Hamilton finishes with a pair of contests versus Ottawa (4-12). Even if the Riders beat the Stampeders on Saturday night, they'd need the Ticats to lose both games to the Redblacks to make the playoffs.

Missing the CFL post-season would certainly be a bitter pill to swallow for the Riders given the '22 Grey Cup game goes Nov. 20 at Mosaic Stadium. After opening the season 4-1, Saskatchewan has dropped seven of its nine games since and no amount of personal accomplishment replaces the allure of chasing a championship.

"Winning is the No. 1 thing," Sankey said. "Getting tackles is great but it's all bittersweet if you lose.

"It forces you to look at your game and say, 'OK, this is what I could've done even better.' I always have to improve to help my team get a win."

Sankey, 28, has taken a long, winding path to the CFL.

Before joining the Stampeders, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos in 2016. Between 2016-19, the former Sacramento State star spent time in the NFL with the Broncos, Indianapolis (appearing in six games in 2017), Kansas City, Oakland, Minnesota, Baltimore, Detroit and New Orleans.

"Adversity builds character, 100 per cent," Sankey said. "I've always been a firm believer in keeping on pushing.

"The strong survive and if you're not strong you won't flourish in professional football."

It's a fact not lost upon Kenny Kim of Summit Athletes, Sankey's Florida-based agent.

"The thing about Darnell is he's a consummate pro," said Kim. "He works hard to know the league and is always in his playbook.

"He's a very technical, highly intelligent football player."

Sankey said his transition to Canadian football has been rather seamless.

"The top adjustment as a linebacker coming to the CFL, really, is the offensive plays because it's a different game," he said. "Yeah, the field is a little bigger but if you're running to the ball it doesn't matter, I was running to the ball in the NFL also.

"It's understanding offensive formations with the extra player, understanding the waggle, understanding the different types of things they can do with one more player on the field, understanding different route combinations. That's what's been different for me."

But Sankey's mental approach hasn't changed.

"After practice, one of the main questions the media asks is, 'What's your mentality going into this week or this game? What's your mentality playing this team, this quarterback?'" Sankey said. "No matter who I go up against, I go into the game confident in my preparation, confident in my team and confident in this defence.

"I say the same prayer before every game, it keeps me grounded and focused. I'm going to give it everything I've got until it is what it is. Then we'll look back on it and go from there."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2022.