Thigpen Has Chip On His Shoulder

end of training camp, the 24-year-old kick-return specialist was convinced his professional football career was over.

"I thought I had all this ability and speed and I couldn't make a team and it was tough," said Thigpen, who also failed to catch on with the Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos during short stints with those NFL teams in 2009. "I was ready to be sent back home and to have a regular life with my family."

But Thigpen had caught the eye of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and just three days after being released by Saskatchewan, he was on a plane heading for southern Ontario. He would get another shot and he would make it count.

In Week 1 against Winnipeg, Thigpen returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown and followed in the fourth quarter by returning a missed field goal 118 yards for another touchdown. In Week 2 against Calgary, Thigpen returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown early in the game and added a 33-yard touchdown catch before halftime.

Thigpen's next chance will come on Saturday when the Ticats play the Roughriders at Regina's Mosaic Stadium.

"I definitely feel a little extra motivation going back there. You feel motivation going into every game, but there's more against them because they released me and I feel like I didn't have a fair opportunity to prove myself," said Thigpen, who signed with Saskatchewan last October but never saw game action.

Roughriders general manager Brendan Taman said the club recognized Thigpen's talent, but it had no choice but to release him because a significant commitment had previously been made to primary return man Dominique Dorsey and backup running back Hugh Charles.

"Obviously, people in hindsight will go, 'Well, Marcus is probably the best of the three,' and after four games this year he sure is," Taman said.

"It is obviously a little surprising how successful he's been so far. That's a very impressive thing that he's done with all those touchdowns, but the bottom line is we had Dorsey and Charles and we couldn't keep a third guy similar to those two.

"We structured our salary cap this year around the idea that we weren't going to keep as many bodies as we had in the past."

Thigpen leads the CFL in punt-return average (12.1) while Dorsey (6.3) is well behind. Taman said he expects Dorsey's numbers will improve now that he's recovered from an early season hamstring problem. The coaching staff in Saskatchewan has also identified sub-par blocking as a cause of Dorsey's slow start.

But Thigpen is not just a factor on special teams. Ticats head coach Marcel Bellefeuille is starting to integrate him more into the team's offence.

Thigpen has recorded four receptions for 64 yards and six carries for 26 yards. Dorsey, meanwhile, is not a factor when the Roughriders are on offence. Charles, when spelling off starter Wes Cates, has eight carries for 69 yards and two catches for 26 yards.

"I pick up things pretty fast so I've pretty much got the offensive schemes down," Thigpen said. "Now things are starting to come together for me in Hamilton. Everything happens for a reason and I just had to be patient."