He’s always had the reputation for being a big hitter. Now linebacker Micah Awe hopes to become a thief.

“I’d like to be known as a great player,” Awe said this week after a BC Lions’ practice.

In an attempt to elevate his game Awe is working in improving his skills at creating turnovers, whether it be by using his cat-like speed to make an interception or his bull strength to rip the ball away from an opponent.

“If you have a person on the opposite side of the field that can get the ball away from the quarterback, once or twice a game, he’s more important than the quarterback,” said Awe.

“Defensive players, in my mind obviously, are more important than the quarterback. If we get the ball away at will, the game is over. We win.”

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Awe, who recently returned to the CFL after failing to land a job in the NFL, will be in the lineup when Lions (3-6) face the Ottawa REDBLACKS (6-4) in a crucial game Friday at BC Place Stadium.

One of Awe’s role models is Tampa Bay Buccaneer linebacker Lavonte David. In his seven-year career David has 10 interceptions, 17 forced fumbles and 11 fumble recoveries. He has turned two interceptions and one fumble into touchdowns.

“Lavonte David is the king of getting the ball,” said Awe. “He’s big hitter, he runs fast. He’ll strip the ball, he will pick the ball. It’s almost at will.

“I have to work toward that.”

Awe’s return comes at a critical time for BC. The Lions have lost four of their last five games and desperately need a win against Ottawa to stay in contention for a playoff spot in the West Division or for any hope of a cross-over to the East playoffs.

Heading into the weekend the Lions’ defence is ranked seventh in the league in average points allowed (26.2 a game) and net offence given up (379.3 yards).

When it comes to forced turnovers, BC is eighth in the CFL with 16, last with just three fumble recoveries and fifth with nine interceptions. Three of those picks have come from Winston Rose.

Mark Washington, the Lions’ defensive coordinator, said creating turnovers involves both muscle and mind.

“It’s technique and it’s a mentality,” said Washington. “You are trying to rip the ball out, punch the ball out. It starts with being physical. You have to come in and strike and try to separate the ball from the guy.

“It’s also a mindset. You have to look for the ball. It can’t be ‘I made the tackle, I could have got the ball.’ It has to be ‘I’m coming to get it.’”

With all-star linebacker Solomon Elimimian still on the six-game injured list following wrist surgery, Awe was been taking reps at middle linebacker. It’s a position he played in high school and college at Texas Tech.

“Leading the defence and calling the calls isn’t new to me,” he said. “In the CFL it’s going to be a little tougher because now I have the whole field to cover.

“In my mind, they don’t have anywhere to run away from me.”

The six-foot, 220-pound Awe played 18 games for the Lions last year as a rookie, the final nine as a starter. He made 54 tackles, with another 16 on special teams, along with a tackle for a loss, a pair of pass knockdowns and a forced fumble.

Awe takes no prisoners on the field. He was fined for a couple of his hits and critics have called him a head-hunter.

“I’ll give them a pass,” said Awe. “You talk about football from the beginning to like about 2005, head-hunter was not a negative connotation. Now it is a negative connotation.”

Awe agrees head shots and egregious hits should be taken out of the game but makes no apologies for his physical play.

“No one out there wants to get hurt,” he said. “You look at my plays last year at full speed, they are normal plays. The only difference is, I work very hard in the weight room. I work very hard at doing everything athletically.

“I’m just explosive. I don’t want people to get explosiveness confused with he’s trying to injure (someone). You take my hit and you take someone else’s hit, they are exactly the same. It’s just a matter of force.”

Awe also has no sympathy for receivers that get crushed coming across the middle, especially when a quarterback’s eyes gives the play away.

“The receiver should not get mad at me,” he said. “He should get up, run back to his quarterback and tell him ‘don’t stare me down again so I don’t get hit again.’”

Washington said Awe isn’t reckless.

“He’s not out of control,” he said

“He’s a very physical player. He’s a come-down-hill striking type of linebacker. He’s smart.”

Awe was born in Lagos, Nigeria and moved to the U.S. when he was three years old. He started playing football as a fullback but in Grade 7 switched to linebacker. At Texas Tech he made 171 tackles in 51 games and was a defensive captain in 2015.

Not selected in the 2016 NFL draft, Awe spent time on the Tampa Bay practice roster before being released and signing with the Lions in March 2017.

Awe signed with the NFL New York Jets last winter. After being released he spent time being an Uber driver in Chicago before signing again with the Lions in August.

Awe is physical when playing but is cerebral off the field and comes from a smart family. He has a degree in petroleum engineering while his mother has a master’s degree in molecular pathology and his father holds a master’s in criminology.

While excited about playing football again Awe knows he must keep his emotions in check.

“You can’t be too jacked up in professional football,” he said. “Usually when that happens, you don’t do it that well.

“This is what I love to do right now. I can always become something later on in life.”