Is this the week? It’s a question many are asking, in all likelihood including the player himself.

For Toronto Argonauts receiver Duron Carter it was business as usual as practices resumed on Saturday, following the team’s third and final bye week of the season.

It’s been two games since Carter joined the team. He didn’t dress for the Labour Day Classic, then suited up for the first time as an Argo in the rematch with Hamilton five days later. He didn’t play a lot, but it was his Double Blue debut.

When asked by Argonauts.ca following Saturday’s on-field session, Head Coach Marc Trestman wouldn’t commit to naming Carter as a starter and says there are still a couple of tests that need to be passed, both on a football level.

“Well, he’s got to learn the offence,” Trestman said matter-of-factly, “And he’s got to be able to practice, and be able to practice at an effective level that we feel comfortable getting him in. We’re working on that. We did it (Saturday) and we’ll continue to work on it through the week. He’ll certainly be in competition to get more playing time this week than he had the last time.”

There were more questions about Carter off the field than on when he joined the team on August 26, but Trestman is happy with what he’s witnessed so far.

“I see his demeanor around the players, I think the players really enjoy having him around,” said the coach, “He’s not out there where he’s a distraction, but I think he’s easily immersed himself in our locker room and he’s done a great job.”

When Carter first arrived in Toronto he was anxious to see what he could learn from Trestman, both on and off the field. He knew the reputation of the coach was someone who built better players on the field, and better men off it.

Not surprisingly, the attention to detail of the Trestman offence has already made its mark on the receiver.

“He understands offence on a completely different level,” said the student of the teacher. “You think ‘Why do I have to be two yards outside of the numbers at 14 yards, what’s the difference with me being inside?’ and he’ll explain it to you. I think that’s the key, him being able to explain everything he wants us to do in the offence, so it’s not just coach to player ‘because I told you so.’ He can explain everything and it allows you as a player to think freely.”

The first impression of Carter the player is that he has extraordinary physical gifts. He’s 6’ 5” with exceptional speed. He has long arms and soft hands. What’s taken for granted is how much Carter appreciates the cerebral aspect of the sport. He’s a sponge for knowledge, a character trait he brings with him to the meeting room.

“He’s very attentive,” said Trestman, when asked what Carter is like in meetings. “He takes notes, asks great questions. Doesn’t ask questions just to ask them, but the questions that he’s asked over the last two weeks have been on point and well thought out.”

Perhaps the more interesting side of the relationship between the two men is what the player will take from the coach in a non-football sense. Trestman has developed a well-earned reputation for developing players as leaders, both on-and-off the field.

Players will routinely talk about how much they’ve learned from their coach that they’ve been able to implement in their daily lives, most acknowledging that they’ve become better people, husbands and fathers by being immersed in ‘The Argo Way.’

So what has Carter learned from Trestman in their relatively short period of time together in a non-football sense?

“Taking everything day by day,” said the perpetually smiling receiver, whose face then really lit up when he thought of a specific. “He tells me, ‘Before you speak, take a deep breath and then think about it,’ I think that’s the best thing I’ve learned. Just being able to receive information as much as I can give it out.”

The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native has embraced the city of Toronto. While he was able to head south for a bit during the bye week, he’s trying to explore as much of his new home as he can.

He loves what he sees.

“I’m living downtown,” said the newcomer, “I get to walk around Toronto during the day. I eat somewhere different every day, that’s my goal, to find all of the good places to eat. I have a bike, so I just ride. I’ve been all up and down the water, I’ve been to the CN Tower, I’ve been to the aquarium.”

He now feels like he’s a part of Toronto, now he wants to be a part of the Argos starting lineup. He realizes once he gets there he doesn’t have to be the go-to guy with so much talent around him.

“I love it. When I see the ball is up and it’s going to Armanti (Edwards) or S.J. Green I know it’s going to be a catch,” he told Argonauts.ca. “It just takes a lot of pressure off me, not feeling like I have to make this one catch to win us the game. It just allows me to go out and play.”

If this is the week, his first Argo start would come against Saskatchewan (Saturday 7:00, BMO Field, TSN, TSN 1050), the team that released him just over a month ago.

He says that if he’s in the lineup it will be fun getting a chance to compete against the friends he has on the Riders. There will be a familiarity both off and on the field, which leads to the question of who has the advantage when a receiver and defensive back know each other so well?

“It’s like a chess game,” said Carter, “It’s like playing the same guy in chess every time. He knows your moves and you have to throw a little something different. I trust Coach Trestman and his offence. If I can just be in the right spots I know that it’ll be successful.”

In speaking with both parties it seems like a trust is being established between the two. Judging from the last two sentences in the above paragraph it sounds much like Trestman and Carter are channeling their inner ‘Casablanca’.

As Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) said to Louis Renault (Claude Rains) in the final line of the classic movie, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”