HAMILTON, ON - June 1, 2018: Toronto Argonauts defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 36-18 in preseason football at Tim Hortons Field. Photo by John E. Sokolowski

TIFTON — In Georgia, football players in the lazy days of summer wake up early. They practice before the sun begins to boil.

High school, college and professional football seasons are more than a month away. Helmets are donned, but few pads. In air conditioned homes, televisions are mainly tuned to baseball and the World Cup. Football is on the tips of tongues, but merely a vague promise for an even more vague date in the future.

That is not the case for Tift County alumnus Larry Dean.

Dean has begun his third year in the Canadian Football League, all with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Dean was a standout at Tift County High and starred at Valdosta State, where he was named the Daktronics National Defensive Player of the Year, the South Region Defensive Player of the Year and the Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He also broke the record for tackles, which was held by Jessie Tuggle.

Dean was not selected in the National Football League draft, but signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings. Following three seasons (2011-13) in Minnesota, he played a year with the Buffalo Bills. He next went to Tampa Bay, but the Buccaneers cut him days prior to the start of the 2015 regular season.

Months later, Dean landed in Hamilton and the CFL. He and the Tiger-Cats have been together since.

“Canada’s treating me well,” said Dean, days before Friday’s Hamilton-Edmonton Eskimos road game.

It seems like the relationship has been great for both team and player.

Dean was voted team captain in 2017, a season that saw him named as the Tiger-Cats’ Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player. He was named to the East Division All-Star team.

During the year, he made 96 tackles during the 18-game season. Dean had three sacks and forced three fumbles, with the latter stat tied for second in the league.

Dean believes the Tiger-Cats will bounce back from 2017, which saw the squad finish 6-12 and miss the playoffs. The rebound already started during the second half of the season.

After an 0-8 start, Hamilton went 6-4 the rest of the way.

The breaks began going the Tiger-Cats’ way, Dean said.

“On the defensive side, we had to simplify things,” he said. “We were capitalizing on things.”

That was especially the case in the 20th and final week of the season, a 33-0 thrashing of the Montreal Alouettes. Hamilton also had wins over East Division and Grey Cup winner Toronto and second place Ottawa. None of the four second half losses were by more than eight points, one of which was in overtime.

The Tiger-Cats made some coaching changes during the offseason, one of which was defensive coordinator. Former Atlanta Falcons head coach Jerry Glanville was named to the position and Dean is enjoying playing for him.

“So far, so good,” Dean said. He likes the defensive unit around him — “a good group of core guys” — and the adjustments Glanville has made.

“He’s brought simplicity,” said Dean.

Glanville, whose coaching career stretches back to 1967, was head coach in the NFL for the Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans) and the Falcons from 1985-93. He reached the playoffs four times, including once with Atlanta in 1991. Post-NFL, Glanville served as defensive coordinator at Hawaii in 2005-06 and was head coach at Portland State (Ore.) from 2007-09. Hamilton is his first football job since Portland.

Dean does not think the time away from coaching football hurt Glanville because of his dedication to the sport.

“[Glanville] still thought about it every day,” said Dean. “He’s been around so much ball.”

Hamilton’s head coach, June Jones is another familiar name to South Georgians. Jones was the Falcons’ head coach from 1994-96. Glanville had previously employed Jones as offensive coordinator and Jones later employed Glanville when Jones was head coach at Hawaii.

After a lifetime in American football, Dean is now well-accustomed to the slight differences in CFL rules, from the single (one-point play) to the differences in the size of the field; in the CFL the field is 10 yards longer but nearly 12 yards shorter than that of the NFL. End zones are also double the size in Canada than in the NFL.

He has had to make some adjustments, particularly when it came to tackling.

“It was little different taking a proper pursuit angle,” Dean said. “I’ve become accustomed to it.”

And after being named captain, he said he became more vocal, “to be that rock the guys had to lean on.”

He is also used to cold weather, from his time in Hamilton, Minnesota and Buffalo, but still has yet to make one adjustment: ice skating.

“I haven’t tried it yet,” he laughed.

Dean seems to have earned a lengthy stay in Hamilton, but he does not take his fortune for granted.

“For anybody to get to play this game is a blessing,” he said.

Despite the thousands of miles between his CFL travels and his hometown, Dean remains very connected. He said he speaks to father, Larry Sr., almost daily. The two often discuss young Larry’s Larry Dean Foundation, which has given back to the community in many different ways, including school supplies and Thanksgiving meals.

He also remains a big fan of his high school alma mater.

Dean was on the sidelines for Tift County High’s spring game against Fitzgerald this year.

“Once a Blue Devil, always a Blue Devil,” he said.