Be consistent, stay focused and remain healthy.

That's the advice from former CFL star running back Mike Pringle to Calgary Stampeders tailback Joffrey Reynolds.

It was Reynolds who mentioned at this year's training camp that surpassing Willie Burden's single-season franchise record of 1,896 yards rushing would be possible.

"Man, 1,800 or 1,900 yards would be a magical season for any back," Reynolds told the Calgary Herald. "Things would really have to go right to put up those kinds of numbers."

They did for Pringle, who bested his own Canadian Football League mark of 1,972 yards with 2,065 in 1998 while playing for the Montreal Alouettes – a record that stands to this day.

Pringle retired on Feb. 14, 2004, as the CFL's career leader in rushing yards (16,425), yards from scrimmage (20,254) and 100-yard games (73).

Does he expect some company in the 2,000-yard club anytime soon?

"It's definitely going to happen, sooner or later. Records are made to be broken," Pringle told CBC Sports Online.

Showed promise early

Reynolds, 26, showed some promise in his first full CFL season in 2005, finishing fifth all-time in Stampeder history with 247 carries for 1,437 yards – a 5.8-yard average – and eight touchdowns.

Winnipeg's Charles Roberts won the rushing title with 1,624 yards, but carried the ball 290 times to Reynolds's 247.

If Reynolds were to maintain his 5.8-yard average and have 347 carries this season - like Pringle in 1998 - he would rack up 2,013 yards.

"The biggest thing is consistency and obviously staying healthy," said Pringle, who topped the 1,750-yard mark five times in 13 CFL campaigns.

"You also have to be someone who will run well enough on first down to make the offensive co-ordinator – in this case, Calgary's Steve Buratto – give you the ball in different situations.

"I got a lot better when I matured in the game with my catching ability. I thought, 'If I'm going to do well in this league, I'm going to have to get six yards a pop, so they continue to feed me [the ball].' If there are a lot of second-and-long situations, they won't feed you."

Reynolds also showed an ability to haul in passes last season, collecting 94 yards on 13 catches (7.2-yard average) and one touchdown.

The question is, will he touch the ball enough to threaten Burden's mark?

Receivers make running back's job easier

Calgary boasts one of - if not the best - aerial attacks in the CFL, led by quarterback Henry Burris and receivers Jeremaine Copeland, Nik Lewis, Elijah Thurmon and Ken-Yon Rambo.

"When you have a great receiving corps," Pringle said, "it makes the running back's job a lot easier because the defence is spread out."

The key for Reynolds, added Pringle, will be to block out Burden's achievement and not chase statistics.

"I had numbers in my head, wrote them down, visualized attaining them and then put them away," Pringle said. "I never talked about them. I just concentrated on being the best I could be.

"I didn't think about [my yardage] until Week 13 or 14 [of 18] to see how close I was. Then, I looked up at the end of the season and the numbers were there."

Reynolds told the Herald that health isn't an issue to begin this season, despite some lingering questions over some 'stingers' that left him numb in the neck and shoulder areas at various times last season.

"I'll do whatever this team needs me to, wants me to. Whatever it takes," said the five-foot-10, 220-pound Texan.

"I'm ready to run."

The Burden Watch begins June 17 and could extend to Oct. 21 – the Stampeders' final regular-season game in Winnipeg.