Hogan: The kicker and the coach

It was a cringe-worthy Saturday afternoon.

On October 4, 2015, Lirim Hajrullahu – then with Winnipeg and a year removed from being the West’s nominee for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player- had a nightmarish day. Four missed field goals and a wide convert attempt cost his team dearly in a one-point loss to Edmonton. It would be his last day as a placekicker with the blue and gold.

He’d finish the final four games of the season as the Bombers’ punter. When the campaign concluded, so did his days in the ‘Peg.

It turned out to be a blessing for the Argonauts.

The man who grew up in St. Catharines, Ont. after his family was forced to flee war-torn Kosovo as refugees, signed with Toronto in February of 2016, raising many an eyebrow among a somewhat skeptical fan base. Which player were the Argos getting, Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?

It was apparent early in the season the good doctor had arrived.

He’d start the season by hitting 11 of his first 12 field-goal attempts, including a terrific six field-goal evening in Vancouver. It set the tone for a season where the Western University product would connect on over 88 percent of his attempts – including a span where he hit 15 straight – while averaging 44 yards per punt. He’d be named an all-star for the first time in his career.

So what happened in Winnipeg?

“I was standing up too much, going up and down in my kicks,” Hajrullahu explained. “I was a little too tight to the tee. This offseason we were already so far ahead compared to the year before, it was just working with Coach two or three times a week down in Hamilton and just becoming more comfortable.”

The glitch was discovered by a man familiar in football circles, but virtually unknown by anyone who doesn’t kick or coach in Ontario. A man known simply as ‘Coach Kick’.

Ken Urquhart has been working with kickers since he was around 15 years old, initially spending three seasons with the legendary Bernie Ruoff.

A fixture at the OUA level, Urquhart has spent most of his time working with kickers at archrival schools Western and Laurier, coincidentally the universities that produced Argos Hajrullahu and recently signed Ronnie Pfeffer.

In total, he’s worked with some 25 All-Canadian place kickers or punters, one of which came to him while he was a high school player. To put it politely, the ever-optimistic coach didn’t like what he saw in young Lirim.

“He was 28 (yards) a punt, bad,” said a smiling Urquhart. “He was 11 of 21 (field goal attempts), bad. I said, buddy, get your degree because it doesn’t look good.”

The coach laughed, then became deadly serious when he talked about how the kid with seemingly little to no future as a kicker turned it around.

“In fairness to Lirim Hajrullahu, he broke his back,” Urquhart told Argonauts.ca. “We were going out four or five nights a week and within two years he had made 41 of 51 field goals at the college level. He became an all-star. He ended his career with 422 points. He busted his ass, so there’s a lot of loyalty there.”

It doesn’t take a relationship specialist to see there’s a great deal of affinity between teacher and pupil.

“There’s nobody as passionate about field goal kicking as he is,” said a smiling Hajrullahu. “He’ll call me and we’ll be on the phone for hours and just talk about kicking. He appreciates the kicking game so much and I just try to put half the love that he has for the game into this.”

That passion was now oozing out of the kicker, who was becoming effusive in his praise for the man who has coached him for almost a decade.

“He loves helping people, especially university guys,” explained Hajrullahu.” If you look at the (USports) rankings, all the top kickers have gone through Ken through the summer programs. He still helps me every day.”

Laurier was so thankful for the work he did with kicker Brian Devlin in 2005, head coach Gary Jeffries made sure Urquhart received a Vanier Cup ring.

Despite being honoured for helping the Hawks win a national championship, it’s the kicker who became the all-time leading scorer in Canadian university football history while wearing a slightly different shade of purple that holds a special place in the coach’s heart.

“He’s definitely one of the best kids I’ve ever coached in my life,” confessed Urquhart, “And on top of that, he’s a better person.” 

It’s a combination that has worked well on and off the field. Right now the Argos are benefiting greatly from that relationship.