June 29, 2017

Hogan: Nomadic defender Lemon has found a home in Toronto

Shawn Lemon (40) during the Toronto Argonauts training camp at York University in Toronto, On., Sunday, June 11, 2017. (Photo: Johany Jutras)

“A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” – Winston Churchill

Sir Winston may have been talking about 1939 Russia when he uttered those words, but the same may be said about Argo defensive end Shawn Lemon.

The defensive end was acquired from Saskatchewan after the second game of the 2016 season. On paper, the trade looked like a steal – a dominating pass rusher along with a conditional draft pick, dealt to Toronto for back-up quarterback Mitchell Gale and underachieving offensive lineman Matt Sewell.

So what was the catch? Was he a bad teammate? Was he a disruptive force in the locker room? The rumours have always followed him, primarily because he’s moved around so much.

Since 2011 Lemon has had stops in Winnipeg, Regina, Arena League teams in Cleveland, San Jose and Orlando, Sioux Falls of the IFL, then back to Edmonton and Calgary in the CFL, Pittsburgh and San Francisco in the NFL, then back north to Ottawa and Regina a second time before being dealt to Toronto.

Lemon says he’s misunderstood.

“Just my motives as a person,” Lemon told Argonauts.ca. “Once you get to know me as a person you understand how I go about my day-to-day life. You just kind of figure me out from there.”

 

Veteran safety Jermaine Gabriel admitted he had no idea who Lemon was when the deal was made, adding it didn’t take long for the newcomer to become a big part of the team.

“At first everyone was like ‘ooh, Shawn Lemon,” said Gabriel. “But after a couple of weeks we started talking and I noticed he was a pretty cool guy. We hit it off instantly after that and we’re pretty good friends right now.”

Lemon seems to be omnipresent. On the field you can’t miss number 40 chasing quarterbacks, throwing running backs to the ground and generally disrupting opposing offenses. His 14 sacks ranked second in the CFL last season and he was named the Argos Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

Offensive lineman Chris Van Zeyl has lined up against Lemon often, including at training camp this season. He knows the defender well and related to Argonauts.ca what makes him so tough to block.

“He’s got a little bit of everything,” explained the McMaster product. “He’s got power and he’s got speed and he’s got quickness. The speed is one thing, the power is one thing, but when you can move as quickly as he can laterally and make hands miss when you’re trying to block a guy – when you put all those things together it makes it a tough day for anybody trying to block him.”

Gabriel also raves about the DE’s play, relating what he thinks makes him so good.

“His get-off and his rush,” explained Gabriel. “His tenacity when he gets off and goes after that quarterback. It’s pretty hard to stop him. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really stop him one-on-one. He has that ability to take over games and I just love watching him play.”

It’s not just the physical tools that make Lemon so good. It’s the off-field work as well. He says that’s his biggest strength.

“The film study, the preparation during the week,” said Lemon. “It’s understanding who you’re going against, understanding what they’ve been beaten with, understanding what they’re good at and just trying to work within the defence to compromise it and do what I do best.”

Here’s what we’ve learned so far about the guy with the bad rap. He’s an elite player who works hard on and off the field and is liked and respected by his teammates. Hardly controversial stuff.

The next thing you know someone will be raving about his leadership qualities.

“He’s a good communicator,” head coach Marc Trestman said of Lemon. “He’s played the game, he’s very interested in the game at multiple levels, so I think he brings that well-rounded leadership that you want to have in a locker room.”

Van Zeyl echoes the coach.

“He’s a leader,” said the man who himself is respected in that role. “I think the best thing with Shawn is that he pushes us. We’re not always going to be best friends, we’re not always going to be buddy buddy, but I expect that when I come out I’m going to have my hands full when I play against him and I think that makes anyone who plays against him better.”

The defensive end’s move to The 6ix has worked out spectacularly well for the Argos, and man has it been good for the player. He has a reason why the marriage has succeeded.

“The city matches my personality,” confessed Lemon. “I’m an interesting person, the city of Toronto is interesting. There’s a lot of good, interesting things about Toronto, but people sometimes perceive Toronto as being this uppity Bougie city, the same way people kind of perceive me before they really get to know me.”

A now chuckling Lemon summed it up in one sentence.

“You’ve got to come live here in Toronto to see what the city is like, you’ve just got to be around me to see what I’m like.”

Fans are now getting to know more about the South Carolina-born, Maryland-raised defender. He appears on Argo posters around town and also was in the studio for the TSN Top 50 Players show.

He says that comes naturally to him.

“It’s very comfortable for me,” explained Lemon. “The more that I’m out there, the more people understand what kind of person I am.”

As Argo fans have grown to love the player, they’re starting to find out more about the man inside the helmet. As he says, his relationship with Toronto is a good one and fans are hoping it’s a lengthy one.