September 16, 2017

Hogan’s Quick Hits: Week 13 vs. Edmonton

Marcus Ball (6) of the Toronto Argonauts in the locker room before the Labour Day Classic game at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton ON, Monday September 4, 2017. (Photo: Johany Jutras)

A Trestman Kinda Thing

When the Argos held practice Monday they were short four players. S.J. Green, Marcus Ball, Brandon Washington and Brandon Harris were excused to be with family.

All four had spent their bye weeks in Florida.

“They were fine,” said Trestman. “They were spared in terms of their homes and their families. I think a couple of them lost power, but overall there was no structural damage, I think, to any of the places where they lived and their families are safe.”

When news of the additional day off was Tweeted out, one reply was “That’s a Trestman kinda thing to do. Good for him.”

It’s that kind of act that endears the coach to his players. Here’s what Brandon Whitaker – who has played for Trestman in both Toronto and Montreal – said about his coach during Episode 8 of the Double Blue Podcast.

“He’s not just your coach,” said an earnest running back. “He actually cares about you as an individual and as a human being and as a man and you developing as a man and using football as a tool to be a better person.”

Whitaker didn’t want to stop talking about the impact Trestman has had on him.

“Even when he left (Montreal) I probably talked to Trestman at least once a month, easily,” continued the Baylor product. “When he was the head coach in Chicago, when he was in Baltimore. He always reached out, I would reach out to him.”

“He’ll send me a text,” Whitaker continued. ”‘Your family is beautiful now, I love it, I love the husband you’ve become and the father you’ve become.’ He reaches out and he cares about people and it’s the genuine deal, so when guys are listening to him and they’re being coached by him they can tell that it’s genuine and it’s not just a coach being up there being a coach.”

“You run through a brick wall for somebody like that.”

Texting a player with a message like that out of the blue? That is a Trestman kinda thing to do.

 

Himey is Home!

It was more than just a bit surprising. Earlier this week the Argos announced that Jonathan Himebauch was becoming the offensive line coach yet again.

The affable ‘Coach Himey’ knows the Argo landscape better than most.

“I think this is the fifth time that (equipment manager) Danny Webb has outfitted me in Argos gear,” joked the coach. “’99 as a player, I came back with Scott Milanovich his first year in ’12 and I was here for a couple months, then I had an opportunity to go back down south, came back with Scott in ’15 and then was here during training camp and now back again.”


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Himebauch joked that his return to Toronto – after spending last year at the University of Nevada (Reno) – was a family decision.

“After nine months of being around my family, spending quality time, taking them to school, making the lunches, doing the daddy day care, my wife and my kids all looked at me and they said ‘Dad, it’s probably okay if you go back.’ They were about ready to kick me out the door.”

Seriously though, he said his family is very familiar with the area and is thrilled that he’s back coaching again.

A fresh set of eyes, an accomplished coach and an injection of adrenaline is never a bad thing. Himebauch brings all of those elements back to Toronto.

 

A Big Night for Osh

Thursday was induction night at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. A who’s who of Canadian football turned out to celebrate an incredible group of inductees. Anthony Calvillo, Geroy Simon, Kelvin Anderson, Brian Towriss and Stan Schwartz became the newest kids in the Hall, along with one of the most popular players in recent Argo history, Michael O’Shea.

‘Osh’ as he’s known to friends and fans alike, had an incredible career, but more on that later. What was also impressive was the number of former Argos that turned out for the event, held at Tim Horton’s Field in Hamilton.

Former Boatmen in attendance who are already in the Hall included players Mike Clemons, Mookie Mitchell and Bill Symons, along with former coaches Bob O’Billovich and Russ Jackson, though the latter was in all likelihood enshrined for his playing days in Ottawa rather that his coaching days with the Double Blue. Call it a hunch.

Other former Argos taking in the night included Paul Masotti, Chad Folk, Jude St. John, Chris Gioskos, Adriano Belli, Jeff Keeping, Brian Ramsay, Bob Bronk, Mike Morreale, Stacey Coray, Duane Forde and the leader of the pack, Peter Martin. Former general manager Mike McCarthy was also in attendance.

Apologies if anyone was missed.

Current Argo coaches Marc Trestman, Marcus Brady and Jonathan Himebauch, along with general manager Jim Popp were there to honour Calvillo, their former quarterback from their days in Montreal.

 

The Kid from North Bay

Mike O’Shea, Hall of Famer.

For those who were lucky enough to see him play it’s easy to get a visual picture. Number 50 flying around the field, punishing those unlucky enough to be holding the ball when he arrived. The video they showed just before his induction induced several “oohs” when some of the more ferocious hits were shown.

He was a linebacker that, let’s be kind here, stepped over the line a few times. Intimidation was a big part of his game.

And oh, that smile.

Mike O’Shea loved, and still loves football, perhaps more than anyone who has ever donned a CFL uniform. He appreciates the unique nature of the rules, something he’s shown time and time again in his tenure as a coach. Onside field-goal attempts? Seriously? Nobody but O’Shea would dream up something so diabolical.


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But there’s one thing that should be celebrated more than anything else. Here’s a kid from a hockey town, North Bay, who didn’t start playing football until grade nine. As he mentioned in his acceptance speech he almost didn’t pursue football, as he thought after high school he would head to California and work on freighters.

The sport is happy he remained a landlubber.

After a stellar USports career at Guelph, the kid went on to accomplish something that isn’t celebrated nearly enough. The CFL has been keeping track of tackles as a stat since 1987. Think of all of the great players in the league since then. O’Shea trails only Willie Pless in that category.

Think of what a great player Solomon Elimimian is. He’s in his eighth season and as of the time of this article has 655 career tackles, including a CFL record 143 in one year, 129 more in another. He’d need another 5 seasons of roughly 100 tackles to catch O’Shea’s 1,151.

Michael O’Shea was a unique talent as a player and is someone we don’t celebrate enough for what he means to Canadian football.

Cheers Osh.