He was known for his bushy beard, almost Duck Dynasty-like. So it was a bit of a shock when Edmonton native Hugh O’Neill arrived at Eskimos practice on Monday with just a bit of stubble.
“I’m a little trimmer these days.”
More importantly for the Eskimos is they added some insurance to their kicking game on Monday with the signing of O’Neill, who is a six-year CFL veteran.
The Eskimos now have two kickers on their roster. Sean Whyte will remain as the man to handle all three kicking duties but head coach Jason Maas says O’Neill will provide another leg in practice.
“We had room on our practice roster to bring Hugh in,” Maas said. “He’s a veteran and he’s done it before so he’s going to give up looks this week and be prepared if anything were to happen to Sean. It gives us an opportunity to see where Hugh’s at and it also gives Whitey some time to rest up and be ready for this one.”
READ MORE: Heavy workload isn’t bothering Edmonton Eskimos kicker Sean Whyte
O’Neill was drafted by the B.C. Lions in 2011, he spent parts of the 2013 season and all of the 2014 season with the Eskimos when he recorded a 76.9 per cent success rate on field goals and recorded a 44.4 yard punt average.
He’s been out of the CFL since 2015 when an injury knocked him out for the season while playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. O’Neill says it was tough not playing football for a season-and-a-half.
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“Yeah it was long for sure, I work out in the off-season so I’m kind of used to that but I’m used to coming back to team come the regular season,” O’Neill said. “Having to go through a full season without that was tough but that’s what I’ve been working towards and just tried to keep my eyes on the prize. Yeah, a chance to be here, it’s amazing.”
Whyte is currently tied for third in the CFL in field goal percentage at 90.0 per cent. He has a 41.3-yard punting average and a 59.6 per cent average in kick-offs.
The team also signed international linebacker Antonio Longino who spent three seasons with Arizona State, recording 164 defensive tackles and 14 quarterback sacks in 34 games.
The Eskimos will face the B.C. Lions on Friday night in a battle for first place on The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium.
Game time is 7:30 p.m. 630 CHED will have Countdown to Kick-off at 6 p.m.
Providing some magic
The Eskimos moved their practice time to the afternoon on Monday to give themselves the opportunity to head to K-Days for their annual Monday Morning Magic on the midway. Eskimos players got the chance to spend time with and go on some rides with several special needs children.
READ MORE: K-Days event continues tradition of bringing joy to special needs children
Maas said Monday Morning Magic is a very important initiative for the organization.
“Anytime you’re a community-owned team and the community is what were all about. To go out there and help some kids on some rides and see their smiling faces and realize there’s a bigger picture to what we do, they get to feel that in person and relate to people. It’s always a good thing when you’re in the community but when we can do it as group and as a team in an event like that, I think it’s a great thing.”
Monday marked the 40th anniversary of Monday Morning Magic.
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