Former Viking trying to make it up North:
Buono hoping new tackle has nasty streak to rival Murphy
Daren Heerspink caught coach's eye
http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=23c977d2-40e9-444e-8aa1-dd4d2d5c959f
They do not pick starters on the Lions on the basis of family pedigree. If they did, Daren Heerspink might be in trouble.
At least to this point the CFL team did not have an import player who grew up on a dairy farm near Lynden, Wash. What the Lions apparently want out of anyone starting at left tackle is the mean streak possessed by Rob Murphy, who spent his formative years in hardscrabble Buffalo and Cincinnati and developed his craft for four seasons in the NFL.
There's more in the football pedigree of the 25-year-old Heerspink that coach Wally Buono likes, however, because when the Lions began preparing for Thursday's game against the Edmonton Eskimos he had replaced Walter Stith on the first unit.
Not bad, considering Heerspink has only been with the Lions one week.
Buono was hoping to replace Murphy at training camp with Martin Bibla, thinking the NFL journeyman possessed a similar nasty side. But when Bibla quit after three days of camp and Heerspink was released by the St. Louis Rams earlier this month, the Lions figured it was worth making a contract offer.
"All I know is that the first day I saw Heerspink he impressed me more than Mr. Bibla," Buono said. "I don't think he'll be as colourful [as Murphy]. I hope he has the disposition, temperament and physicalness. As much as Mr. Murphy got criticized, that's what everybody strives for. Football is a nasty game played by nasty people."
If any of Heerspink's college coaching rubs off on him, the Lions might be fine where it really counts. Former NFL maverick Jerry Glanville was his coach at Portland State. Darrell (Mouse) Davis, whose concepts have been adopted by several CFL teams, was Heerspink's offensive co-ordinator.
" A lot of what we did there is in this league, and that's been one of the reasons why I'm starting to get comfortable here," the new lineman said.
Heerspink spent last season on the practice roster of the Miami Dolphins and because he was behind all-pro left tackle Jake Long, he knew he didn't have much of a future. It may be a little inconvenient to make the trek across the Aldergrove border crossing on a daily basis, but with the Lions still in a transitional phase, Heerspink's arrival could be a case of right time, right place.
Buono hoping new tackle has nasty streak to rival Murphy
Daren Heerspink caught coach's eye
http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=23c977d2-40e9-444e-8aa1-dd4d2d5c959f
They do not pick starters on the Lions on the basis of family pedigree. If they did, Daren Heerspink might be in trouble.
At least to this point the CFL team did not have an import player who grew up on a dairy farm near Lynden, Wash. What the Lions apparently want out of anyone starting at left tackle is the mean streak possessed by Rob Murphy, who spent his formative years in hardscrabble Buffalo and Cincinnati and developed his craft for four seasons in the NFL.
There's more in the football pedigree of the 25-year-old Heerspink that coach Wally Buono likes, however, because when the Lions began preparing for Thursday's game against the Edmonton Eskimos he had replaced Walter Stith on the first unit.
Not bad, considering Heerspink has only been with the Lions one week.
Buono was hoping to replace Murphy at training camp with Martin Bibla, thinking the NFL journeyman possessed a similar nasty side. But when Bibla quit after three days of camp and Heerspink was released by the St. Louis Rams earlier this month, the Lions figured it was worth making a contract offer.
"All I know is that the first day I saw Heerspink he impressed me more than Mr. Bibla," Buono said. "I don't think he'll be as colourful [as Murphy]. I hope he has the disposition, temperament and physicalness. As much as Mr. Murphy got criticized, that's what everybody strives for. Football is a nasty game played by nasty people."
If any of Heerspink's college coaching rubs off on him, the Lions might be fine where it really counts. Former NFL maverick Jerry Glanville was his coach at Portland State. Darrell (Mouse) Davis, whose concepts have been adopted by several CFL teams, was Heerspink's offensive co-ordinator.
" A lot of what we did there is in this league, and that's been one of the reasons why I'm starting to get comfortable here," the new lineman said.
Heerspink spent last season on the practice roster of the Miami Dolphins and because he was behind all-pro left tackle Jake Long, he knew he didn't have much of a future. It may be a little inconvenient to make the trek across the Aldergrove border crossing on a daily basis, but with the Lions still in a transitional phase, Heerspink's arrival could be a case of right time, right place.
