Bombers’ kicker Lirim Hajrullahu’s second coming

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This article was published 03/08/2015 (3959 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lirim Hajrullahu knows his season hasn’t been all sunshine and roses.

And he’s taken a bit of a beating because of it, both in the media and mentally, he admits.

“The pressure just comes just from myself because I expect a lot from myself,” Hajrullahu said. “I put in a lot of work in the offseason, the most I’ve put in during my football career, so I expected to be at the top of my game.

“Having the year I had last year, I was hoping to build off that, but (getting back to normal) just took a little longer than expected.”

Hajrullahu did everything right in the offseason, trimming off the bad stuff and bulking up a bit following his rookie campaign. That year he garnered critical acclaim by tying a Blue Bombers record for field goal percentage with 87 per cent while being named the West Division’s nominee for the CFL’s most outstanding special teamer.

But it’s within his mental beating he lost his way with his confidence as a sophomore kicker. Before last Thursday’s contest, he was a woeful 6-for-10 on converts, a league worst.

But he’s made few changes, he said, and while he’s still in the cellar in that category, he’s trying to keep his gaze in a forward direction knowing he is going to come around.

“I’m just trying to stay focused mentally and go back to doing what my routines were,” he said. “I’ve just had to keep trusting in what I do.”

What he does, and what fans have come to expect, is the type of performance Hajrullahu produced in Thursday’s win over the B.C. Lions, one where the former Kosovo refugee nailed three field goals and both extra point chances the Bombers offence gave him.

For him, he’s righted the ship.

“It helped me get back on my tracks and get the confidence up,” he said, crediting long-snapper Chad Rempel for keeping him calm and cool.

His punting is also on the upward swing, up two yards and change from last year’s numbers. And while he’s conceded a few penalties trying to pick corners this year, it’s all a part of the maturation process as a kicker.

“Kickers are always working at something until they get in their grove and I think this could be the start of something for Lirim,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said.

Having O’Shea’s trust throughout the season has meant the world to Hajrullahu.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I just want to be good for my teammates and good for my coaches and have them trust me on the kicks – it means a lot.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca