Football dreams on the line

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This article was published 14/06/2009 (5955 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Don’t tell Jonathan Hefney or Chase Ortiz it was ONLY an intrasquad game.

Every day is an audition, a job interview. And so when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers cranked it up a notch or two in Friday night’s Blue-Gold scrimmage it was likely as big as any college game the two former U.S. stars had suited up for in the past. Careers — future careers — are in play and both were back on the field Saturday afternoon repeating the process all over again just in the hope of getting another look-see in Wednesday’s home pre-season tilt against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

"Any time I’m playing football, I’m having fun," said Hefney. "I’m just happy to get an opportunity to finally show what I can do because I feel like everywhere else I haven’t a chance to show it. I’ve only been here for a few days, but I’ve found my passion for the game here again. I just want to keep it now and keep having fun."

A four-year starter at the University of Tennessee at either cornerback or safety, Hefney arrived at the Bombers free-agent camp in Florida this spring expecting to roam around in the secondary. Imagine his surprise, then, to find out that at 5-foot-9, 190 pounds he was being converted to outside linebacker on the expansive Canadian field.

"My first reaction was… well, my eyes got real wide," said Hefney with a grin. "I called my mom and said, ‘I’m going to be playing linebacker.’ And she was like, ‘Huh?’ But then I told her it was kind of like a DB (defensive back) linebacker and after I told her everything about it she said, ‘Well, you gotta do what you gotta do. So quit complaining and go.’ That’s all I’m doing.

"I like it because you’re all in the action. It’s really fun. I’ve always been physical since Day 1. It’s all about wanting to do it and I want to play, so I want to do it."

Hefney is in his third pro camp, after stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles. Ortiz, meanwhile, spent a good chunk of last year with the Cleveland Browns. He also jumped off the page in the Blue-Gold game but is staring at some CFL mainstays listed ahead of him on the Bomber D-line depth chart in Doug Brown, Tyrone Wiliams, Fred Perry, Gavin Walls and Riall Johnson.

Still, it’s better to stand up and be noticed than to fade away and be forgotten.

"That was our first real game situation and with everybody fighting to get spots you have no choice but to play hard," said Ortiz, a two-time conference all-star during his days at Texas Christian University.

"This is a production business, so any time you get a chance to show what you’ve got, you’ve got to step up and do your best. Got to.

"Sometimes in the NFL they get caught up in size (Ortiz, an end, is 6-foot-3, 255) but they don’t pay attention to what exactly happens on the field. Having a decent scrimmage like (Friday) can actually help you relax a bit, too, — or, at least have a little more confidence.

"It’s nice to know I did halfway decent and I could go back to the room and relax a little bit. But then it’s right back at it."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca