O’Shea shows faith in Feoli-Gudino’s ability

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This article was published 19/06/2015 (3762 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BY now you’ve probably heard all about Winnipeg’s new and improved offensive line, the strengthening of an already solid secondary and how No. 1 quarterback Drew Willy, now in his second season with the Blue Bombers, is more confident and comfortable.

The Bombers understand what it takes to win and it’s no coincidence that since Day 1 of training camp, head coach Mike O’Shea has preached the need for both strong character and work ethic from his guys.

It’s quite possible no one exemplifies those traits better than Canadian receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino.

The 27-year-old Feoli-Gudino was hand-picked by O’Shea last season after O’Shea spent two years with him as his special teams coach with the Toronto Argonauts.

“He saw a lot of potential in me in Toronto. I got a gig there because he believed in me as a special-teams player,” said Feoli-Gudino, who was selected 38th overall by the Argos in the 2011 draft after a standout career at Laval.

“When (O’Shea) moved here, he said he always believed in me as a receiver, that he knew what I could do for us on special teams and that he knew I could be a good receiver like I was in college. He’s given me my shot and I owe him a lot.”

Perhaps it’s the gratitude for his coach that explains why Feoli-Gudino never takes a drill off during practice, or why his teammates try to emulate his work ethic.

“He’s one of those guys that every day he brings the same attitude,” said fellow Canadian receiver Kris Bastien, who was acquired from Saskatchewan during the off-season in a deal for Cory Watson

“He goes all out and he always works hard, always keeps his chin up and keeps pushing forward and it’s great to learn from a guy like that.”

Don’t expect O’Shea to take any credit for that. He said it’s something that’s been there all along.

“He’s a very passionate football player, a very passionate athlete,” O’Shea said.

“One of the first things I noticed about him when I had him on special teams in Toronto was he’s very strong handed and strong-willed. That word comes up a lot with Julian, he’s got a strength about him.”

Feoli-Gudino got into the lineup last season, and provided some much-needed relief when Watson went down with a hamstring injury in the first game. In Week 3, he sparked the Bombers to a 34-33 win over Montreal with a last- second touchdown.

In just his second year as a receiver in the CFL, he knows he has a ways to go before he starts to instill fear in opposing defences. But Feoli-Gudino does represent the potential of the Bombers one day reaching the same level of Canadian content in their receiving corps as they seem to have on their offensive line.

With Rory Kohlert and Feoli-Gudino expected to start this season, and Bastien and 2015 second-round pick Addison Richards continuing to develop, the future looks promising.

“I could tell you we’re a pretty complete group and we complement each other pretty well,” Feoli-Gudino said. “I don’t see selfish guys in that group, I see a group of guys that just want to win.”

Whether that attitude off the field will translate to wins on it and a spot in the playoffs, we’ll just have to wait and see how the story plays out.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

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