By Jim Bender
Just call him ‘Legs’ for now.
That could become ‘Hot Legs,’ ‘Crazy Legs,’ ‘The Leg.’ The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are certainly hoping it won’t become ‘Crossed Legs’ or worse.
“I say my first name’s Marc and my last name’s Liegghio, but you can just call me ‘Legs,’” he told reporters during a Zoom interview early in training camp.
Liegghio is not only the sole kicker/punter the Bombers have brought to their CFL training camp to replace future Hall-of-Famer Justin Medlock, but the rookie has never booted a single football in a professional game.
“Obviously, it’s my first pro training camp, but it just feels great to be out here knowing that they’ve got confidence in me to be ‘the guy’” Liegghio noted.
Ah, ‘The Leg’ becomes ‘The Guy’ possibility.
“I’m just going to come in and provide what I can for the team and I know I’ve got some pretty big shoes to fill,” said Lieggio, 24. “I’m going to do my best to do what Medlock did for the team and hopefully, even better.”
Liegghio, who hails from Woodbridge, Ont., was a first-team All-Canadian as both a punter and placekicker for the University of Western Ontario in 2019. The Bombers plucked him in the fifth round of the 2020 CFL Draft.
But even if he did boast an 87 field goal percentage over his last three years, that was in college, not pro.
Liegghio, however, was met with positive reinforcement from Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea.
“He said, ‘I know it’s just you and don’t feel like there’s any pressure whatsoever. We just want you to be you,’” Liegghio said. “I love that he said that because, going into a pro environment and trying to match what Medlock did, it’s not really possible. You’ve got to build up to that and I just think that Mike has that confidence that I can sometime reach that goal.”
While Medlock was particular about his holders, Liegghio believes backup quarterback Sean McGuire will continue in that role. But he’s not as fussy as Medlock.
“I just say, ‘Get it down, a little tilt to the right is good enough for me.’ I’m not really particular,” Liegghio said. “As long as it’s down there, it’s my job in the end to kick it through the uprights.”
Liegghio added that he was comfortable kicking field goals inside 50 yards.
WARNING TO OTHER CFL TEAMS: This could be the foretelling of one of the best seasons for one of the best linebackers in the league.
“In all reality, I’ve had two years of training and I feel healthier than I had in like, forever,” Adam Bighill said. “I mean, I haven’t been banged up at all for the last season. I feel great coming out on the field (for training camp) and conditioning, felt great.
“I’ve been training for two years to get back in there, so I’m primed and ready to go, and ready to take advantage of the work I put in in the off-season.”
HEAT WAVE: Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea had no concerns over conducting training camp during sweltering temperatures at the University of Manitoba.
“It seems perfect,” he said. “We’re here practising. What we were doing before this wasn’t perfect, so this is excellent. It could snow tomorrow and everybody would love to be out there.”
Yes, an entire season was lost and both training camp and the 2021 season were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And everyone involved must remain vigilant.
“Everyone’s attention to detail to make this thing go off with as few hitches as possible has made it run very smoothly so far,” O’Shea added. “We’ve got to make sure we’re abiding by all of the protocols and physical distancing and mask wearing and all that stuff … Everyone in their own department was so fantastically focused on making sure their end was right. It’s been very smooth.”
