Kangaroo Man and the Canuck. Sounds more like a sitcom than the focus of Saturday’s Redskins-Ravens scrimmage.
The expected 40,000 fans heading to FedEx Field won’t see the teams’ stars do more than stretch and stare at rookies and reserves trying to win a handful of jobs. Washington quarterback Mark Brunell and Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis may spend more time signing autographs because neither would be risked in a controlled scrimmage.
Instead, it’s a time for Australian punter David Lonie and Canadian running back Jesse Lumsden to impress Redskins coaches. The scrimmage provides a chance to stand out rather than become camp fodder. After all, both have come too far just to be overlooked. Lonie was an Xtreme sports junkie in Australia from motorcross to barefoot water skiing. Lumsden starred for a Canadian college as the son of a Canadian Football League legend.
“It’s been a long road,” sighed Lumsden.
He’s the son of Neil Lumsden, a CFL running back with three Grey Cup rings who went on to become a general manager and now TV commentator. Jesse Lumsden resisted several U.S. college offers to play safety. He opted to play running back at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Named Canada’s top male athlete in 2005 while earning its equivalent of the Heisman Trophy after rushing for 1,816 yards and 21 touchdowns, Lumsden skipped signing with Hamilton as the CFL’s sixth overall selection to join Seattle as a free agent. An injury led to his release and Lumsden finished the CFL season with Hamilton. A few workouts later, Lumsden signed with Washington in January.
“It’s a faster pace between plays [than the CFL], but football is football,” he said. “That’s all you have to remember. I’m just going tokeep working hard, stay positive. I’m here for one reason.”
Lonie sees football as a fun way to make a living despite his mates joking he has sold out to mainstream sports. The admitted “adrenaline rush junkie” was one of Australia’s top athletes in soccer and water polo while setting national records in the javelin and pole vault. And don’t forget snowboarding, surfing and water skiing.
“I dabbled in a bit of everything,” Lonie said. “It wasn’t until I came to America that I decided to see what I could do about football.”
Lonie sent a video to 10 colleges. Ohio State offered a scholarship, but Lonie’s Australian transcript wasn’t accepted. He spent two years kicking and punting for an Iowa community college before transferring to California.
Football isn’t that rough for Lonie compared to rugby. His pals say Lonie has gone soft for wearing NFL equipment. U.S. teammates think he’s a different duck, especially with an accent that earned him Crocodile Hunter and Kangaroo Man nicknames.
“They give me a lot of stick about wearing pads and helmets when they’re all back there playing rugby and Australian rules football,” he said. “After playing rugby at home without pads, [NFL] hitting is nothing.”
Unless Lewis gets a hold of him.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
