• E-Mail to a Friend
• Write NFLCanada.com

Redskins Fan Site Interview with Jesse Lumsden

Former CIS star running back Jesse Lumsden is raising important eyebrows in the early stages of Redskins training camp - most importantly those of legendary Head Coach Joe Gibbs.

"I don't think there's been a single day where we haven't sat down to look at the film and somebody says, 'Gosh, the guy's quick,'" Gibbs told the local media. "He's a promising young guy and he deserves some work."

Lumsden has also caught the eye of the Redskins fabled fan site, www.TheHogs.net (THN). THN writer Mark Solway sat down with Lumsden on August 8, 2006 for a Q&A session. THN has allowed NFLCanada.com to reprint the results:

THN was fortunate enough to grab Redskin Jesse Lumsden for a few questions and answers on Monday. Lumsden has managed to draw a fair bit of attention for a newcomer both from the fans and from the coaching staff. Here is the first part of hopefully a two-part interview; we will try to catch up with him again on Tuesday.

THN: Thanks for your time Jesse. I just want to ask you a few questions if that's alright...

Jesse: Sure, no problem.

THN: I wanted to ask you about your dad. Obviously your dad probably had a lot of influence on you wanting to be a football player. How much pressure was there, playing for a father who had such a prolific career both before and after his playing days?

Jesse: He never put any pressure on me. He always supported me in whatever I did, and I played a lot of sports before I really decided to focus on football. But once I did, he backed me one hundred per cent. He helped me out not only as a father, but as a coach and I'm very thankful for what he did for me because he definitely helped in a major way in getting me where I am.

THN: But did his success make you put extra pressure on yourself?

Jesse: No, not really. For a while it was always 'Neil Lumsden's son', but that's part of the territory and it never bothered me. It never made me angry or anything like that. That's just part of it and I accepted it and I just went out and played football every weekend like I was supposed to.

THN: Has your father been down to Camp?

Jesse: He came down for the scrimmage and flew back Saturday night, so it was good to see him.

THN: He must have been pretty proud as you had a great outing.

Jesse: Yeah, it was just great to see him.

THN: You broke a lot of CIS records playing for McMaster, one of which was tying your dad's record for five touchdowns in a game. Who bought dinner that night?

Jesse: It was a while ago, I don't really remember, but I'm pretty sure it would have been him. He was always great about buying me dinners.

THN: Greg Marshall obviously took a big risk drafting you into the CFL when you were already property of the Seattle Seahawks. He also coached you in university football; how much of an influence has he had on your football career?

Jesse: He was one of the main reasons I went to Mac (McMaster). He sat me down and told me that I was going to have the opportunity to run the ball. And that's something that I really wanted to do. I knew I was going in and Kojo Aidoo and Kyle Pyear were already at Mac and those were THE guys, and I learned a lot from those guys... they were both great running backs.

THN: Have you talked to Greg since coming to the Redskins?

Jesse: When I was back home just before training camp I did, I was on the golf course a couple of times with him.

(We both laugh)

THN: So have you eaten Blake Marshall's food? (Blake Marshall is Greg's brother and owns a pasta franchise)

Jesse: Absolutely, he fed us through our Monday morning meetings and stuff like that.

THN: Blake was a heck of a running back himself.

Jesse: Oh yeah, that's for sure.

THN: What did you learn in Seattle that has helped or changed your off-season preparations for this training camp with the Redskins?

Jesse: I think I just matured more as a person. I saw kind of the down side of football. I was always very privileged and lucky with my career. And I'm glad I was exposed to it at that point in my life because it allowed me to mature as a person and as a player and get ready for this training camp. It made me mentally tougher and made me realize I need to keep working on that kind of stuff.

THN: Did you do Yoga before that?

Jesse: I'd done it a few times here and there, I'd never really done it a ton but it's something that I need because I'm naturally a stiff person, so it's something that will definitely benefit me if I can get into a continuous routine of it.

THN: I just wondered if the injury in Seattle's training camp had anything to do with it?

Jesse: I did start once I got home and in the off-season. It's just helped me with my well being I think. I find it very relaxing and I have the patience to do something like that. Some athletes don't and they just have to be active. But I find it very relaxing and I enjoy it.

THN: Do you just stretch or do you meditate as well?

Jesse: I usually take a class and at the end of the class we do the meditation part of it.

THN: There don't seem to be a lot of players that do it and it constantly surprises me. I know Ray Brown did it and it obviously served him well playing in the NFL until he was 42 years old.

Jesse: I know Joffrey Reynolds from the Calgary Stampeders has picked it up and used it a lot in the off-season and he said it's really benefited him.

THN: How much has having fellow Canadian Kerry Carter here at training camp helped both of you settle in and is it difficult knowing that you both might be vying for virtually an identical spot on the roster?

Jesse: It's tough... well not tough... it's what I'm here to do is win a roster spot. Kerry's a friend of mine but we both understand the situation and we can be friends both on the field and off the field but we both know what we're here to do. That's what we're here for; we're fighting for a spot on this team.

THN: Has it helped though?

Jesse: Oh for sure, he's a friend. We became pretty close in Seattle and he's a great guy.

THN: You saw a lot of action in Saturday's scrimmage, you saw a lot of special teams work... obviously that must have given you a lot of confidence. What positive and/or negative feedback did you receive from the coaching staff after the game?

Jesse: You know, there are always corrections to be made, so I need to do a few things better on special teams and I need to do a few things better on offense but I did receive some very positive feedback and it definitely helps.

THN: I thought your teams work was excellent. There were a few kick returns where you were the first one down the field and kept your lane... I'm sure Danny Smith was probably happy with that...

Jesse: He's always very quick to compliment somebody if they do something right... so...

THN: He's very energetic isn't he?

Jesse: He's definitely very energetic and he's a very good coach.

Tune in tomorrow for part two of the interview.

THN was fortunate enough to catch up with Jesse Lumsden again today and finish off our question and answer period. Our thanks to Jesse for giving us his time and affording us the opportunity.

THN: Thanks for talking to us again Jesse. I'll just pick up where we left off yesterday if that's alright with you?

Jesse: Absolutely.

THN: Scrimmage or not, scoring on Saturday had to be a huge thrill. All young football players dream of taking it to the house in the NFL; talk about how it felt to cross the goal line in front of one of the most ravenous group of football fans on the planet, and did you manage to grab the football?

Jesse: No, I didn't keep the football. I figured I'd try to do it in a preseason game or a regular season game before I kept the football. But it felt great. It always feels great to get some points on the board and the o-line just blocked it up real well and there was just a hole, a wide open hole.

THN: Just act like you've done it before right?

Jesse: Yeah, I was always taught to act like you've done it before. I got a little excited though; I'm not going to lie. (The giant smile on his face proved his sincerity implicitly)

THN: What affect did the crowd have on you on Saturday... 47,000 plus people and then you score...

Jesse: It's the largest crowd I've ever played in front of. So that alone was exciting. I can't imagine what it'll be like in front of 91,000 people. In the CFL, you play in front of crowds of 40,000 or so depending on where you play, but it was a rush. It was a great feeling. This is a great organization to be a part of and to win football games with.

THN: There's a lot of camp left and surely a lot left for you to prove yet, but what has working with two great football minds like Joe Gibbs and Al Saunders already done to improve you as a football player?

Jesse: It's been awesome. You said it... two great football minds... Joe Gibbs runs a great ship around here... all the guys are team players and with Al Saunders new offense... it's very exciting. I'm enjoying learning it and there are definitely some things I'll keep in the back of my mind if I get into coaching.

THN: I got an e-mail today from the Embassy of Canada today to thank me for running some articles on the Canadians at camp. Do you think about that? Do you think about the fact that you're actually down here representing Canada or do you just go about your business? Do you realize how impactful your success could be?

Jesse: Not really, see the thing is that I'm not really representing Canada because many athletes have done much more extreme things than this. All our athletes that go to the World Championships and to the Olympics... those are the athletes that are representing Canada. I'm just down here trying to make a football team and I'm representing myself. But of course I carry the love of my fans with me, and I love the country that I'm from and it will always be my home. But I'm definitely not carrying a burden on my shoulders that I have to do this for my country.

THN: Do you have any advice for Canadian kids that are watching you and trying to get to the NFL?

Jesse: Yeah... work hard and promote yourself. That's probably the biggest thing I've found. I put myself around some good people and I promoted myself. I made sure people saw me; I didn't wait for people to hear about me and then come see me. That was a big deal, especially because Canada's still kind of an unknown pond of talent, but it's picking up and I think you're going to see more and more.

THN: Something many people might not know is that last year you shaved off all of your hair for a cancer charity function. What charities are you involved with?

Jesse: Once I go back home, I'm going to do more work for the Canadian Cancer Society. If I grow my hair out again and can go out again, I'll definitely do the 'Shave for a Cure' function again.

THN: So shaving your head had nothing to do with shaking the moniker of 'Hamilton Hottie'?

Jesse: Oh... that was BAAAAD! (We shared a good hearty laugh) But we raised a lot of money, it's a real good cause and we had a lot of support.

THN: I actually know a very young girl who came home and told her mother that she wanted to cut off all of her hair to 'give to the people who lost their hair in cancer treatments'... and how does a mother say no to that?

Jesse: Yeah, it's an awesome foundation. I know they do it here in the States too, and I really do try to promote it. I love talking about it and I love pledging for it and doing it. It was a great experience.

THN: Last question... can you tell your Redskin fans what Jesse Lumsden is passionate about other than football?

Jesse: Just life in general. I love to read, I love music... spending time with my family. Family is a huge part of my life.

THN: Hence the tattoo? (Jesse has his family crest tattooed to his arm.)

Jesse: Exactly. My tattoo is something that I wear proudly on my arm and I've never regretted it for one day. My parents understand why I did it. But family, friends and just enjoying life are what I'm passionate about.

Author notes:

It bears mentioning that Jesse has been extremely gracious giving THN his time this week. Is it 'unprofessional' to actually be cheering for a guy to actually make the team? I don't know. I guess I'm being unprofessional then, because I am really pulling for him to make the team. He has everything that Joe Gibbs likes in a player - talent, drive, a great attitude and a great work ethic. The Redskins would be a better team with him than without him in my opinion. Even on the practice squad, this kid's attitude would be infectious. His desire to succeed is the type of desire that makes other people work harder at their craft for fear of being supplanted.

The next few weeks will be very challenging for Jesse as he continues to try to make a mark here in Washington. Regardless of the results, he has conducted himself with a level of professionalism and poise that is a credit to football players, let alone Canadian football players.

It's almost inconceivable that the work he has already put in won't translate into success. If the Redskins can't find a place for him, it's very doubtful that he'd have to wait long for someone else to pick him up and give him another chance.

To the Redskins staff - don't let this kid get away. He's earned the right to bleed burgundy and gold for longer than a training camp.

Best of luck Jesse.