ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
MISSISSAUGA – Argonauts rookies and quarterbacks took the field for the first time today which means the 100th Grey Cup champions have officially begun their journey for 2013. CFL Coach of the Year Scott Milanovich and the rest of the Argos staff have invited four guest coaches to help them evaluate the talent level in this year’s camp to ensure the Double Blue’s roster is as potent as ever. Former Montreal Alouettes WR Brian Bratton,veteran coach Kirk Heidelberg and former Argonauts tight ends/offensive quality control coach Robert Hunt will all work with the offence. On special teams, former CFL player Greg Knox has been pressed into action for camp.
Having spent time in the NFL, NFL Europe, the AFL and the CFL, Brian Bratton has a robust football resume under his belt. After six seasons with the Alouettes, including four under Milanovich, Bratton accumulated over 3,000 receiving yards, over 600 punt return yards, over 1,000 kickoff return yards, and 24 touchdowns in the regular season. He was also part of two Grey Cup championship teams in 2009 and 2010. Bratton has also been a member of the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens, as well as the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe and the Nashville Katz of the AFL.
Kirk Heidelberg has over 30 years of coaching experience in North America and in Europe. He has coached in the Germany Football League with several teams and won national German football titles with the Cologne Crocodiles and Hamburg Blue Devils. In 2006, he was named Head Coach and Athletic Director of the Rockford Christian High School football team and in 2010 he was hired as the Offensive Coordinator for Team USA U19. He also has been a member of NCAA coaching staffs that include Kansas University, University of Toledo, Tennessee State University, Lehigh University and Morehead State University. Currently, Kirk serves as a football consultant in the German Football League.
Robert Hunt returns to Toronto for 2013 training camp after having spent the 2009 season as a member of the club’s full-time coaching staff. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Hunt was drafted in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was later named a coaching intern, Tight Ends and Special Teams, with the Amsterdam Admirals (2005) for his first professional coaching job and won the World Bowl that season. He has also worked at Howard University (2007-2008) as the Offensive Line & Run Game Coordinator, and since 2011 he has worked for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League (UFL) as the Offensive Line Coach.
As a player, Greg Knox helped lead the Laurier Golden Hawks to a Vanier Cup championship in 1991. One year later, Knox won the Grey Cup as a member of the Calgary Stampeders. During his time with the Stamps, Knox was a multi-year captain and CFL All-Star, nominated for the Tom Pate Award in 1994. He retired in 1998 after another Grey Cup victory. He currently works as the Defensive Coordinator at McMaster University where he has spent six seasons. He added a second Vanier Cup win to his resume, this time as a coach, in 2011. Knox holds a BA in history and political science from Laurier, as well as a BE from the University of Maine.
In keeping with an annual tradition, the Toronto Argonauts have also invited a number of visiting coaches from various CIS schools including McGill University’s Clint Utley, Pat Donnovan and Mickey Donnavan, University of Guelph’s Stu Lang, Kevin MacNeil, Todd Galloway and Neil Lumsden, and Warren Crannie and Harry LaFlamme from York University.
– Argonauts rookies and quarterbacks took the field for the first time today which means the 100th Grey Cup champions have officially begun their journey for 2013. CFL Coach of the Year Scott Milanovich and the rest of the Argos staff have invited four guest coaches to help them evaluate the talent level in this year’s camp to ensure the Double Blue’s roster is as potent as ever. Former Montreal Alouettes WR Brian Bratton,veteran coach Kirk Heidelberg and former Argonauts tight ends/offensive quality control coach Robert Hunt will all work with the offence. On special teams, former CFL player Greg Knox has been pressed into action for camp.
Having spent time in the NFL, NFL Europe, the AFL and the CFL, Brian Bratton has a robust football resume under his belt. After six seasons with the Alouettes, including four under Milanovich, Bratton accumulated over 3,000 receiving yards, over 600 punt return yards, over 1,000 kickoff return yards, and 24 touchdowns in the regular season. He was also part of two Grey Cup championship teams in 2009 and 2010. Bratton has also been a member of the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens, as well as the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe and the Nashville Katz of the AFL.
Kirk Heidelberg has over 30 years of coaching experience in North America and in Europe. He has coached in the Germany Football League with several teams and won national German football titles with the Cologne Crocodiles and Hamburg Blue Devils. In 2006, he was named Head Coach and Athletic Director of the Rockford Christian High School football team and in 2010 he was hired as the Offensive Coordinator for Team USA U19. He also has been a member of NCAA coaching staffs that include Kansas University, University of Toledo, Tennessee State University, Lehigh University and Morehead State University. Currently, Kirk serves as a football consultant in the German Football League.
Robert Hunt returns to Toronto for 2013 training camp after having spent the 2009 season as a member of the club’s full-time coaching staff. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Hunt was drafted in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was later named a coaching intern, Tight Ends and Special Teams, with the Amsterdam Admirals (2005) for his first professional coaching job and won the World Bowl that season. He has also worked at Howard University (2007-2008) as the Offensive Line & Run Game Coordinator, and since 2011 he has worked for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League (UFL) as the Offensive Line Coach.
As a player, Greg Knox helped lead the Laurier Golden Hawks to a Vanier Cup championship in 1991. One year later, Knox won the Grey Cup as a member of the Calgary Stampeders. During his time with the Stamps, Knox was a multi-year captain and CFL All-Star, nominated for the Tom Pate Award in 1994. He retired in 1998 after another Grey Cup victory. He recently worked as the Defensive Coordinator at McMaster University where he spent six seasons. He added a second Vanier Cup win to his resume, this time as a coach, in 2011. On May 21, he was hired as the Defensive Coordinator for the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Knox holds a BA in history and political science from Laurier, as well as a BE from the University of Maine.
In keeping with an annual tradition, the Toronto Argonauts have also invited a number of visiting coaches from various CIS schools including McGill University’s Clint Utley, Pat Donnovan and Mickey Donnavan, University of Guelph’s Stu Lang, Kevin MacNeil, Todd Galloway and Neil Lumsden, and Warren Craney and Harry LaFlamme from York University.