The Green Zone: Riders' Jeremy O'Day preparing for 2025
2h ago
O'Day discusses Trevor Harris and changes to be made to get the Riders back to the Grey Cup.
Dave Hawkshaw is a great success story from the Canadian Football League.
He doesn’t strap on a helmet but he does carry a whistle. His work in Canada, as well as his time doing some pre-season work with the NFL, has landed him a full-time gig for the upcoming NFL season.
Hawkshaw has long been one of the best officials in the CFL, with three Grey Cup assignments and nearly 200 assigned games.
And it’s a highlight to the ability of officials in Canada, despite fans thinking ours are somehow inferior to NFL officials.
Not so. CFL officials grade out very well and while they do miss calls, if you saw the NFL playoffs, there were three penalties that should have been called that drastically changed the outcomes of games.
But it is great to see a CFL official now recognized by the NFL, similar to when teams recognize a talent like Cam Wake or Jerrell Freeman as a player.
And maybe we’ll see more officials in Canada try to progress to the pros and maybe the NFL someday.