By Canadian Press

Ticats’ Mercer Timmis showing signs of CFL Hall of Fame bloodline

Jun 29, 2018 | 10:00 PM

HAMILTON — Mercer Timmis is starting to show signs of his CFL Hall of Fame bloodline.

The Hamilton-born running back and University of Calgary product was plagued by injuries in his first two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but is off to a strong third campaign, posting his second straight game with two touchdowns in the Ticats’ 31-17 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Tim Hortons Field on Friday.

Timmis’ great-grandfather was the late Brian Timmis, a CFL Hall of Famer who played 15 of his 20 seasons for the old Hamilton Tigers as a fullback and defensive lineman, winning three Grey Cups. A soccer field adjacent to Ivor Wynne Stadium bore his name before being torn down to make room for the current stadium.

“It definitely feels good,” said Timmis after carrying the ball seven times for 13 yards and the two TDs from one and four yards out in the victory. “They’re putting me in a good place to succeed. I think a lot of guys probably could have walked in on those ones. But it’s definitely nice to get ’em.”

Timmis, 24, entered the week third in the league in rushing with 153 yards on 23 carries.

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In Week 2 against Edmonton, he rushed 17 times for 133 yards and his first two career CFL touchdowns. This time against Winnipeg, it was teammate Sean Thomas Erlington who did the heavy lifting for the Ticats, collecting 92 yards on 11 carries.

But Hamilton head coach June Jones said he wanted to take advantage of Timmis’ size for the short-yardage scoring plays.

“He’s a little heavier runner when it gets condensed down,” said Jones. “They’re playing more gap defence and so you need a little bigger guy (Timmis is six-foot-two and 220 pounds). I probably could have left Erls in there. He’s a good little inside runner, too (at five-foot-nine and 217 pounds). I had it going in that if we got down there on the short yardage stuff that I’d use the bigger guy.”

Timmis, who grew up in Burlington, had a crowd of more than 20 friends and family watching him score his first two touchdowns on home soil.

“It definitely felt good to get some at home,” he said. “In front of a lot of people, a lot of my friends watching.”

Carol Phillips, The Canadian Press