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So why would you spent that amount of money on Chungh?

Good question. Hervey has a better answer.

“First and foremost you want good football players,” he says. “But there are other boxes to fill, like leadership and toughness. When we watched Sukh on film, his mentality is obvious. He’s physical right to the whistle.

“He also appeals to the diversity in the Vancouver market and that fit in with the rebranding of our franchise. Those are the kind of character players we want on our football team.”

Photo by Kevin King/Winnipeg Sun/Postmedi / PNG

OK, maybe 250 grand was a lot of iron to spend on one offensive lineman. But it seems Chungh represents a lot of things to the Lions.

Chungh, a proud member of the Sikh community, returns home this season after a decade-long odyssey which took him from Terry Fox, almost to the University of North Carolina, back to Canada and the University of Calgary and, finally, to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Along the way, he’s established himself as a brawling, physical presence, a ferocious run blocker and a respected team leader who’ll form an intense partnership with Joel Figueroa on the Lions’ O-line.

But there’s also more to his story than what he brings to the game.

“I think that’s everything for me,” he says of his family. “My grandparents, my mom and dad, chose a better life for us. I’ve been very fortunate. The only thing I could do was work hard for them.”

NEXT GAME

Friday | Preseason

Calgary Stampeders at B.C. Lions

7 p.m., B.C. Place Stadium, Radio: TSN 1040 AM