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“When I was down in Cincinnati, I was playing both right and left (tackle) in training camp and stuff like that, but never starting in a regular-season game,” said O’Donnell, who was drafted 15th overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2011 before spending the season in the National Football League on the Cincinnati Bengals practice roster. “My last regular-season start would be back at Queen’s in 2011.”

The differences between guard and tackle aren’t nearly as big to the biggest players on the football field.

“No, I don’t think so,” O’Donnell said. “You get the same kind of game prep all week and the same kind of practice methods. You just make sure that you know the fronts and you know the defence and the game plan.

“And keep it simple. A little more finesse, a little more basketball. Try and lose a couple of pounds, try to get a little bit faster and just stay between the guy and Mike.”

Interestingly, O’Donnell also tried out with the National Basketball League’s Boston Celtics.

But for as rare as Canadian tackles are, having an American playing guard is equally as unheard of.

So, at the same time, in replacing Draheim with O’Donnell, the Eskimos brought in hulking six-foot-seven, 356-pound free-agent guard Travis Bond and put them next to each other, making for a combined weight of nearly 700 pounds on Reilly’s left wing.

“It’s a good transition for me, coming back playing left guard. That’s home,” said Bond, a native of North Carolina who was drafted in the seventh-round (214th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in 2013. “I played in Winnipeg at left guard for two seasons.”

But why doesn’t the CFL use many American guards?

“You’ve got a lot of guys who just don’t like to get physical on the inside,” he said. “My game, I’m a run blocker and I can do pretty well at the pass.

“All I can say is you’ve just got to be physical playing guard. Playing tackle’s a little more finesse. Coming from America and playing on the inside with some of those big, physical (defensive linemen) helps playing in the CFL.”

Email: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge