Former Canadian Football League Player Joins Mike Riley's Staff At Oregon State

Oregon State coach Mike Riley said Tuesday that Keith Heyward will coach cornerbacks next season.Heyward, a former Beavers cornerback and graduate assistant, replaces Nigel Burton, who resigned last week to become defensive coordinator at Nevada.Heyward, 28, returns to Corvallis after one season as the linebackers coach at Cal Poly. Heyward was a four-year letterman for Oregon State after being recruited by Riley out of Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Calif.“It’s really a dream to come back to my alma mater and work with such a great coaching staff,’’ Heyward said in a statement released by the university.Heyward earned a bachelor’s degree in speech communication in 2001 and played football professionally in the Canadian Football League, NFL Europe and in the Arena Football League.

Eskimos Add A Couple Of Canadian Football League Linebackers

The Edmonton Eskimos have signed free agent non-import linebackers Scott Mennie and Mat Nesbitt.
Mennie was drafted by Winnipeg in the fourth round (30th overall) of the 2005 CFL Canadian Draft. He played nine games with Winnipeg his rookie season and five games with Montreal in 2006. In 2007 he coached special teams for the Victoria Rebels.
Mennie began his college career at Glendale Community College in Los Angeles before transferring to Manitoba in 2002. He was named the Bisons' Most Valuable Player in 2004 after finishing the season with 41 tackles, four sacks and two interceptions. He was a Canadian Junior Football League All-Star in 1998 and 1999 for the Victoria Rebels (BCFC) and was the CJFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1999.
As a Regina Rams' fifth-year middle linebacker, Nesbitt received the Canadian Interuniversity Presidents' Trophy as the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year after leading Canada West and finished second in the CIS with 64 tackles. He also had two sacks, one interception, two pass knockdowns, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Nesbitt was named first-team All-Canadian and a Canada West All-Star. He returned to Regina for his fifth year of eligibility after spending 2006 with the CJFL's Okanogan Sun.