OUT OF THE TUNNEL: THE CANADIAN CONUNDRUM

The Hurricanes have had a history of Canadians on their team before that with the two standouts in All-American Richard Mercier and Ian Sinclair, then later with Orlando Franklin.

The Globe and Mail article also stated that 37 Canadians played in NCAA bowl games that year and that was now 17 years ago.

Even as of 2012 there were about a dozen Canadians (even counting Nate Burlesson who was born in Calgary because his dad, Al, played for the Stampeders) with NCAA training that started the season on NFL rosters. Most didn’t last more than a couple of seasons in the NFL before heading up to the CFL.

So what we are saying is having dozens of Canadians playing in the NCAA is not anything new.

The media is really focusing on the success of Canadians from the NCAA because of two players. 

The first is former Notre Dame and current Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool. He was a second round pick after a great career with the Fighting Irish and is now a burgeoning star with the Steelers making highlight reel catches on a team that loves to develop all-pro receivers. (The announcers on Sunday’s Pittsburgh-Tennessee broadcast referred to Claypool as the Steelers “#1”.)

The other is Oklahoma State junior running back Chuba Hubbard. He was on the Heisman Trophy watch list before the season began with his fantastic 2019 campaign. Hubbard had over 2,000 yards rushing a season ago. This year he is off to a slow start but is still one of the top running backs in the NCAA.

The influx of quality Canadian players over the past few years is mainly because of three things.

The first is because of the better coaching here at home. Players like Claypool, Hubbard, Oklahoma State linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga and current Dallas Cowboys and former Oklahoma Sooners defensive tackle Neville Gallimore came right from Canadian high schools into the NCAA.

The next is NCAA teams are taking advantage of Quebec players who finished their Cégep training and are two years older and more mature. This includes Syracuse Orange linebacker Geoff Cantin-Arku, and Cincinnati Bearcats tight end Bruno Labelle.

The biggest reason why Canadians are getting a bigger spotlight in the NCAA is because so many are finishing their high school football careers at giant American prep schools who recruit players from around the world. This list is a current who’s who of Canadian stars in the NCAA: Alabama receiver John Metchie III, North Carolina Tar Heel corner Patrice Rene, Virginia receiver Terrel Jana and former Ohio Bobcats quarterback Nathan Rourke.

Now can this help the CFL and how can the CFL take advantage of this?

This will definitely help the quality of the Canadian players entering the CFL. More players playing at the highest level of college football and thriving will show that Canadians can be stars at big-time U.S. schools and this will definitely continue. 

Add to that the success of Chase Claypool and the possibility of a future in the NFL will also help. A prime example of this is the Steve Nash and Vince Carter (even though he’s not Canadian but was a star in Canada) effect on Canadian basketball. 

Over 150 Canadian basketball players played in the NCAA. Only two or three will end up in the NBA with another 20-30 playing in smaller pro leagues around the world. Unlike basketball, almost every Canadian NCAA football player can have a shot at playing in the second best football league in the world and make a decent living at doing so. This will do nothing but help the CFL on the field. If more players are playing great football there will be more great football players. 

As for building fans that will watch the CFL and embrace the league, it might be tough. If you look south, the Venn diagram of college football fans and NFL fans have a decent intersection but not as much as everyone thinks.

But this is an opportunity to show that Canada can produce, and has been producing, great football players and whether or not they play in the NFL or CFL. The CFL has a great opportunity to tap into this current wave of excitement over the next crop of stars who have the maple leaf stapled to their chest.

One doesn’t have to send players to Mexico, Germany or England to build the league. The players are here in this country and the game can be built where football is king and that’s in the United States.

If not, it’s yet another opportunity lost.

Canadian to Watch in the NCAA:

Deane Leonard (Sr.)
Defensive back – Mississippi
6’2” 195
Calgary, Alberta
High school – Notre Dame

Deane Leonard took the path less travelled to the NCAA. Leonard was a two-time all Canadian with the Calgary Dinos and after his third season he decided to transfer to the University of Mississippi to play for Lane Kiffin’s Rebels. He didn’t have to sit out a season because he was a graduate transfer from the Vanier Cup champion Dinos.

It’s been a tough transition for Leonard but has seen the field as a defensive back in all three of the Rebels games and is one of the top rated players in the upcoming 2021 CFL draft. 

(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF)