Ottawa Redblacks defensive back Sherrod Baltimore played in 5 of the Redblacks’ 14 games in 2021. In those games, playing alongside other defensive backs Abdul Kanneh, Brandin Dandridge, Brad Muhammad, Antoine Pruneau, Justin Howell and Marcus Lewis, Baltimore made a significant impact for the Redblacks defence, making 21 tackles and breaking up a few passes along the way.
It may not have been a flashy stretch of games for the average fan, but looking back at it, he proved his worth as a top defensive back in the CFL. In limited action, he made a good number plays and demonstrated what he is capable of in Ottawa for the future. In the future, moving into the 2022 CFL season, Baltimore will be around star defensive backs Abdul Kanneh, Money Hunter, Randall Evans and Trumaine Washington, which is clearly an upgrade for coach Mike Benevides’ defence. The group could be looked at as a similar one as the one that was found in Ottawa during the 2018 CFL season where Sherrod Baltimore shined as a second year player. In that season, he was surrounded by Jonathan Rose, Rico Murray, Corey Tindal, Randall Evans and Antoine Pruneau. Baltimore finished the season with 2 regular season interceptions and 2 in the playoffs, including one in the 106th Grey Cup against the Calgary Stampeders.
As a more developed defensive back than he was in 2018, with what could be a better defence around him, headlining his defensive front which highlights Kwaku Boateng, Cleyon Laing, Davon Coleman, and Avery Williams expect Baltimore to have a breakout season in Ottawa this upcoming season. He, and the entire Redblacks roster are hungry to win a Grey Cup, after going through a Grey Cup loss in 2018, and 26 losses over the past two seasons, Baltimore wants to win. Don’t be surprised when he does.
In 2021, Shakespeare Louis, a haitian-born, Ottawa-raised football player stepped foot on the Robert Morris University campus for the first time. He stepped on the campus for the first time as a student athlete with big dreams on and off the football field.
On the football field, Louis has top notch potential as a versatile defensive back, with the ability to play nearly every position in the secondary and take on any role as well. Since he started playing football in grade nine in Ottawa he has been dominate on the field, and not only against Canadian competition. In 2019 and 2020 he showed his worth south of the border at Clearwater Academy International making 85 tackles, 6 interceptions and scoring 2 touchdowns in 15 games over the two seasons. With his ability to play anywhere on defence, he opened a lot of eyes while down south. Sports Illustrated All-American writer John Garcia Jr told Zlomislic back in 2020 that, “He’s a hybrid player. He played a lot of defensive back and did a lot of coverage at CAI this year and last year but he has the ability to do a lot. When you look at him he looks like a linebacker and he uses his size to play across the board, he can go into coverage and play safety and defensive back but he also can be a linebacker, he has great potential at nickel.”
He also opened the eyes of a number of coaches from his play on the field, including the defensive coordinator at Robert Morris, where he eventually signed to and is now playing at. Dave Plungas was impressed with his physicality, “He is super tough. He’s got that exact mindset that you want in a player and on top of that he is both mentally and physically tough.” He said, “This season he had a knee injury and it could have easily sidelined him for the season but he didn’t let that happen. He played a few games with a brace on and we liked what we saw out of him even with that brace.”
In 2021, he wasn’t really able to capitalize on the opportunity as a division one athlete, as he was a redshirt freshman, however he was still able to have a presence on campus in the class room and had the opportunity to adjust to the division one lifestyle. He said, “I’m very focused on school right now, and really my life off of the field too. I’m trying to make the most of the opportunity I have here, on the field with football of course and in the weight room but also off of it with my education, and the opportunity to become a better person. I’m all locked in right now to being the best I can in all aspects.”
Being the best is what everyone should be achieving the be, and for Louis, it is something that he looks to obtain over his life, during his football career and post his football career as well. Talking with JZ Media’s Jordan Zlomislic he talked about his interests off of the field and some things he is interested in doing following his football career. He told Zlomislic, “Before I got to Clearwater I didn’t really know what my passions were off of the field and what I wanted to get into for school, but I ended up learning more about business and some different forms of it, I’m interested in growing a business so I’m studying some business marketing and I’m also learning more about the stock market. I’m really learning a lot of things that can open doors for me in the future. Getting a lot of new skills that I’m excited about.”
His goals right now are to maintain his 3.5 GPA, finish the year on the honour roll, and continue to get better on the field, eventually start for Robert Morris, where he’d then make a large impact on the field.
Louis also gave JZ Media some insight as to who he is as a person and some things he likes to do off the field.
His top 5 foods include any Haitian food, Lasagna, Shawarma, Mango and Cheese Pie. His favourite artists are Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Babyface Ray, A Boogie With A Hoodie, and Rylo Rodriguez, he said, “my AirPods are always in.” and right now he is watching “Power” and “Ozark”.
When you look at this year’s CFL Draft class some names that pop out to the average fan would include Western defensive end Deionte Knight, Waterloo quarterback Tre Ford, Calgary Dino receiver brothers Jalen and Tyson Philpot, Coastal Carolina defensive back Enock Makonzo, Queens defensive end Anthony Federico and former Syracuse linebacker Tyrell Richards. Sure those are big names, and each one of those players are set to become stars in the CFL in the coming years, however there are a number of other players with similar potential that aren’t getting enough love.
One player that fits that description, and if things were to have gone differently over recent years for him he would be higher up on the rankings is defensive back Katley Jospeh.
Joseph is from Orleans, Ontario, Canada, just a short drive from the nation’s capital and will have his pro day at Maine University on Monday April 4th. The pro day will be a great opportunity for him to showcase himself to NFL and CFL scouts. He will participate in all combine activities and position drills to boost his draft stock, but it will also be the first time since 2019 that professional teams get a good look at him.
He came to Maine in 2018 where he made 34 tackles, 3 for loss, 12 pass breakups and had one interception, being named an FCS Freshman All-American as one of the Black Bears more prominent defensive players. In 2019 he then made 35 tackles, and seven pass deflections, keeping up as one of the University’s top players. At that point he had a total 69 tackles, 19 pass deflections, 3 tackles for loss and one interception to his name, and he still does. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic he and the Maine Black Bears missed out on a 2020 fall season in the CAA, instead Maine played a spring season in 2021 which Joseph didn’t play in, and when it came time to play, during training camp in August of 2021, leading up to the fall season Katley Joseph suffered a torn meniscus which would later keep him sidelined for six months following a surgery in September. He just caught his first football on Saturday March 12th since the training camp, and many could see that being an issue, but the Ottawa native isn’t worried about it at all. In an interview with JZ Media’s Jordan Zlomislic who is set to cover his story for the long run, Joseph said, “I know what I’m capable of.” explaining, “every level I’ve played at, and everywhere I have been I have been underrated but I’ve always had success. As a kid in Ottawa, playing high school, playing against Americans in high school, and going to University, everywhere I have played I’ve done good, so when it comes to what’s next, I know what I can do.”
At 100% now, Joseph understands that his injury last year, along with the lack of recent film could affect his place in the CFL Draft or even the NFL but it doesn’t make any difference to Joseph himself. “I’m ready for the next step.” he said, “my journey isn’t very popular. Coming from Ottawa to play division one, only a few of us do that, and now having not played for two years it only gets more unpopular compared to other people’s journeys and backgrounds, but I’m blessed for every opportunity I’ve had. Everything that I’ve been through has happened to me for a reason and I wouldn’t be who I am without my journey. I put a lot of time and effort into everything I’ve done over my career on and off the field, it gets me excited for what’s next.”
Whats next for Joseph now is his April 4th pro day at Maine. At that pro day he will have the opportunity to not only showcase his talent on the field, but will also be able to talk with professional scouts and give them a look at who he is outside of football and that person, who Katley Joseph is off of the field is already a professional. He handles himself professionally and has taken on a number of responsibilities outside of football that makes him a top prospect in this year’s draft and should put him ahead of other prospects available.
One major part of that is how he took on his education at Maine University. Over the years at Maine, Joseph took advantage of the education and the academics he had at his disposal. Often times athletes forget about the importance of academics, and take it for granted the opportunity they have with school but Joseph is not one of those athletes. He has been on the honor roll at Maine, the dean’s list and the commissioner’s academic honor roll as well, being recognized for his academics by a number of different individuals, just like he’s recognized on the field.
Alongside his academics, putting him ahead of others in this year’s draft is also his mentality off of the field, and what he’s done in his hometown of Ottawa.
He was coached by Coach Jean Guillaume in high school at St Matthew in Ottawa who taught him a lot about being more than just a football player, and has helped him be more involved in the Ottawa football community as a role model and a coach for younger, up and coming athletes. “Its just who I’ve been brought up to be.” he said, “It is a blessing to be in the position I am in to have an impact, and with my work ethic, everything you see me doing on the field, working to be great, I’m the same off of it too, I want to be great at everything, and I’m excited about the next step. Being a pro football player is a dream come true.”
Sure, the journey isn’t a very popular one. There were a lot of speed bumps along the way, and as of recently Katley Joseph has faced a lot of adversity, but nothing has set him back. He’s always kept his focus, and his vision crystal clear. That, alongside all of the reasons on the field and the factors mentioned earlier is a major reason why he is a big time player available in this year’s draft, even despite the fact he isn’t being talked about.
When people look at Patrice Rene, and his story, all of the ups and downs he has gone through, many could question why he didn’t just give up. There were so many opportunities over the span of his football career, and his early life for him to simply turn around and take another path in life, but if he did that, he wouldn’t be where he is today.
Right now he is preparing for his pro day at Rutgers on March 22nd and getting ready to take on the next step in his football career; becoming a professional athlete. He tells Jordan Zlomislic of JZ Media, “its really a dream come true.”
“We’re all humans. We all go through ups and downs. I had a lot of tough times. I’ve found myself in a lot of situations where I put in so much work, and it all was almost for nothing because I couldn’t showcase my work. Times got dark, I could have gave up, but I didn’t and my supporting cast has been an amazing part of my journey. They motivate me to stay focused, and I’m blessed to have them (family and close friends) in my life as I continue my journey.”
That journey will now continue through either the CFL or the NFL. After being drafted in the 2021 CFL Draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Rene is already granted an opportunity to play north of the border in the CFL, but with a pro day coming up with Rutgers with NFL scouts in attendance the dream of playing in the NFL is still very much alive for Patrice Rene, and that dream was awakened in Ottawa by Victor Tedondo of Gridiron Academy while he was in high school.
Rene was born in Haiti and moved to Ottawa at 3 years old where he lived in a small apartment building off of Merivale Road. He then lived in Lower-town Ottawa as well where he was introduced to the game of football and other sports but was only able to capitalize on the game of football when he and his family moved to Orleans. He capitalized on his opportunities within the game when he met Victor Tedondo, who at the time was just getting started with Gridiron Academy, helping players train for football and setting players up with opportunities to take their next steps in football in both high school and university. “Vic really opened my eyes to the opportunities I could have in football.” he said, “he told me about the doors that could open for me through football too. How if I worked hard I could get a full scholarship for school, and maybe be a pro athlete. After going to some camps, and then going through that process that he told me about, going to Virginia for high school and balling out there I had a recruiting process which was amazing. I felt wanted by programs, and I enjoyed it. I’m blessed to have had those opportunities, and ending up going to UNC (University of North Carolina) after that process, it was like I was living in a movie, like all of those things you see on T.V about college and football, I was there.”
While at North Carolina, after attending Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, Patrice Rene stood out as a defensive back. He made 103 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 14 pass deflections and forced 4 turnovers in 45 games played. During that time at Chapel Hill though, he did have some adversity. In 2019 he suffered a torn ACL. He ended up coming back and played in the shortened 2020 season with UNC, but missed out on a large part of his junior season because of that injury and coming off of a sophomore season where he had 2 interceptions it looked to be his year to shine. Following the senior season at UNC, where he made 28 tackles, 2 for loss, deflected 4 passes and forced a fumble he graduated at Chapel Hill and was a grad transfer to Rutgers University. At Rutgers, he unfortunately suffered a rare hip injury during camp, going against the team’s top receiver Bo Melton who is looked at to be a top NFL Draft prospect in this years NFL Draft. The hip injury didn’t take Rene out of the entire 2021 season with the Scarlet Knights, however he was limited to just 5 games where he made a total 5 tackles. The games he started during that time though were against top competition, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State were some of his opponents while on the field, big rivals for Rutgers in the BIG 10.
When talking about the last few years, at North Carolina and Rutgers, Rene told Zlomislic, “Obviously, I didn’t plan on getting hurt. At UNC, and at Rutgers, but it happened, and I believe everything happens for a reason. It was tough, putting in all of this work and having nothing to really show the people around me. I felt bad about it because of the situations I was in, but I was still able to fight through it all, and I’m grateful to be in the spot I’m in right now, training for my pro day and getting ready for what’s next.” What’s next for Patrice Rene, as mentioned will be the Rutgers pro day on March 22nd, and right now, training in Buffalo, doing one on one combine training he is preparing for what is ahead of him and is getting ready to show NFL scouts what he’s all about.
It’s an uncommon journey, having made his way from Haiti originally to Ottawa, then from Ottawa to Virginia, Virginia to North Carolina and North Carolina to Rutgers, but everything is now piecing together for Rene, including his life after football.
Right now he is pretty well guaranteed a spot as a professional athlete in 2022, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL or somewhere in the NFL depending on how he performs at his pro day on the 22nd, but Patrice Rene understands that football is not forever. The average football career lasts two years. In the CFL, if that is the route he takes, two years of the rookie salary would bring him to just over $120,000 in career earnings. It isn’t enough to ride home about, and many CFL players find themselves looking at a second job during, and after their playing careers but for Rene he already has his plan set up. “I didn’t take school that seriously at UNC at first but when I got hurt, I woke up in a sense of where I was, getting a great education at one of the best schools in America, and getting it for free, so I started taking advantage of the opportunity I had in front of me and I looked more at what my interests are off of the field and now I’m in a good position for what I want to do after football, and I’m even doing it now during football.”
Rene is ready to enter the sports marketing industry, and with everything he has learnt on and off of the football field through his journey, he will be a big name in the industry very soon. Stay tuned for more regarding Rene, his journey to the pros and his future outside of football through JZ Media, the media source FOR THE ATHLETE.
Around this time last month, it was almost as if the Ottawa REDBLACKS were making a signing every hour. On February 8th, when CFL Free Agency officially opened, the REDBLACKS signed a total of 17 free agents. They pretty well rebuilt their entire roster within a week, while still somehow keeping a very similar identity that they’ve had over the years.
Some of the biggest moves would include the signings of franchise quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, receivers Darvin Adams, Jaelon Acklin and Shaq Johnson, offensive linemen Ucambre Williams, Darius Ciraco and Hunter Steward and defensive stars Kwaku Boateng, Money Hunter and Patrick Levels. These signings, and the others made added proven star power in the nation’s capital and have immediately put the REDBLACKS in playoff contention, however they have been very quiet since free agency. Other than a few free agent signings here and there, there hasn’t been much movement from the capital and from Shawn Burke’s office.
That will soon change with the CFL Draft approaching in the coming months. The Draft will be on May 3rd, and as of right now the REDBLACKS are picking 9 times, including 4 picks in the top 25. They don’t seem to have any major needs heading into the draft, however it wouldn’t hurt for the REDBLACKS to get some Canadian star power in some key spots on the roster. On the offensive side of the ball, they have Nate Behar, Shaquille Johnson, Llevi Noel, Jackson Bennett and Brendan Gillanders as skill position Canadians. It seems pretty full on the depth chart, but with Tyson and Jalen Philpot available at receiver in this year’s draft it may be hard for the REDBLACKS not to draft one of them at 2nd overall. On the defensive side of the ball, there is also a lot of potential stars. Deionte Knight is a name that really sticks out for many after the run he had with Western last season, and may be a name you see on the REDBLACKS roster very soon, and you may also see offensive lineman Noah Zerr targeted by Ottawa with some questions around the offensive line still.
As for local talent in this year’s CFL Draft, there isn’t a whole lot, but two names that would be great to add to the REDBLACKS for the 2022 CFL season would be Katley Joseph and Jonathan Edouard. Joseph was born and raised in Ottawa, played his collegiate career at Maine University and has a great story of his own, and Jonathan Edouard, originally from Orlando, Florida played the last few years at Carleton University. Both players have built a strong connection with the city, as well as some players on the REDBLACKS, making both defensive backs great prospects for Ottawa.
This week the CFL will kick-off the draft season with regional combines, and then will have the National Combine at the end of the month in Toronto. That will be the next big event for the REDBLACKS this off-season and will determine some things on the roster.
Over the course of his career at Penn State, Ottawa-raised linebacker Jesse Luketa has always been turning heads. His 61 tackles, sack and pick six as a senior in 2021 added to his totals of 151 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery, 6 pass deflections and a pick six. The numbers alone say a lot for Luketa, and are a major reason why he is where he is today, as an NFL Draft prospect, but really for Jesse Luketa it is the film which sticks out to most people. On film he has proved time after time that he has the ability to play nearly anywhere on the defensive side of the ball. He mainly starred as a linebacker with Penn State over the four years spent as a Nittany Lion but he progressively showed his worth as an edge rusher, giving coach James Franklin and company the ability to put him at edge, outside linebacker and middle linebacker. His film at all three positions on the field surprised a lot of NFL scouts, and created some buzz for Luketa which ended up getting him an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama and the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.
These two opportunities, for one that grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada don’t come around that often. In fact, the only other player to get both of these opportunities from Ottawa is good friend of Luketa, Neville Gallimore who was drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. For Luketa though, these are all opportunities he talked about having, even with Gallimore. At the Reese’s Senior Bowl he told JZ Media’s Jordan Zlomislic, “We spoke it into existence,” he continued, “I’m a firm believer of manifestation. We spoke about us being in this exact situation and for me to be here, although it may be surreal sometimes, it’s expected and I’m extremely grateful to be in this position I’m in right now.”
One thing that Luketa says every once in a while, and it really reflects the journey he has taken, as well as the journey he encourages a lot of young football players to take from Ottawa is, “nothing is ever too far unattainable.” The line is something that pushes him, and has pushed him to do more in any situation, and really speaks on the kind of success he has been having as of recently. At the Reese’s Senior Bowl, after a great senior season with Penn State, he dominated. He put on a show all week in practice and ended up coming up with two sacks, a forced fumble and a tackle for loss in the game itself, all against some of the top NFL Draft prospects. The week in Mobile really solidified his spot in the NFL Draft, and many were talking about his draft stock rising into the 2nd or 3rd round potentially. Daniel Jeremiah, a former NFL scout himself and an analyst on NFL Network had said “He’s just a real versatile player. You talk to some coaches around the league right now and kind of where everything is going, we’ve been talking about positionless players forever. He’s a different style when it comes to that in terms of what he can do. But he can do more than one thing, with his ability to play off the ball, his ability to rush off the edge.”
After raising his stock at the Senior Bowl in February, it was time to do the same thing this past weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Over the years, this weekend in Indianapolis has made major impacts on a number of NFL players careers for the good and bad. For Luketa, right now it may not look perfect. He measured at 6-foot-2, 253 pounds and was able to jump 37.5 inches vertically as 9 feet, 6 inches far. Unfortunately Luketa, after running a 4.89 40 yard dash in his first attempt went on to injure what looked to be his hamstring in his second 40 yard dash attempt. Now, since Luketa isn’t guaranteed to be a first or second round pick like a lot of prospects out there, not performing in the majority of drills at the combine can hurt his spot in this year’s draft for a lot of teams.
If Luketa is healthy, he will get his second chance at an NFL Combine environment on March 24th at the Penn State Pro Day. He will then have the opportunity to run his 40 yard dash once again as well as compete in all of the drills he missed out on over the weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium after his injury.
Despite being hurt and missing a number of activities due to his injury at the combine, Jesse Luketa was still able to meet with a number of NFL teams, and similar to his time at the Senior Bowl in February, some of those talks raised his draft stock. One talk that a lot of fans may wonder about and would like to know how it went was Luketa’s meetings with the Dallas Cowboys. With childhood friend Neville Gallimore and Penn State roommate Micah Parsons on the defence in Dallas, it would make up of a great story if Luketa is added to the locker room at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Not to mention that they will be in need of a linebacker with Leighton Vander-Esch going into free agency. The Cowboys though are just one of 32 possible landing spots for Luketa, and no matter where he does land, he is bound to make an impact. At the combine he said that he sees himself as being “the most disruptive defender on the field” he explained, “I look at myself as a chess piece, schematically it is hard to game plan with a player who is versatile and can do so many things in that nature, I feel that’s the way the game’s trending, you want a player that’s able to do a multitude of things, so that’s what you’re getting in Jesse Luketa.”
🇨🇦 Jesse Luketa (@OttawasVeryOwn) really came off well in his interviews @TheNFLCombine (both with teams & media). Asked about the quality of 🇨🇦 coming into the @nfl “We’re everywhere” Also said OLB would probably be his preferred position but is comfortable anywhere @TSN_Sportspic.twitter.com/h4vBkxeq4o
Luketa isn’t the only Ottawa football player available in this year’s NFL Draft. He is alongside edge rusher Luiji Vilain, defensive backs Katley Joseph and Patrice Rene, and offensive linemen Liam Dobson and Chris Fournier. Next year there will be more, the year after there will be even more, and the growth of talent in Ottawa will just continue to rise, this is just the beginning of the takeover.
Midway through the 2021 CFL season, during their struggles the Ottawa Redblacks went to their negotiations list to improve. They ended up signing Terrance Williams, Devlin Hodges, De’Lance Turner and Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi off of the negotiations list in September, and of those players both Hodges and Turner found playing time.
On the negotiations list with them was wide receiver Justin Hardy, who originally played his college football career with the East Carolina Pirates. In 2015 he was picked in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, spent the following 5 seasons with the Falcons and a training camp with the Chicago Bears. He has now signed with the Ottawa Redblacks. At 5-foot-10, 192 pounds he is likely looked at to be a slot receiver for the Redblacks, but with Darvin Adams, Ryan Davis, Jaelon Acklin, RJ Harris, Shaq Johnson, Nate Behar and BJ Cunningham he is definitely not guaranteed a spot on the roster.
Hardy will come into Ottawa in the spring for training camp and will battle for a roster spot, and if he is anything like he was in University where he had a total 4,541 yards and 35 scores, he can be a primary receiver for Masoli. That is a big if though and with plenty of talent in front of him in Ottawa, Redblacks fans shouldn’t get too ahead of themselves with this signing.
Over recent years, there has been a large growth of talent in the city of Ottawa, and all of Canada within the game of football. There are so many reasons as to why there has been a growth of talent, and many would argue it is because of the coaching, facilities and investments people have put forward for the game of football. A perfect example of exactly that would come with current Penn State University quarterback Christian Veilleux from Orléans, Ontario just outside of Ottawa.
Veilleux first picked up the football after watching Peyton Manning with his dad, and it didn’t take long before he fell in love with the game. “Ever since I started to watch, or play it I always loved football.” he told JZ Media’s Jordan Zlomislic, “My dad was a big Peyton Manning fan so watching him so much I got brainwashed. It was easy to look up to him as a player and then from there I just kept playing football with friends, eventually more competitively and kept getting better too.”
Playing early on with the Cumberland Panthers, Christian Veilleux’s name was a big one around Ottawa. People within the football community, and even outside of it knew that number eleven for the Panthers was going to make it in the game of football, but it wasn’t easy for him to do so. He had to put in the work. And fortunately for him, coach Victor Tedondo was right there by his side to help put in the work and guide him for all things football as well as things off of the field. Tedondo, at Gridiron Academy has done some phenomenal things in the city of Ottawa. He has not only become one of the bigger names in the city as a football coach, but also a mentor for young football players in Ottawa off of the field as well. Prior to Veilleux, he coached Ottawa raised quarterback Michael O’Connor, who is now with the B.C Lions but also spent time across the border for football and was a phenom at UBC with the Thunderbirds. With O’Connor having gone through the Gridiron Academy experience already as a quarterback, having Veilleux training with Gridiron was a very familiar situation for Victor Tedondo, and it ended up preparing him to play at the next level much earlier than some would have thought.
His first offer came in grade 9 from the University of Buffalo, and once he made the move across the border to attend school and play football offers just kept rolling in. He first played at Canisius High School in Buffalo and then played at Bullis in Maryland. “It was a big sacrifice,” Veilleux said, “going across the border, leaving my home to follow the dream was a big move and I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t do that.”
Where he is today is at Penn State University, currently the second string quarterback for the Big 10 school. He goes into his second season with the Nittany Lions this fall, and will look to make his presence felt on campus and on the football field after throwing for 235 yards and 3 scores in a game against Rutgers in 2021 where he proved his ability to play at the division one level. The game against Rutgers was the first one he had played since 2019 since his senior year of high school didn’t have a season due to the pandemic and was an overall dream come true for Veilleux. He commented, “It was surreal. I was extremely happy and excited all game and all day after the game. The reason why I came into the game was because Sean (Clifford, the starter) was sick, but really a lot of us were, including myself so I was surprised I could play that well considering my fever and stuff, but to be able to go ahead, put some confidence into the team and play the game, it was awesome. I got back to what I love to do, it felt like I had my groove back. I felt at home again.” Outside of some snaps in the bowl game against Arkansas, that Rutgers game was the only one Veilleux had any significant action in as a freshman, but more action should be on the way for him. The way he played as a freshman proved he could play at that level, and only previewed what could be coming to the Nittany Lions for the future. Veilleux himself is looking forward to the moment that he can play to his full potential at Penn State. “I’m looking forward to making my impact.” he said.
Sure, as the quarterback of any football team, no matter the level, you are bound to make a big impact no matter how you play. You can leave a good, or a bad impact on your team and other teams around yours directly. For Christian Veilleux he looks to make an impact in a good way for his team on the football field, but also would like to make an impact off of the field for his hometown of Ottawa, Canada.
Often times he reminisces on the journey he took to get to where he is today at Penn State and thinks about all of the other athletes from Ottawa that have the ability to play football at a high level. “There are a lot of hidden gems in Ottawa.” he says, “A lot of guys can play football, its just not easy for a lot of them to take all of the steps necessary to make it to a high level. In Ottawa there’s some things missing that if they were brought in, could make a big difference and I want to give back to the city. I want to be able to do my part to help the next group of football players in Ottawa get to the next level, from getting better, or more facilities around the city to the guidance needed to make the steps in football, I want to help and make an impact.”
Off of the football field, alongside his willingness to give back Veilleux also has the goal of starting and owning his own business one day, and is interested in investing. With the right goals on and off of the football field, it is clear that Christian Veilleux, the football player, person and the brand will be successful down the road.
On September 28th 2021 a lot of people, for the first time hear the name Caleb Evans. Ottawa Redblacks fans, people in Ottawa, CFL fans and people tuned into TSN or ESPN got their first looks at 23 year old quarterback Caleb Evans from Mansfield, Texas.
The first look was a great look. In fact it was nearly perfect. It was first time Evans ever put on a professional football uniform and played a professional football game. He went out and threw for 191 yards and three scores while gaining an additional 59 yards on the ground, leading the Redblacks to a 34-24 win over the Edmonton Elks. Talking about the opportunity he had, to start a professional football game and play the way he did Evans said, “It went by so fast. I didn’t even realize we were going to win until I threw the TD to Kenny (Stafford). I felt like myself out there again. It was like I was back. I was playing loose. It was great, and we got the W which was lit.” Following the game he was then one of the biggest topics around all of the CFL because of his outstanding performance and after coming into Ottawa at the beginning of training camp in July with no intentions to play in 2021, he went on to play in the final eight games of the CFL season.
Over the final weeks of the season, Evans ended up throwing for a total 1,279 yards, running for an additional 345 and scored 8 offensive touchdowns. He got Ottawa two wins, and showed flashed of what is possible for him in the future but one thing that stood out to him, that he alluded to earlier, is that he was playing loose, very similar to how he played in University, and even back in high school as well. His University football career can almost be looked at as a blueprint for his professional career because of how similar the start has been. As a freshman in University, like his rookie year in the CFL he wasn’t supposed to play. He started the year as a redshirt freshman, but had the opportunity to travel with the team. “It was a players dream.” he said, “being on the team, and doing everything as if you are playing, but not playing the games.” Although, like his rookie year in Ottawa where both Matt Nichols and Dominique Davis suffered injuries ahead of him, he had the opportunity to play. “The starter got hurt early on in the season, it was like week four or five when I got called up to the roster, then a couple of weeks later I was starting because the backup wasn’t playing the best.” he told JZ Media’s Jordan Zlomislic, “I went on to start the rest of my freshman year, and battled for the starting spot the next year and just continued to start in my junior and senior years. It was fun, my coaches were good, and I had a good group around me. I learnt the system we ran like the back of my hand so it also got easy for me to play without worries.”
If you take a look at the situation Evans is in now in Ottawa, it is almost identical to the sophomore season at University of Louisiana Monroe. As a sophomore in University he was battling for a starting spot. As a second year quarterback with the Redblacks, with veteran game manager Jeremiah Masoli ahead of him, it’s not necessarily a battle, but he still has an opportunity in front of himself to prove what he can do in the CFL for the Redblacks. Masoli is expected to start. At 33 years old, he’s got a lot of experience in the CFL, and successful experience as well. He’s signed a two year deal with the Redblacks and the front office has built a good offence around him as well. However, over the span of his career Masoli has suffered a number of injuries, and with an 18 game schedule ahead of the Ottawa Redblacks, there is a good chance that Evans has a game or two to play, and if he balls out in those small windows of opportunity, more opportunities could be on the horizon. Anything is possible in professional football, and Evans himself knows that. That is why he is working hard this off-season to prepare for the future, and prepare for any situation that may come up. “I’ve been trying to learn how to be patient this off-season.” he said about his first off-season as a professional, “In college there were always workouts and trainings to go to throughout the year. Our coaches set things up for us, and it was really non stop. We had an off-season, but there was barley much time off. Now, after we finish in November there are like 5 or 6 months in between the end of the season and the next training camp. That is a lot of time, and you’re on your own the entire time, and right after the season was done, I would love to have just thrown a lot and started getting ready for the season right away, but I wanted to take a break, and time the off-season out properly so that I am at my peak at training camp.”
This off-season, Evans is also looking to achieve some things off of the football field. Sure, the training is important, and preparing himself for the work on the field for training camp is important, but some things off the field are equally, maybe even more important. “I’m getting better as a professional this off-season. I am working towards a lot of different things, and one is to be better in all aspects, not just in football. There is a lot of possible opportunities in front of me and I want to maximize it, and also have some focus on the future too.”
Off of the football field, at University of Louisiana Monroe he studied both Kinesiology and Sports Management. Taking those courses, Evans learnt more about the opportunities he has in front of him to stay in football past his playing career. There are so many different jobs you can have within the game of football from the media side, management, and to the coaching staffs. He said, “If I can get into something with football (in the future), I’d definitely want to. It was nice to take those classes because a lot of us in it were athletes or had an athlete mindset so it was easy to relate to everyone and talk to my classmates.” Even past football, some interest in business, and investing has also come up for Evans. He said passionately to Zlomislic, “There are so many ways to make an income. My dad has been doing construction for a while now and has been a go to handyman for almost anything so I’ve seen that kind of business opportunity, and I’m kind of interested in running a business of my own in the future, and also get into investing. Not like crypto or stocks, but buying trucks and some things and using them to make money, offering some services.”
Right now, in the middle of his professional football career, he can’t necessarily eat it every day, but answering some “get to know you” questions, Evans mentioned some of his favourite restaurants. In no specific order he would easily go with Chilis, Olive Garden, Jack in the Box, and Chick Fil A while back home in the states, but both Subway and Zak’s Diner in Ottawa found a special place in his heart as well. He also says that watching Netflix, when he’s not doing anything associated with football, is something he enjoys to do, the anime series “One-Punch Man” being one of his favourite things to watch.
With a good head on his shoulders and amazing potential on the football field, Caleb Evans is clearly set to do big things on and off of the field. The Mansfield, Texas native will come back to Ottawa in May for Redblacks training camp, and with the time ticking for the off-season, he’s excited to be back in Ottawa to work. “I’m looking forward to it,” he said, “I’ve already been there, and I’ve already played in the CFL so I’m more prepared than I was last year for the football. It’ll be fun to be back, and hopefully with less Covid restrictions I’ll be able to do some more things in the city too, and really be in Ottawa.”
JZ MEDIA 