Every Canadian player’s journey to the NFL is unique

There is no straight line from Canada to the National Football League.

Instead, every Canadian NFL player’s journey tends to be unique, a combination of chance, circumstance, resources and commitment, with each creating their own road map to trying to reach their ultimate goal.

So, if you’ve heard one story about how a Canadian made it to the NFL, you’ve only heard one story about how a Canadian made it to the NFL.

“Every Canadian in the NFL can attest, at one point in all our careers, there was a point where the map wasn’t routed out,” said New York Giants defensive back Jonathan Sutherland. “There were so many unknowns.”

Unlike a sport such as hockey in Canada, where the path from Peewee to the NHL is obvious, getting to the NFL involves no such clarity amidst formidable competition south of the border.

“We’re outnumbered by the U.S. kids, where the system from elementary to high school is built for them to make it to the NFL,” said Washington Commanders corner Benjamin St-Juste. “For us, in the education system and resources, it’s not the same.”

That’s a reality that brings aspiring players to the most critical decision they face – whether to transition to American football at the high school or collegiate level. There are plenty of examples of success doing it both ways among the current crop of Canadian NFL players.

See Canada's All-22 Defence here 

While Canada’s NBA players almost exclusively play high school in the United States, 21 of the 34 Canadians currently on NFL rosters finished their high school football in Canada.

Among those are players such as St. Juste, Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard and recent New York Giants fourth-round pick Theo Johnson, a tight end, all of whom played at big-time NCAA schools directly out of Canadian high schools.

But staying in Canada means travelling to summer college scouting camps, where they can be measured against the best Americans they must compete against for scholarships.

“If you want to give yourself the best chance, take your talents south of the border,” said St-Juste. “Train here, get your resources, and do all the hard work and dedication. But when you’re ready to take your talent to the south, compare yourself against the Americans. That’s what I did. In 2015, my parents took me to [a camp] in Michigan, testing my talents. Got my first scholarship and that kind of got the ball rolling after that.”

Many players, however, believe their best chance comes from competing against Americans every day while they are in high school, and are willing to go to considerable extremes to make that happen.

“For me personally, I went to a lot of camps,” said Carolina Panthers linebacker Luiji Vilain. “But ultimately, a lot of the coaches wanted to see me go against the talent that they have there. And once I was able to do that they had more trust in giving me an offer.

“Now I feel like we’re at the point where there’s enough guys like us in the NFL to where they can take that chance to bring guys [to U.S. college] without making them go to [U.S.] high school.”

Others, such as Arizona Cardinals linebacker Jesse Luketa and Houston Texans receiver John Metchie III, got to U.S. high school as soon as they could.

In Luketa’s case, it involved some creativity. When he couldn’t afford the tuition at Mercyhurst Prep in Erie, Pa., he found a nearby school with a lower financial entry point that had no football team. That school allowed him to play at Mercyhurst.

“I needed to be in a place where I could have American film and then I’ll handle the rest,” said Luketa. “Go out there, ball.”

Luketa’s strategy paid off when he earned a scholarship to Penn State, where he became a team captain.

Canadian NFLers, from left, Benjamin St-Juste, Jesse Luketa, Luiji Vilain and Jonathan Sutherland at Luketa’s football camp in Ottawa in July.

Canadian NFLers, from left, Benjamin St-Juste, Jesse Luketa, Luiji Vilain and Jonathan Sutherland at Luketa’s football camp in Ottawa in July.

Offensive lineman Matthew Bergeron didn’t have a strategy, he simply showed up to a college scouting camp in Syracuse, N.Y. from his home in Quebec.

Coaches were so blown away by his combination of size and mobility that they essentially offered him a scholarship on the spot. Four years later he was a second-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons.

Getting to bigger schools has been a precursor to the current wave as Canadians have attracted attention from places with a history of launching NFL careers.

Canadian players have had their passports stamped by some of the biggest programs in the U.S. – a list that includes Michigan, Notre Dame, Alabama, Illinois, Ole Miss, Syracuse and Oklahoma State.

While there has never been an NBA player who made the jump directly from the Canadian university level, U Sports continues to be a viable, if less-travelled route to getting to the NFL.

There are seven Canadian NFL players who got their exclusively through training and development in Canada until the end of their university careers. Only one of those, Detroit Lions offensive tackle Giovanni Manu, has been drafted.

Sometimes coming from a Canadian school involves developing while playing in the CFL, as it has for players such as Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Dakoda Shepley, who played at the University of British Columbia, and L.A. Rams tight end Nikola Kalinic, who played at York.

Among the unique paths to the NFL are three players who began their university careers in Canada but finished up in the U.S.

One of those is offensive lineman Isaiah Adams who made his move south when COVID-19 shut down university football in Canada in 2020. He moved to a junior college in Kansas and then to the University of Illinois, where he was a third-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals this past spring.

The pandemic was also the catalyst for Robinson, a former Guelph Gryphon defensive lineman, and Calgary Dinos defensive back Deane Leonard to each transfer to the University of Mississippi.

Their near-seamless transitions to SEC football and the nation’s best defensive conference earned them their way to the NFL, Robinson as a fourth-round pick of the Ravens, while Leonard went in the seventh to the Chargers.