Brandon Bridge has taken an unlikely path to the doorstep of the NFL.

The cannon-armed Mississauga, Ontario native is set to perform on an NCAA field for the final time before he hopes to have his named called at the NFL Draft.  

Bridge will take part in his University of South Alabama Pro Day on Monday, the final step in an improbable five-year college career that went through two schools and just two seasons as a starter.

Bridge’s football journey began at St. Marcellinus High School in Mississauga, where he quarterbacked the Spirit to back-to-championships.

Despite his success, he was left eyeing universities in Ontario after a coaching change left him without a scholarship offer from the University of Buffalo. By virtue of a YouTube video, an independent recruiter was able to set up a scholarship offer from Alcorn State University, Bridge’s only NCAA proposal.

He earned the starting quarterback role in Lorman, Mississippi as a true freshman and exploded for 27 total touchdowns as the Braves finished the year 5-6. He threw for 2,086 yards and 19 touchdowns playing under head coach Earnest Collins.

Bridge’s prolific output and style led fans and local media to compare him to former NFLer and Alcorn State standout, Steve McNair. Paying homage to the late ‘Air’ McNair, Bridge was given a similar nickname of his own.

“The fans at Alcorn and all the alumni said I would be the next-best thing that came ever since Steve McNair,” the 23-year-old explained to TSN.ca. “Then, people found out I was from Toronto and when I first got there, people called me ‘Drake,’ they called me ‘Toronto,’ they called me ‘Canada’ and then they kind of connected the two with ‘Air’ McNair and they said, 'Air Canada.'”

Bridge embraced the nickname and still uses it as his Twitter handle.

Bridge’s career then took a sudden turn when Collins left Alcorn State to fill the head coaching vacancy at the University of Northern Colorado.

Melvin Spears, Jr. was hired in January of 2011, joining Alcorn State after a stint as the offensive coordinator at Alabama State University. Suddenly, despite his strong freshman season, ‘Air Canada’ was left feeling grounded.

“We got a whole new coaching staff and (Spears) ended up bringing in his own players.” Bridge recalled. “So, I just told my parents I wasn’t happy there anymore and I wanted to leave.”

Bridge played in five of Alcorn State’s first six games of the season before asking for - and being granted - his release from the school. He had totalled just 632 passing yards and seven total touchdowns in those five games.

Media again worked in Bridge’s favour as a player free to join any NCAA program. Mississippi State offensive coordinator Les Koenning read about Bridge’s release in a newspaper and, having suffered a defeat to Bridge the previous year, was immediately interested in recruiting the dynamic passer.

Bridge visited the Mississippi State campus, but was informed the team simply had too many quarterbacks on their roster to offer him a scholarship. Convinced of Bridge’s talent, Koenning contacted other programs to gauge their interest in Bridge. He received three Division 1 scholarship offers, earning the interest of theNew Mexico, UMass and South Alabama.

One season away from playing FBS football in the Sun Belt Conference, South Alabama and head coach Joey Jones were able to win Bridge over.

“Number one, I think starting a new program and being involved in the youth of our program was a big deal to him,” Jones told TSN.ca. “Also, for him to have a chance to compete for a job - at that point, we had some question marks at the quarterback position. He knew he could come in and try to compete for a job.”

Due to NCAA transfer regulations, Bridge was forced to redshirt his the 2012 season, meaning he could practice with the team, but could not play in any game. For Jones, however, the year offered Bridge a chance to develop as a passer.

“He had bright eyes,” Jones recalled of Bridge as he arrived in Alabama. “[He was a] really good leader, very confident and one thing he had to work on was his quarterback skills. We felt he was a little raw at the time throwing the football, and that’s something we thought he had to get better doing in his fundamentals.

“But we loved all the intangible parts with his leadership and confidence.”

As he continued to develop, Bridge was used as a reserve for the majority of 2013, waiting until his senior season - and fifth year in the NCAA - to start games again.

"Air Canada" returned to the field – and, four years later - looked like his freshman self, throwing for 1,927 yards and 15 touchdowns with eight interceptions.

Led by Bridge, who played through an AC joint injury and an injured ankle, the South Alabama Jaguars finished 6-6 and earned their first bowl berth in school history - the Camellia Bowl against Bowling Green.

Bridge struggled throughout the first half and the Jaguars took entered halftime facing a 13-point deficit. In the biggest game of collegiate career, Bridge placed the blame on himself.

”In the first half, I wasn’t playing my best,” Bridge admitted. “In the locker room at halftime, I told the offence, that’s on me and the second half I’ll come in and turn it around and we just kind of started to gel in the second half and started to get better.”

Jones wasn't privy to Bridge's discussion with his teammates, but was confident that his quarterback would rebound.

“I didn’t see all of the interaction between him and the players,” Jones said. “But we had a talk with him and I could tell he knew that he didn’t play very well in the first half and understood that. But, that’s the great thing about him is he fixed it and I thought he had a great second half.”

Bridge brought the Jaguars back within six in the third quarter with a 15-yard touchdown run and erased a 13-point Falcons' lead with two fourth-quarter touchdown drives.  However, a 78-yard Bowling Green touchdown with 1:03 left on the clock erased the South Alabama’s hopes of winning their first bowl game.

 Looking back, Bridge focuses on the positives from the biggest game of his collegiate career.

“I thought it showed a whole lot about what our team was all about,” Bridge said. “We didn’t give up, we didn’t quit and I thought it was a great rally, despite the final score. Obviously, we wanted to win but for us to come back and fight like that and make it a game, I thought it was a good rally for us.”

Bridge graduated from South Alabama in January, but will return to the Jaguars’ field one last time on Monday as he showcases his talent for NFL teams at his Pro Day.

After taking part in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump, three cone drill and 20-yard shuttle at the NFL combine, Bridge will focus solely on displaying his throwing skills at the South Alabama facilities.

He struggled through parts of the throwing portion at the combine and will now look to prove he has improved his mechanics.

“Throughout this whole offseason, I just wanted to work my footwork and trying to throw the ball accurately,” Bridge said, “use my whole body as opposed to just my arm, really focusing and honing in on the footwork aspect of it.“

Currently ranked as the sixth quarterback in the draft by CBS, Bridge hopes to make the most of his final opportunity to improve his stock in a public session.