 |
Continued from Part 1…
After my year in California, I was eligible to attend any school and had a chance to experience the full recruiting process in the United States. It is not really something that I enjoyed and could only imagine how difficult it would be for someone coming straight out of high school.
Having
been a bit older, I was able to relax more and see what was coming up.
Being able to go on trips and meet the coaches and the players was
great and really helped me make my mind up in the end. My thought
process was that most of the schools at this level were second to none,
so I tried to find the fit where I felt most comfortable. Having gone
to see a couple of schools, I went on my second to last trip in early
January to visit the University of New Mexico. As soon as I arrived in Albuquerque I felt right and actually committed to New Mexico
before I left that weekend. Speaking first with my family, they
supported my decision although it seemed like I was going further from
home every chance I got.
By
the time I arrived at UNM, I was now upwards of 300 pounds with two
years of playing experience. I played for two more years while
finishing school and was able to experience football on some of the
biggest stages throughout America.
Looking back, I think my experiences in the States were an invaluable
asset. Having not played a lot of football to this point, being thrown
into the fire was probably the best way to be trained. This was also
the first point in my career where I began to think about my future.
As a player you always have goals, and my goal of playing in the CFL was growing closer.
Finally the
draft process had begun. I knew that teams had been in contact with my
coaches at school, and that some were interested. Because of the way
the rules are set up, I was unable to attend the CFL combine. Although
I thought this was going to hurt me, I had made the decision to finish
my degree before anything else. This meant that I couldn’t be in
contact with any teams, agents or attend workouts.
As
draft day approached, I was unsure as to how it was going to go. That
morning, I remember heading to class as the draft started. Coming out
nearly an hour later, my phone rang and my dad told me that I had been
picked 39th by Toronto.
I was ecstatic with the news and spent the rest of the day speaking to
friends and family. Being far from home made this tough, but I had a
chance to make up for it when I returned to Canada.
Knowing that I would have to wait another year to make the move up
north made it even tougher. Having been drafted as a junior with two
years of eligibility left with the
team, my family and I all felt that finishing the next year would be
best. This would give me a chance to get another year of playing
experience under my belt, as well as finish my degree. Stay linked to argonauts.ca for Part 3, the final part, of Brian’s Road To The CFL!