MONTREAL, QC- The day of the Canadian Football League draft came and went for Olivier Roy. As the only draft-eligible quarterback coming out of U SPORTS, scouts had their eyes firmly on him during the CFL Combine.
This was not his first time getting a taste of the CFL. He participated in Ottawa Redblacks training camp in the spring of 2022. But he did not hold a draft party like many prospects do. Even with heads turned in his direction, he was aware of the grim reality for Canadian quarterbacks.
“I told my mom, ‘I think I have between a one and five per cent chance of getting drafted’ just to get her hopes a bit back to reality,” Roy recalled, gazing out onto the empty field from the bleachers of Concordia Stadium.
Roy returned to Concordia for his fourth season of eligibility after going undrafted. He is not the first U SPORTS quarterback to get the short end of the stick in the CFL draft. The numbers are not pretty for Canadian pivots, especially since the CFL has taken pride in promoting homegrown players throughout its entire history.
CFL teams have only selected three Canadian quarterbacks in the past five drafts–346 total draft picks. They make up less than one per cent of the total draft choices. Michael O’Connor (2019) and Tre Ford (2022) came from U SPORTS schools. Nathan Rourke (2020) hailed from Ohio University of the NCAA.
O’Connor has been a journeyman backup quarterback in the CFL and is a free agent. Rourke played one season as a starter in the CFL. He is pursuing his dream down south, as a member of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Ford is the starting quarterback of the CFL’s Edmonton Elks. For the moment, he has found the perfect balance between the aforementioned signal-callers to potentially uproot the CFL’s draft mentality. But Roy, unfortunately, did not become lucky number four.
As the son of a big Montreal Alouettes fan and the brother of a football player, Roy was often around the sport growing up. But he only began to play in grade seven. He played other sports, too–hockey, baseball, tennis, and golf, to name a few. “Almost all of them, except for soccer,” Roy joked. He chose to pursue football because of its team-oriented nature and limited playing time. “Football is the only game that once you’re done with school, you can’t play anymore for 99 per cent of the guys,” he explained.
Roy arrived at Concordia in 2019. He mostly watched from the sideline as quarterback Adam Vance played out his final season. After the cancellation of the 2020 season, Roy burst onto the U SPORTS football scene in 2021. At season’s end, his accolades included RSEQ (Quebec conference) Player of the Year, a single-game RSEQ passing record (580 yards), and a glistening four-touchdown performance in a victory over eventual Quebec champions Montreal Carabins.
It was only following the 2021 season that he realized the possibility of playing football professionally. “Everything went pretty fast, and I was trying to get used to it as a 21-year old kid,” he explained. “I think it was a good thing that I wasn’t aware of how big it was at the time. Maybe I would’ve put too much pressure on myself.”
Roy and the Stingers took a step back statistically in 2022. But he remains humble and confident in his belief that the stat sheet does not tell the whole story. “I always try to tell [my family] that my 2021 season wasn’t as good as we think and my 2022 season wasn’t as bad as we think.”
More than numbers
He has always led by example while sporting the Stingers’ maroon and yellow. But according to head coach and former Montreal Alouette Brad Collinson, he has been more vocal in the locker room this season.
“That’s something that we’re really happy with because it’s extremely important that he does that from time to time,” explained Collinson. “As a leader, whenever you don’t speak very much and all of a sudden you do speak, it means a lot more.”
Roy clocks in at 6-foot-1, roughly 170 pounds. As he has admitted on several occasions, he is not going to blow anybody away with his physicality or athleticism. He knew getting drafted would be an uphill battle for that reason. But he is adamant that his ability to play the position well sets him apart.
Collinson agrees that his best qualities lie in his heart and between his ears. He is a big admirer of Roy’s will and perseverance.
“He’s a tough kid. He doesn’t look like much, but he’s one of those kids [that puts] his body on the line for the team to get a first down,” Collinson said. “He’ll sit in the pocket and he’s never going to point fingers at anybody. He’s just going to get right back up and do it again.”
Why so difficult?
But another issue of contention is every CFL team’s old nemesis: the mandatory Canadian:American ratio. Head coaches and front offices already have to pull off mind-boggling gymnastics to comply with the ratio. Many Canadian passers that make it to the CFL are moved to a different position for that reason.
To add insult to injury, the quarterback position is exempt from the ratio. CFL teams can carry exclusively American quarterbacks on their roster without any skin off their backs.
“The quarterback is the most important position, so you want to choose the best guy no matter where he’s from. There’s a lot more quarterbacks coming from the US than Canada, and that’s why most [CFL] teams are going with an American QB,” Roy admitted. “On the other hand, I think we have a lot of great Canadian QBs here, either U SPORTS or NCAA.”
Better days ahead
Roy understands why he went undrafted and he is not too disappointed. At the same time, he feels that his fellow Canadian gun-slingers deserve better. Of the nine teams in the CFL, eight of them employ Americans as their starting quarterback, with Ford being the only Canadian. Collinson believes that including the position in the ratio is a great way to incentivize the employment of Canadian quarterbacks, and he firmly believes that homegrown pivots belong in the CFL.
“I think we’re doing a good job in our country in university football in preparing these kids for the next level. It’s just that they need an opportunity,” he said.
The good news for Roy and co. is that the tide could already be turning in that respect. Nathan Rourke’s younger brother, Kurtis, is the starting quarterback for Ohio University of the NCAA, Nathan’s alma mater. The CFL Scouting Bureau named him the number one prospect for the 2024 draft in its fall edition prospect rankings. This marks the first time ever for the position. Quarterbacks Jonathan Senecal (Montreal) and Taylor Elgersma (Laurier) will have CFL eyes on them in short order, too.
What’s next?
For now, Roy is very happy to be back with the Stingers in 2023 to see the leaves lining the fences of Concordia Stadium turn bright orange this fall. It was always his plan given the low likelihood of him getting selected. He kept in touch with his teammates and coaches throughout the combine and the draft process. “I never let the guys think that I would not come back…I felt like I had some unfinished business here, so I’m glad to be here for another season.”
Following the conclusion of the 2023 season, Roy will consider professional opportunities in Europe, but he is uncertain of his timeline. A return to Concordia in 2024 for his final year of eligibility remains possible. But he knows he will end up across the Atlantic eventually. “I’m going to take the winter to think about it and look at all my options. It really depends on when I want to go and what kind of football I want to play, if I want a big role on a small team, or a small role on a big team. I’m open to everything.”