Mizzou: O Canada! Several Tigers sign with CFL teams
O Canada! Our home and native land!
Pretty soon, the Missouri Tigers may need to start playing the Canadian national anthem at Faurot Field.
Four different former Mizzou players are part of the Canadian Football League this summer: defensive end Michael Sam (Montreal Alouettes), quarterback James Franklin (Edmonton Eskimos), running back/returner Kendial Lawrence (Edmonton Eskimos) and punter/kicker Trey Barrow (Ottawa Redblacks).
Welcome to Montreal Michael Sam! DETAILS -> http://t.co/SSa9jTb864 #IsItJuneYet #Alouettes pic.twitter.com/mc3GCuUiQV
— Montreal Alouettes (@MTLAlouettes) May 22, 2015
The CFL schedule runs from June to November.
Sam, a consensus All-American and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, became the first openly-gay football player to get selected in the NFL draft.
But the St. Louis Rams were loaded at defensive end, and following training camp before the ’14 season, the team elected not to sign Sam to the practice squad, either.
The Dallas Cowboys picked up Sam for a six-week stint on their practice squad before unceremoniously shedding him in favor of outside linebacker Troy Davis, whom the team cut earlier this month.
Sam ran a 5.07-second 40-yard dash at the inaugural NFL veteran combine earlier this year before signing a contract with Montreal.
There, he’ll at least get a shot to produce on the field. Miami Dolphins standout pass rusher Cameron Wake followed a similar path through the B.C. Lions, named the CFL’s most outstanding defensive player after 39 sacks in two seasons.
“I have no regrets whatsoever,” Sam said of remaining outside of an NFL active roster, according to Peter King of MMQB.com. “I’m happy with what I’ve done over the past year. I’ve helped so many people, given them so much inspiration. So I have no regrets.
“All I know is I’m here now. (Playing in the CFL) means I only have two downs to sack the quarterback.”
The media swarm surrounding him as calmed down, but Mizzou’s other current CFL players have gotten a lot of questions about Sam.
“I’m happy he has a chance to play football and showcase his talent,” Lawrence said, according to the Edmonton Journal.
Said Franklin according to the same publication: “He’s been working hard and we’re both on similar paths, trying to make it to become a professional athlete. It’s really exciting that he’ll have that opportunity and I know he’s going to work hard and I know he’s going to do the best that he can. I have the feeling that he’s definitely going to have some success.”
Missouri isn’t the only SEC school with alumni in the CFL. Former Alabama quarterback Blake Sims, whom the Tigers faced in last year’s SEC championship game, also signed a CFL contract with the Toronto Argonauts this week.
SIGNING: The #Argos have signed @AlabamaFTBL QB Blake Sims (@_bsims6). #CFL #OurTeam DETAILS: http://t.co/0VwDpC7PQ6 pic.twitter.com/GwWkhD9C3I
— Toronto Argonauts (@TorontoArgos) May 28, 2015