A day ago, a CFL stats site called ProStats.Canada posted up the Top 5 CFL quarterbacks of the last decade – 2010 to 2019. There weren’t many surprises, with Kevin Glenn, Ricky Ray, Henry Burris, Mike Reilly and Bo Levi Mitchell all earning a spot, but there was one very noticeable trend that grouped all of these QBs – none of them are Canadian.
With a name like the Canadian Football League, you’d expect there to be more National quarterbacks, but in the decade that was analysed by Prostats.Canada, you can count the number of starting Canadian QBs on one hand. More recently, 2019 saw only two National quarterbacks on teams’ rosters: Michael O’Connor of the Toronto Argonauts and Hugo Richard of the Montreal Alouettes. Of the two of them, only O’Connor saw any play last season, throwing for 173 yards and 1 touchdown over 25 attempts. So why are there so few Canadian quarterbacks in the CFL, and why do they get to see so little play?
A big reason can be traced back to the Draft. An instinctive thought is that teams just aren’t drafting Canadian QBs and picking American players; however, this is only partly true. In many cases, teams are forced to draft American QBs due to the simple fact that there is a minimal number of Canadian pivots that take part in the Draft. A look at the 2019 CFL Draft shows that of the 71 players drafted out of Canadian universities, only one was a quarterback – that was Michael O’Connor, fresh out of UBC, who went to the Argos in the 3rd round. Richard, on the other hand, was signed straight out of college. But Richard’s case is a relatively isolated one, as the majority of Canadians are signed through the Draft. But with a minimal number of pivots taking part in this, teams have no choice to acquire QBs either from within the CFL through the Free Agency or trades with the NFL. However, as a 2016 Bleacher Report article from Tyler Donohue notes, Canadian pivots have a tough time in getting noticed by American scouts – current Hamilton Tiger-Cat Jamaal Westerman mentions in the article that “it’s difficult to come up to a country where you might try to see two or three guys when you can just go to New Jersey and see 25 players in two days”, highlighting how difficult it is for the elusive Canadian QB to get noticed on either side of the border.
But this is a trend that needs to be derailed. In a recent article on commissioner Randy Ambrosie’s CFL 2.0, this reporter mentioned an interest in the introduction of player ratios to the CFL, which would see teams required to have 7 National starters on their roster. While no Status designation is mentioned for QBs, the requirement for rosters to include 2 quarterbacks should include a minimum of 1 National QB. Why? It’s simple – keeping the sport Canadian. Even with the proposal of CFL 2.0, Canadian football has a significant dependence on American players – no bad thing, except the larger talent pool south of the border discourages teams from signing Canadians and means that a starting Canadian quarterback in the near future is improbable. Following the motto of the XFL, the Canadian Football League should strive to be “For the love of Canadian football”, creating a league that celebrates the incredible football talent that our nation’s many universities boast. Additionally, Canadian pivots evoke more pride and passion in fans – many would likely feel a closer connection to their team if the QB was from Calgary rather than California.
In short – the CFL needs to come up with ways to prioritise those home-town heroes, as they’re the QBs that epitomise the passion and love behind this sport. A new influx of global players is fabulous and allows football fans to celebrate Canada’s incredible diversity, but let’s also celebrate our incredible college talent and give those kids playing catch down at the park the chance to become something great.
What are your thoughts on Canadian quarterbacks? Do you think the CFL needs more National pivots, or are you fine just the way things are? Let me know in the comments, or at @TheEndZone_Blog on Twitter!
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