The rise of Canadians in basketball has been well-documented over the last decade or so.
In sheer numbers, the same thing hasn’t happened in football.
But long gone are the days when seemingly most of the Canadians making big impacts at U.S. colleges were offensive linemen toiling in relative obscurity because of the nature of their position.
Just look at the NCAA national leaders this year. Illinois running back Chase Brown, a native of London, Ont., is the country’s leading rusher while Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke, brother of B.C. Lions star QB/Ohio grad Nathan and a product of Oakville, Ont., is fifth in passing.
“They’ve both been phenomenal,” Toronto Argonauts assistant general manager Vince Magri said. “With Chase, the kind of season he’s putting together as a Canadian, it’s almost Chuba Hubbard-like (the Sherwood Park, Alta., native led the country in rushing in 2019 at Oklahoma State and now is a Carolina Panther).
“He’s putting up monstrous numbers against some of the best competition in Division I football. It’s not just the numbers, it’s the way he’s doing it, the physical nature of his ability to run the ball and all the yards he’s racking up after contact. It’s impressive and awesome to see.
“Kurtis is coincidentally doing it the same year his brother had all the success in our league (before suffering a foot injury in August). He’s put up some remarkable numbers. And after watching his brother all those years at Ohio, it’s cool to see that offence kind of open up and really tailor the offence to Kurtis’s skill set. Seeing him throw the ball all over the field has been very impressive as well.”
Brown, a senior, has rushed for over 100 yards in each of his past seven games in the Big Ten – one of the Power Five conferences in the U.S. Illinois (5-1), ranked 24th in the country, is in the top 25 for the first time since 2011 heading into Saturday’s homecoming showdown against visiting Minnesota (4-1). The visitors have a running back with the only longer streak of 100-yard rushing games — Mohamed Ibrahim has done it 13 times in a row.
After playing his freshman season at Western Michigan, Brown transferred to Illinois in 2019 to join his twin brother Sydney, a top defensive back. The five-foot-11, 205-pound Chase Brown put up 1,005 rushing yards last year and already is at 879 this season.
“He’s multi-dimensional. He’s not a big guy but he runs with power. He breaks tackles and he’s also got excellent vision,” said Calgary Stampeders draft co-ordinator/defensive backs coach Dwayne Cameron, whose son Greg played against the Brown twins in minor football growing up in southern Ontario.
“He sees holes before they seem to develop and he’s able to find daylight where there appears to be none. He’s got a good combination of vision and patience waiting for things to unfold in front of him. If you’ve had the opportunity to watch highlights of him or you have the opportunity like we do to watch his film on a weekly basis as it comes in, he really does an excellent job of breaking tackles and making defenders miss.”
Chase Brown is ranked No. 1 on the CFL Scouting Bureau’s rankings for the 2023 Canadian Draft, while Sydney is No. 3. Don’t expect Chase to go first overall, however.
“He’s the nation’s leading rusher. He’s going to be in the NFL. … Whoever chooses to draft Chase from a CFL standpoint is not going to get an immediate return,” Cameron said.
“There’s not going to be immediate dividends. There’s always a risk you’ll never see him In the CFL because of his talent level. If you were just going to take the best player, if we didn’t have to worry about the NFL aspect of everything, Chase Brown would be at the top of everybody’s draft board.”
Rourke (1,944 yards), meanwhile, is on pace for bigger passing numbers than his brother (2,820) in Nathan’s career-best 2019 senior season.
The six-foot-four, 216-pound Kurtis Rourke has completed 70.9 per cent of his passes and thrown 14 touchdowns and two interceptions for Ohio (3-3), which is at Western Michigan (2-4) on Saturday. He was brilliant last week, completing 24 of 27 passes for 427 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Akron. Last month, he threw for a school-record 537 yards in a victory over Fordham.
The six-foot-one Nathan is more of a dual-threat quarterback. The bigger Kurtis uses his arm as his biggest weapon.
“They definitely have different playing styles, different in stature — Nathan being naturally a better runner,” Magri said. “But at this point in his career, Nathan wasn’t as developed as a passer. It was a different offensive system as well. Ohio back then was running the ball a lot with the quarterback by design.”
Said Cameron: “One of the questions about Nathan coming out and maybe the reason he wasn’t given an NFL opportunity, and there may have even questions about him in the CFL, is that his offence was very much tailored around kind of the RPO (run-pass option) and him running the football. There were some questions about his ability to be a dropback quarterback. He’s certainly answered those to this point in time. With Kurtis, they are using more of a traditional based offence. You can see all the things he can do as a pocket passer that maybe you didn’t see on film in terms of Nathan’s development.”
Kurtis won’t be draft-eligible until 2024. Cameron says in the NFL, Power Five quarterbacks typically are favoured in draft evaluations – moreso than at other positions. But that doesn’t mean Kurtis won’t have a chance.
“Based on what his brother has shown us, I wouldn’t doubt the kid in any shape or form,” Cameron said. “I’m confident Kurtis is going to have a successful pro career regardless of what league it happens to be in …. I expect nothing but big things, just like we’re seeing with Nathan.”
What we liked in Week 18
• The play of Hamilton Tiger-Cats running back Wes Hills (25 carries, 132 yards) in a huge win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Since being elevated from the practice roster last month, Hills has been a difference maker.
• The Ottawa Redblacks’ response to a coaching change. The Redblacks beat the host Montreal Alouettes 24-18 in interim coach Bob Dyce’s debut. The playoffs aren’t out of the question just yet for Ottawa.
What we didn’t like in Week 18
• The Roughriders giving up seven sacks against Hamilton. QB Cody Fajardo is getting pounded this year.
• The CFL’s command centre not calling for a review of a potential pass interference call on the Redblacks in the final three minutes of their win over the Alouettes. Looked like a missed penalty from here.
Week 19 picks
Montreal Alouettes (-3.5) at Ottawa Redblacks, Friday, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
Ottawa has lost 21 of its past 22 at home. The Als, after last week’s surprising setback, still need a win to clinch a playoff spot. PICK: Montreal
Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Calgary Stampeders (-7.5), Friday, 9:45 p.m. ET / 6:45 p.m. PT
Interesting matchup. The Ticats will get in the playoffs if they win their final three games. The Stampeders are battling B.C. for second in the West. PICK: Calgary
Toronto Argonauts (-5.5) at Edmonton Elks, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
If the Alouettes lose, an Argos win here would secure first place in the CFL East. Edmonton has lost a league record 15 losses in a row at home. PICK: Toronto
Winnipeg Blue Bombers at B.C. Lions (-2.5), Saturday, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
With first in the West wrapped up, the Blue Bombers won’t play star QB Zach Collaros. The Lions look to bounce back after a 23-20 loss last week in Toronto. PICK: Winnipeg
Odds from FanDuel as of Thursday night.
2022 record: 36-33
Power rankings
1. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (14-2, Last week: 1): For the second season in a row, the West Final will be in Winnipeg. A three-peat looks very possible.
2. Calgary Stampeders (10-5, Last week: 2): Do not own the tiebreaker on the Lions, so they need to finish with a better record than B.C. to get second in the West.
3. Toronto Argonauts (9-6, Last week: 3): Even if they don’t win this week, they’ll only need a split in a season-ending home-and-home with Montreal to take first in the East for the second year in a row.
4. B.C. Lions (10-5, Last week: 4): Nathan Rourke practised this week for the first time since undergoing foot surgery in August. If he returns, the CFL landscape changes.
5. Montreal Alouettes (7-8, Last week: 5): Hot streak snapped with disappointing loss to visiting Ottawa on Thanksgiving.
6. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5-10, Last week: 7): Control their own destiny after clutch win at home over Saskatchewan last week.
7. Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-10, Last week: 6): Losers of five in a row, the Grey Cup hosts now need help to make the playoffs.
8. Ottawa Redblacks (4-11, Last week: 8): Dyce is going to have a good chance to have the interim tag removed if the team finishes strong.
9. Edmonton Elks (4-12, Last week: 9): Blasted in Winnipeg last week, Elks now return home to a stadium where they haven’t won since 2019.
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