JUDGE KEEN TO IMPRESS
Linebacker ready for action
Cameron Judge has seen his Hollywood-based dad on TV and film, but never on game film.
“I’ve been trying to,” says Judge, a linebacker for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, “but I haven’t been able to find any.”
His dad, Christopher Judge, is probably best known for his role as Teal’c on Stargate SG-1. But before acting, he played football for the University of Oregon Ducks.
“From what I’ve heard, he was a pretty physical player, a big safety,” the younger Judge says at training camp Tuesday after a morning practice at Griffiths Stadium in Nutrien Park on the University of Saskatchewan campus.
“I’ve tried to take a lot of notes, from what he’s told me, to be physical.”
While his father is an actor with a long list of TV and movie credits, and his mom, Margaret, a former runway model, Cameron Judge decided to branch out from the family tree.
Picked No. 2 overall in the 2017 CFL draft by the Roughriders, Judge avoided any sort of temptation to be a child actor. The closest he got was being an extra.
“I think I was in the very far background once for an explosion,” he says with a chuckle. “If you zoom in quite a bit, you might be able to see me.”
No Stargate posters hung in his bedroom. Richard Dean Anderson wasn’t his idol growing up.
“I wasn’t too big on the show,” he says. “It was fun to go on the set and stuff, but I never watched too many episodes.”
ROOKIE YEAR TO FORGET
Judge wasn’t a big fan, either, of his ill-fated cameo appearance last season with the Roughriders — an abbreviated three-game season cut short by injury.
While other CFLers had seasons to remember in 2017, the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Judge had a season he’d like to forget. He says he has wiped the slate clean since. He’s hungry and ready to show what he’s got. He’s eager to demonstrate why he was a highly touted pick out of UCLA, where he played four seasons with the UCLA Bruins from 2013-16, earning team co-captain status in 2015 and being a part of a top-rated Pac-12 linebacking group.
“It’s nice to be out for training camp this year, to get a hold of the defence and just be able to practise more before the first game,” says Judge, who is considered a national in the CFL.
(Judge was born in Montreal and later spent time in Vancouver and Victoria, but attended high school in Southern California.)
“It was pretty frustrating missing camp and not coming up right away (last season),” Judge adds. “Missing all that time definitely stuck with me. I’m out here trying to earn respect and carve out a role on defence as well as special teams. It was definitely frustrating but it’s in the past now. I’m just focused on this year.”
After suffering a season-ending injury, Judge says he “just did my rehab, got in the gym when I was able to and just started preparing ” for this season.
“I think I can have a role of somebody who’s comfortable and be in the right spot when my teammates need me.”
If you listen to Riders head coach and GM Chris Jones, Judge’s early injury put him in a tough spot.
“It’s unfortunate any time when you’ve got a guy who’s a young player who’s injured because it just sets them back an entire year,” Jones says.
One year later, the jury is still out on Judge.
“We’ll see,” Jones says. “He played decent football the other night (in Edmonton). I know (Tuesday) he was a little bit cramping and fatiguing, maybe due to the fact he hadn’t played ball in a long time. He’s played some very good ball. He’s a smart guy and very fast. Hopefully he can help us on special teams.”
Judge knows he has something to prove.
“I definitely feel I do but I don’t let it be the main focus on my mind because I don’t want to be putting too much pressure on myself,” he points out. “I try to be the best player that I can and try to be in on every play and try to give as much effort as I can. I guess the rest will take care of itself.”
BORN IN CANADA
Judge holds dual citizenship in Canada and the U.S. While his dad is from Los Angeles, his mom is from Edmonton.
Judge has spent most of his 23 years in the Los Angeles area. He admits it’s “pretty cool” to have a dad in the TV and movie industry.
“Some of my teammates will watch a show and they always bring it up and get a few laughs,” he says.
Christopher Judge is the voice of Kratos for the God of War video game, which was recently released.
While Judge holds a political science degree, he’s not quite ready to toss any political football around.
“I’m trying to play (the sport of football) as long as I can because I don’t know ...,” he admits. “I really don’t know what I want to do post-football, so I’m just trying to play as long as I can and figure that out.”