Linebacker took time off to raise his draft stock
U.S. college star deemed more valuable after securing his Canadian citizenship
Some small talk turned out to be a really big deal.
Jordan Williams was making casual conversation with a Redblacks coach in a car on his way from Ottawa’s airport to the CFL team’s facilities in May of last year, when an offhand question about his mother revealed she was born in Toronto.
“The driver, he was like ‘Whoa!’ … He just stopped (talking), so he probably knew (what it meant),” said Williams.
The Fayetteville, N.C., native had impressed the Redblacks during a tryout for free agents, earning an invitation to training camp, where he was determined to jump-start his football career.
But the revelatory information kicked off a chain of events that resulted in him sitting out another year, and ultimately being selected No. 1 overall by the B.C. Lions in Thursday’s CFL draft.
“I’m in a meeting room with the linebacker coach (Mark Nelson) and we’re just chilling. We’re talking, and GM (Marcel Desjardins) and was like, ‘Hold on, we’re going to have a meeting.’
“Everybody just deliberated in the meeting for like 30 minutes and they came back in, and (Desjardins) was like, ‘Look, Jordan. You could qualify as a national or international. If you qualify as an international, you could play, but you can never go back as a national. So you either have to sit out a year or play as an international.’
“I just wanted job security. I went into football not to be a hobby, but to be a career.”
It turned out to be the right choice, as the Lions traded for the first overall pick and got their priority target in the former East Carolina Pirates linebacker.
Williams secured his Canadian citizenship, official and unofficial, and waited for this year’s combine.
Being a national means Williams doesn’t count as an import — every
team must start at least seven Canadians — and provides much better long-term job stability and opportunities. And it means the Lions get a player who stormed up the pre-draft rankings after an electric performance at the Ontario combine in March, going from outside the top 10 to the top of several mock drafts in the lead-up to Thursday.
His time of 4.48 seconds in the 40-yard dash was best in class, as was his 39-inch vertical leap, as he showcased the same speed and agility he displayed at ECU, where he set school weightlifting records for linebackers.
In being selected No. 1, he’s now the highest-drafted regional combine participant in CFL history, blowing the mark set by safety Jermaine Gabriel (Argos, 17th overall) in 2013.
With the rest of the combines cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, that was the only live assessment available to most teams.
The Lions had an ace up their sleeves, though, in head coach Rick Campbell, who had invited Williams to Ottawa’s camp in 2019.
As a result of his experience and a “glowing report” filed by scout Rob Ralph from the regional combine, the Leos knew exactly who they wanted.
“Jordan’s a very athletic linebacker,” said Campbell. “And he’s a really motivated guy. When he left Ottawa, he was really motivated, because he saw he could have a really good career up here as a Canadian player. When he came back to that Toronto combine, you saw he was in tip-top shape.
“You can argue that with time off you can get rusty. On the flip side, football’s a tough game. This guy is going to be definitely fresh and healthy when we get to play, so we’re excited to get a guy like him.”
Lions GM Ed Hervey had no reservations about making Williams the top pick, even if he hadn’t played since 2017.
“Just watching his tape, we felt that he was the No. 1 overall player for our football team,” said Hervey. “We just felt that he was just too good for us to pass up. And we didn’t.
“We weren’t sure he would be there at (No. 3), so we decided to take a shot. If we had stayed at No. 3, we would have been fine, but we thought it was an opportunity to take a chance.
“He was ready to play the previous year, but because he found out about the opportunity to have national status, anyone would take that opportunity to sit out.
“A lot of American players we bring up sit out for a couple years … and turn out to be really special players. We don’t see this as any different.
“Him being out of football ... gives him a chance to heal up. His body is fresh, and whenever we get started, he’ll be ready to go.”
Williams’ size — he caresses the bottom limit of six feet — worked against him in his NFL aspirations, but his well-documented athletic ability, doubly impressive considering his 232-pound frame, will be well-suited to the CFL game.
A strong open field tackler with an ability to drop into coverage, Williams calls himself a “tenacious and vociferous” field general.
“I’m a great guy in coverage. Some receivers, sometimes. I’m 230 pounds, so I can’t run with all of them,” he said, chuckling.
His mother’s military background meant a lot of moving around as a youth, but Williams said that experience should help him adapt to life north of the border.
“It was awesome, because you’re going to experience uncharted territory. You’re going to get comfortable with being uncomfortable,” he said.
“I moved to Hawaii. Everybody had weird accents, they greet you with like a hug — which is kind of different than where I was at in Baltimore.
“It’s a thing where you’re going to learn how to adapt.”