Written by Nic Hauka- Rysen John, back home on and off the field.
John finds himself in a familiar place as he prepares for his third CFL training camp. From when John played PeeWee football to when he graduated from Simon Fraser University, the towering wideout caught touchdown passes in his home province of British Columbia.
Playing so close to home allowed John to be close to his family, whom he credits for helping him find his love for playing the game. John decided to strap on his shoulder pads for the Vancouver Trojans at just nine years old, in large part because of his brother. John drew inspiration from watching him on the gridiron and gave the game that would ultimately become his passion a shot and never looked back.
The 6 foot seven receiver would go on to excel at Vancouver College secondary school, outjumping helpless defensive backs for the ball while reeling in a plethora of touchdown grabs for the Irish. His success in high school led him up Burnaby Mountain to star for the Simon Fraser Red Leafs.
While at SFU, John developed into a matchup nightmare. Under the guidance of head coach Thomas Ford and his receivers coach Mike Rigell, he took his game to the next level, enjoying a breakout senior season in which he put up 861 receiving yards and 10 touchdown receptions. His growth and maturation as a player sparked interest from down south, something John hadn’t thought of as a possibility till that point.
“I think I came to the realization when my wide receiver coach at the time told me there is one team in the NFL level that might be interested in looking at your game,” remembers John.
“I had to make sure that my consistency level was there and that I was still locked in and trying to push myself forward, push my hardest,” he said.
John showed his stuff in Hawaii at the ‘Hula Bowl’ and proved he was locked in. The NFL came calling shortly after, and John found himself on the Giants’ practice roster, but not at the position he’d been playing his whole life. John was now a tight end.
“I had to gain quite a bit of weight because I was 230 lbs when I ended up coming to training camp with the Giants. They expected me to be 245, just to stay afloat, stay stable within the block,” explained John.
“Very different, very physical up front. It was a whole different perspective having to play inside. From a verbiage standpoint, with the playbook, too. It was a lot of nuance to my world,” John continued.
John adjusted to his new role and held a practice squad spot with the Giants for the 2020-21 seasons and then the Chicago Bears in 2022 before he returned to Canada and signed his first CFL contract with the Calgary Stampeders.
Despite playing in Canada growing up, John once again had to adjust, this time to the Canadian game, as both BC high school football and the SFU program played four-down rules.
“More moving around, more conditioning involved, especially when you’re just moving from the backfield behind the quarterback, whereas in American football, either you’re on the ball to be eligible or off the ball to be in the slot,” he said.
John has taken two years to acclimate to the Canadian game and now finds himself at his natural position of receiver and playing weight. He says he’s feeling “smoother and more natural” going into his first campaign with the Lions. The field isn’t the only place where he’s finding familiarity.
“Well, I can say this, my mom’s happy. She did kind of predict this for me with coming back home, she had a gut feeling.”
That gut feeling turned into reality, and now John finds himself close to his family, who helped support his passion and dreams from a young age.
With John back at home, he says he is thrilled to get the ball rolling with his teammates, build chemistry and work towards a successful season. As John gets to work, he’ll do so in the city he grew up in, while feeling at home in his natural position of receiver.