Duvernay-Tardif becomes third Redmen grad to make an NFL roster

MONTREAL — The Kansas City Chiefs announced several roster moves on Saturday in order to meet the NFL’s mandated 53-man roster limit and when the dust cleared, McGill University offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif made the grade.

The 6-foot-5, 315-pound lineman from St. Hilaire, Que., becomes the third player in school history to make an NFL roster from the McGill football program, joining long-snappers Randy Chevrier (Dallas and Cincinnati) and Jean-Philippe Darche (Seattle and Kansas City).

“As a collective football operation, coaches and scouts have held numerous discussions on each player during the evaluation process,” said Chiefs general manager John Dorsey on the team’s official website. “We had excellent competition at every position and that’s a great thing, but today we had to make some difficult decisions to narrow our roster to 53. We appreciate all the time and effort these young men put in for us and wish them all the best.”

Duvernay-Tardif, a 23-year-old who has received permission from McGill’s medical school to complete his remaining academic curriculum in the off-season, was a sixth-round (200th overall) pick in the 2014 National Football League Draft. He became the 11th player in CIS history to be selected in the NFL Draft and the first since 2012 when Regina’sAkiem Hicks was picked 89th overall by New Orleans.

A co-captain with the Redmen, Duvernay-Tardif was a two-time all-Canadian who won the prestigious J.P. Metras Trophy last fall as the most outstanding lineman in Canada at the CIS level. He was one of two CIS players to play in the 2014 East-West Shrine Game, a showcase primarily for graduating NCAA seniors.
 
Duvernay-Tardif’s profile listed at NFL.com states that he “looks the part with outstanding upper-body strength and massive quads. Stout anchor in pass protection. Violent shock in his punch. Plays with a nasty temperament and seeks to bury defenders into the ground. Aggressive run blocker — runs his feet on contact and plays beyond the whistle. Is physically and mentally tough and will play through pain (fought through a torn left labrum injury as a senior and never took himself out of a game or missed time). Highly intelligent (in medical program) and football smart. Can take concepts from the board to the field.”
 
“We really found ‘Larry’ at the East-West Shrine Game,” said Kansas City scout Pat Sperduto on the Chiefs website . “He went down there and played. It was very surprising how big and athletic he was, and he was physical. He really just surprised us at how good of an athlete he was for such a big man.”
 
The highly-decorated senior who also merited both Academic All-Canadian and All-American honours, was slated to be the top-rated pick in the 2014 Canadian Football League draft, but his stock dropped after being selected by the Chiefs and he ended up being a third-round pick, 19th overall by the Calgary Stampeders.


CIS PLAYERS SELECTED IN THE NFL DRAFT (11):
1976 Brian Fryer, Alberta (234th overall, Washington)
1979 John Priestner, Western (280th overall, Baltimore)
1982 Dan Feraday, Toronto (333rd overall, Cincinnati)
1986 Mike Schad, Queen’s (23rd overall, Los Angeles)
1992 Tyrone Williams, Western (239th overall, Phoenix)
1995 Mark Montreuil, Concordia (237th overall, San Diego)
1998 Jerome Pathon, Acadia (32nd overall, Indianapolis)
2001 Randy Chevrier, McGill (241st overall, Jacksonville)
2009 Vaughn Martin, Western (113th overall, San Diego)
2012 Akiem Hicks, Regina (89th overall, New Orleans)
2014 Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, McGill (200th overall, Kansas City)

(Source:  Earl Zuckerman, McGIll Redmen Sports Information)