Michael
O'Connor is somewhat of a rarity in professional sports
� he is a Canadian quarterback who has a legitimate shot
at one day playing in the Canadian Football League at his
favourite position.
The Orléans
native recently took part in the CFL combine where he earned
rave reviews for his immense talent, his poise and his football
IQ.
The combine
is held every year in the lead up to the CFL draft to give
teams a chance to meet potential prospects face-to-face
and ask them questions about everything from Xs and Os to
possible issues in their personal lives.
O'Connor
was a busy man at the combine, sitting down with six different
teams. That's high for any prospect and is usually indicative
of the type of interest shown in someone who ends going
pretty high in the draft.
For his
part, O'Connor made the most of the opportunity to express
his love and commitment to the sport.
"I went
into it with a mission to show the teams a little bit more
of my person- ality, how passionate I am about football
and the type of person that I am,� O'Connor said in a recent
interview with the Orléans Star. "I think I really
did that, teams got to know me better on a more personal
level.�
O'Connor
has spent the last four years at the University of British
Columbia where he led the UBC Thunderbirds to the 2015 Vanier
Cup as a freshman.
In the
three years since reaching the pinnacle of Canadian college
football, O'Connor and his Thunderbird teammates lost to
the University of Calgary Dinos in twice the Western Conference
champ-ionship in 2016 and 2017 by less than four points,
and this past season they lost their opening playoff game
in overtime.
The defeats
not only made O'Connor appreciate the Vanier Cup win that
much more, they made him appreciate the sport on a much
deeper level.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
TAPROOM 260 presents Crooked Creek live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
MATT LULOFF W/ EDISON RUPERT performing at the Stray Dog Brewing Company, 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park. To register your team visit 
OTTAWA CARLETON MALE CHOIR in concert at the Navan-Vars United Church 1129 Smith Rd. in Navan at 2:30 p.m. Tickets $20 at the door.
THE ORLÉANS BREWING CO. presents Oyster Wednesdays every Wednesday. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd. near McDonalds.
BLACKBURN HAMLET COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The entire community is invited…rain or shine! Please keep visiting blackburn.ca for more up-to-date information as it becomes available.
