Wilfrid Laurier University quarterback Taylor Elgersma is venturing where few U Sports players have gone before.
The 22-year-old from London, Ontario is set to become the first QB from a Canadian university to suit-up in the Senior Bowl, the marquee showcase for top NFL prospects.
Elgersma is coming off his second straight OUA Most Valuable Player honour.
In his fourth season with Laurier, he threw for 4,011 passing yards and 34 touchdowns, en route to a Vanier Cup appearance with the Golden Hawks.
On Saturday, the OUA standout will hit the field with the best NCAA college players in Mobile, Alabama.
“[It’s] a lot of fun out here,” Elgersma said in an interview on NFL Network. “The compete level is really high with these players.”
Golden Hawks head coach, Michael Faulds, had a front-row seat to Elgersma’s entire OUA career.
“To see our very own Golden Hawk helmet down there next to Georgia helmets, and Notre Dame helmets, and Michigan helmets, it’s kind of the biggest schools in Division I,” Faulds told CTV News.
The longtime coach admits Elgersma is the best player he’s ever had.
“When you look at work ethic and, in terms of being a leader and a great character, he’s the best I’ve ever coached,” Faulds said.
The Canadian is looking to overcome every obstacle, in the hopes of cracking the National Football League. Some of the biggest challenges may be adjusting to American football, which is played on a smaller field, with fewer players, and a different size ball.
“I worked on some of those differences in the game,” Elgersma told NFL Network. “Technique, working under center, ball size, 11 guys on the field. It’s all different for me.”
It’s a big change for a player whose performance relies on his ability to throw a football downfield. Despite the change, Laurier’s offensive coordinator Todd Galloway believes it could work in his favour.
“Being a little bit of a narrow and pointy football, with his big hands and ability to rip it, I actually think he’s throwing the football a little harder down there,” Galloway said.
Elgersma is eligible to enter both NFL and CFL drafts in April.
Faulds is confident “Taylor Elgersma will be playing pro football somewhere next year.”
Where that will be is still in question.
Elgersma hits the field at the Senior Bowl, with the National Team, at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
