Aidan John de rouge et noir prend le chemin le moins fréquenté de la Nouvelle-Écosse

Nova Scotia has produced some of the most recognizable athletes in Canada, doing great things with their small population estimated at just over one million, but when it comes to football, the province still lags behind.

Ottawa REDBLACKS defensive lineman Aidan John calls Halifax, Nova Scotia home, where he grew up playing soccer and watching basketball on TV. Without a CFL team to call his own, John’s attention never wandered into the world of the gridiron. In fact, he had never heard of the CFL until he was already well into his university career, highlighting the general lack of keen eyes on the sport in his community.

“People don’t really take it too seriously, it’s more about basketball there,” John said. “We don’t have many players who have gone on to make it to the league. It’s not big, but there is definitely talent there. There are a lot of good players who could be right where I am now.”

As he aged through his high school years, John had become accustomed to his cousin’s relentless efforts to have him swap his shinguards for shoulder pads. Eventually, those efforts were fruitful, and John strapped it up for his high school team in the 11th grade.

“My cousin played at the same high school I was going to, and he kept bugging my Mom to put me in football,” John said. “I was growing and getting taller, so when I got to high school, I made the decision myself. I went and tried it for the first year, and it went really well for me.”

His performance at Citadel High School was enough to earn him an invite to suit up for Team Nova Scotia at the 2017 Football Canada Cup in Wolfville, where they placed sixth. John’s foray into the world football scene didn’t end there, as he was called to the U18 International Bowl with Team Canada that same year.

The Canadians faced off against the Americans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, fielding a roster that included a handful of current CFLers, such as Lake Korte-Moore, Ben Hladik, and both Jalen and Tyson Philpot.

“It was the first time I had ever been in a pro football stadium,” John said. “I was looking at the big jumbotron like ‘Woah, this is what football is in America,’ it’s different, they live and breathe it.”

Canada went on to win that game 44-26, and John captured the Defensive Player of the Game. Though he was rewarded with a place on the roster bound for Mexico to play in the International Federation of American Football U18 World Junior Championship, he surrendered his position, focusing instead on working his way into the collegiate ranks.

After a successful senior season in high school, John left the comfort of Atlantic Canada, and joined the U SPORTS powerhouse Western Mustangs, but was forced back home before ever playing a game. In 2018, he started his career at Saint Mary’s, where he remained until the pandemic hit.

He took the 2021 season off, and watched some of his teammates make the leap to the CFL from a distance. Previously, he never believed a career in professional football was possible, let alone likely, but all of a sudden, it was something he knew he wanted as he returned to the field in 2022.

In seven games in his final season, John racked up 29 tackles, four of which came at a loss, and earned himself some chatter among CFL teams in the build-up to the draft. In the third round, 19th overall, the REDBLACKS called his name.

Arriving at training camp, John was about as green as you could possibly be. He had only been playing football for a few seasons, and was now learning how to play against some of the best players in the world. It took some time, and it required a student-like mentality from the now 24-year-old, but he began to settle in.

“At first, all that was going through my head was to play fast,” John said. “I didn’t realize what was actually going on, but as I developed, I got some confidence from guys like Lorenzo Mauldin and Bryce Carter, I was playing with some of the best.”

This season, John has been tasked with filling a hole on special teams, which he has taken in stride. At six-foot-five, 226 pounds, he’s surprisingly agile and quick, and has been a handful for opposing units through five games.

“People had to step up,” John said. “Our coverage has been good, and our returns are the top in the league right now, so we’re excited to keep going.”

John believes the skills he’s learning to play special teams have direct benefits when he does get in on defence, but he’s not looking too far ahead of himself.

There’s tremendous belief that the young man can become one of the league’s top-end players, and that’s led by John himself.

“[I want to accomplish] everything that I can,” John said. “I know that I have a lot of potential, and I haven’t even opened the lid yet. The sky is the limit in my eyes.”