Article content

If Tariq LaChance doesn’t beat the odds and wind up being drafted or signed by a Canadian Football League team this spring, it won’t be for lack of will.

Because he’s willing to do pretty much anything to get a job, and has played almost everywhere. On Sunday at the CFL Combine, the six-foot-four, 260-pound defensive lineman from Winnipeg went through gruelling one-on-ones against offensive linemen, and was the only one invited back to do it all again as a linebacker, covering running backs on pass routes.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Tariq LaChance has the will, just needs a way to play pro football Back to video

He obliged, quite happily.

“I just want to get my foot in the door,” said the 25-year-old, who last played a competitive game of football in November 2016 for the University of Manitoba Bisons. He works a day job at a UPS warehouse, bounces for a bar in the evenings, and spends most of his other time at the gym, trying to stay sharp for just this kind of opportunity.

He worked hard to get it, advancing here through the western regional combine held March 11 in Edmonton. And his testing numbers on the weekend were solid, aided by the work he’s been doing with a company called Recruit Ready in Winnipeg.