Article content continued

He has been mentored by friend and former Marburg teammate Micah Brown, a Florida-born QB who had a cup of coffee with the Argos and Ticats, starred and won championships in Germany, and now coaches at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. They still talk every other day or so and Brown thinks Weishaupt will surprise some CFL people.

“For his size he’s athletic, but he’s not going to be a blazer in the 40. He’ll have decent testing numbers. He passes the eyeball test and he has a strong arm. Those are the things that will pop really quick. He’ll hit that deep out from the opposite hash.

“When it comes to his footwork and timing, being able to get the ball out on time, having the right rhythm with it, I think he’ll open some eyeballs with that as well.”

He’ll be one of 18 Europeans at the combine, along with five other Germans, four each from Finland and France, two each from Denmark and Italy. The GFL is recognized as the strongest league in Europe, and Weishaupt has had plenty of success there. He was convinced to head home after a disappointing experience at Waldorf University, an NAIA school in Iowa.

“I was thinking college football was college football. Turns out it wasn’t. The quality of play was below the GFL and the scholarship I received didn’t cover all the living costs so I still had to pay more for my education there than I would have in Germany.

“So I decided to go back to Germany and make a name for myself in the GFL and get a better degree for a lot less money. I played for a couple different GFL teams, for the German national team, played in the German Bowl, played in the Euro Bowl twice, played in the World Games final with Team Germany. We beat Team USA which was a historic act because it had never been done.”

Ongoing CFL research has unearthed 184 players born outside Canada and the U.S., but just one quarterback: Neo Aoga from American Samoa.

The odds are long but Weishaupt’s determination is legendary.

“His commitment to the game of football was very extraordinary from the beginning,” said Carsten Dalkowski, GFL chairman. “His persistence and unconditional will to succeed have been impressive for years.”

dbarnes@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/sportsdanbarnes