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He was small, an unknown, and operating at a position — quarterback — he was unlikely to play in the National Football League.

And so Bob O’Billovich, always with an eye cocked toward long shots who might pay off, decided to put Julian Edelman on the negotiation list of the B.C. Lions.

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“He was a very athletic guy, threw a decent ball, and a good character guy — the type of player you’re always looking for,” says O’Billovich, the retired former Lions’ player personnel director. “I thought he’d be a very good CFL prospect.”

Growing up in Redwood City, Calif., Edelman had Doug Flutie’s jersey hung in his bedroom for inspiration. One of the most exciting college players of the 1980s, Flutie was scorned, rejected and humbled by the NFL because of his size (5-9, 175 pounds). At 27, he became a born-again quarterback in the CFL when the Lions gave him a shot, and he went on to become a six-time most outstanding player in Canada.