Football will continue on for former Rutgers defensive back Anthony Cioffi as he is heading up to Canada today to join the Ottawa Redblacks for the upcoming 2018 season. In the coming weeks, he will participate in rookie mini-camp and actual training camp before the season kicks off in June.

However, this opportunity to not just spring up.

“They gave me a contract back in November, so I had my former agent kind of shop me around in the CFL a little bit to test the waters,” Cioffi told Scarlet Nation. “That was after I had my workout with the [Jacksonville] Jags. They literally grabbed my rights right away and offered me a contract that night.”

Last summer, Cioffi was one of the last cuts of the Oakland Raiders after making a splash as an undrafted free agent in the NFL preseason. A couple months later, Ottawa started to make a strong push for his services.

“They have been rally been patient with me and have always been trying to sign me, but they respected with what I had to do going to the Rutgers Pro Day and everything,” Cioffi said. “But they stood by me and I really appreciate the organization for taking a step back and letting me navigate through all this.”

Cioffi participated in Rutgers' pro day on March 9th in front of NFL scouts and showed that he had not lost a step, posting a 4.47 time in the 40-yard dash.

“I have been doing my thing with TEST Sports and they have been doing a tremendous job,” Cioffi said. “They have a great program there. I feel like I am in the best shape of my life, honestly. I have been training ever since I got cut.”

This past fall, Cioffi was back in his hometown of Springfield, N.J., where he balanced training and work.

“I just kept working,” Cioffi said. “My dad told me to just keep working hard, keep grinding and everything will fall into place. He said 'just make sure you can be ready and not have any regrets coming out of it.' I worked in the school system and also worked for my dad while I kept on training.”

At Rutgers, Cioffi played in 41 games from 2013 through the 2016 season. He finished with 169 tackles and eight interceptions while starting 33 games at both cornerback and safety.

He mentioned where he will be lining up for Ottawa when he retakes the field.

“They told me free safety,” Cioffi said. “I am versatile, so wherever they want to put me is fine. I just want to play ball again.”

While Cioffi will be a long way from home in Ottawa, he will still be able to rely on the same cheering section that saw him through a successful high school and college football career.

“Everyone in my family is excited,” Cioffi said. “The only thing is that my mom doesn’t like the cold. But she will make any trip I ask. They are all really excited, especially my grandparents. They have always been a big part of my life. But I believe everything happens for a reason and I am excited to go play football again.”