OTTAWA – The Ottawa REDBLACKS of the Canadian Football League have signed Canadian offensive lineman Brendan Dunn.Standard operating procedure then: Let's go to this Inside Halton article (from May 2011) for a little background.
The 6-foot-7, 300-pound, 25-year-old native of Burlington spent the 2013 season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders after breaking into the CFL in 2012 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
He was drafted by the Blue Bombers in the 2011 CFL Draft, taken as the first pick of the third round (17th overall).
Dunn was a standout with the University of Western Ontario Mustangs, switching to offensive line after playing on the defensive line during his freshman and junior Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) seasons.
He was named to the CIS All-Canadian First Team at offensive tackle for the 2011 season.
Two years ago, Western Mustangs coach Greg Marshall came to Brendan Dunn with a proposal. Entering the most important years of his football career, Marshall wanted to switch the former Burlington Stampeder from defensive line to offensive line.
Marshall made a compelling case as to how Dunn would help the team more by switching to the other side of the line. Marshall also said that if Dunn wanted to pursue a professional career, his chances would be better guarding quarterbacks instead of chasing them down.
“My coaches never led me astray,” the 22 year old said. “I trusted their judgment.”
Dunn would spend the following season as a backup as he learned his new position. This season he stepped into a starting role, helping the Western Mustangs go 7-1 and lead the league in scoring, averaging 39.6 points per game. Dunn made enough of an impression that he was invited to the CFL evaluation camp in March, but being selected in the draft was by no means a guarantee.
Dunn decided to increase his odds with a heavy workout schedule in preparation for the camp.
“That was my one shot to show everyone what I can do,” Dunn said, “my chance to show those scouts that I was good enough to play in the CFL.”
The 6-foot-7, 280-pound Dunn scored the highest vertical leap (33 inches) and the best 40-yard dash time (5.14 seconds) among offensive lineman at the camp and turned in the second best bench press (24 reps of 225 pounds).
Sunday, he waited nervously to see if all his hard work had paid off. The television coverage of the draft was just winding down when his phone rang. It was the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who told him they were about to make him the first pick of the third round (17th overall).
“It’s probably one of the most exciting moments of my life,” he said.
The Blue Bombers were pretty excited as well.
Assistant general manager and director of football operations Ross Hodgkinson said the team was “able to select and get our wish list” — a list that included Dunn.
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Dunn first started thinking about a professional career after making a provincial team while in Grade 11 at Notre Dame. The following year, 2007, he made the Canadian squad for the NFL Global Junior Championship where he helped Canada defeat the U.S. (coincidentally, switching to offensive line for the first time for the tournament).
“It was ‘Woah’, I made a national team,’” he said. “It dawned on me that I could play professionally. It gave me something to aspire to. That became my goal, and my dad told me to shoot for the stars.”
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Though he was a tackle in university, Dunn was listed as a guard for the Blue Bombers.
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