Apr 26, 2015 5 min read

CALIFORNIA – The road to professional football is littered with stories of players who felt they could make it if just given an opportunity.

Injuries or circumstances sometimes rob them of that chance.

While for some, that opportunity will come later this week when the NFL holds its annual draft, but others must travel a different path.

For about 60 players Sunday, that meant a tryout for the Canandian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers at California University’s Adamson Stadium.

Unlike the NFL Draft Combine, which is held every February in Indianapolis, there weren’t hundreds of media members in attendance. And there wasn’t around-the-clock television coverage with analysis of pass rushers or a breakdown of each pass route run.

One of about 15 camps the Blue Bombers will conduct this spring, the scouts on hand at this event included Danny McManus, a CFL Hall of Fame quarterback who is the team’s assistant general manager in charge of U.S. scouting, Ted Goveia, assistant general manager in charge of player personnel and assistant J.C. Smith.

For some small-school players, it was an opportunity to showcase their abilities on a bigger stage. For others, such as former big-time recruits Cullen Christian and Dan Mason, it was a chance to remind everyone of why they were so highly coveted just a few years ago.

Christian, a 6-0, 195-pound defensive back, was rated the eighth-best cornerback prospect and 99th-best player in the country by Rivals.com coming out of Penn Hills High School as a senior.

He chose to attend Michigan, but when Rich Rodriguez and his staff were fired following the 2010 season, he followed assistant coach Tony Gibson to Pitt. After sitting out a season because of transfer rules, he played sparingly in 2012 and 2013 for the Panthers, recording 18 tackles.

Cullen then transferred to West Virginia in 2014 as a graduate student – he has a degree in Administration of Justice – again following Gibson, who was hired as the Mountaineers’ defensive coordinator.

“My coach was there. My coach who recruited me in high school was there. I just followed him,” said Cullen, who had 29 career tackles for the three schools. “I’m trying to make it, you know. It’s my opportunity. I’m trying to seize the moment.”

Mason, who like Cullen is a Penn Hills High School graduate, joined Pitt as one of the top-rated middle linebacker prospects in the country in 2009.

A stocky, 6-0, 240-pound run plugger, Mason played in every game as a true freshman for the Panthers, recording 26 tackles, two sacks and an interception. He then had 16 tackles in Pitt’s first three games in 2010 before suffering a gruesome leg injury against Miami (Fla.).

After two years of rehab, he got back onto the field in 2012. But midway through the season, he suffered a lacerated liver in a win over Temple that ended his collegiate career. He never played another game at Pitt and is now more than two years removed from his last football game.

“I wasn’t snakebit. Everybody’s got a process they have to go through in their life. This was mine,” Mason said. “I got through the injury and got back on the field. If you want to play this game, you’ve got to face adversity. I’ve done that.”

Whether they or anyone else who tried out will get that opporuntity is now up to the Blue Bombers’ coaching staff and scouts. All the players in attendance Sunday were put through drills with the scouts making note of each performance.

Now, the hard part begins.

“We’ll get them to send their tape in of them actually playing football,” said McManus. “We’ll let the coaches take a look at it as well. Ted, myself and (national scout) Drew (Morris) will talk with the coaches and see what they like, what positions need to be filled. It could be some guys at this workout or we still have four more to go. We’ll fill up the rest of our training camp roster.”

The CFL has some different rules, however, from the NFL. First and foremost is the rule that each team must have at least 21 Canadian-born players on their 44-man gameday roster. That leaves room for 20 U.S.-born players – the three quarterbacks on the roster are exempt from the nationality rules.

“There were players here who have the ability to play in the CFL,” McManus said. “Now it just comes down to if it fits with numbers. We can’t just take everybody. We wish we could. The league mandates that only 75 come to training camp.”

Everyone in attendance Sunday wanted to be one of those 75. All they want is the chance to play, even if it isn’t in the NFL.

“I worked hard to get back no the field,” Mason said of his injuries. “I’m back on this field trying to do what I love. I’m happy for this right here. It’s a chance to get to that pro level.”