Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
TORONTO — Taylor Loffler’s path to the pros was an uphill journey every bit of the way.
Two tears of the ACL in addition to hip labral tears had the 6-foot-3, 218-pound defensive back thinking life after football. But after never giving up, the UBC graduate now finds himself among the top-ranking prospects heading into the May 10 2016 CFL Draft.
Loffler bounced back from two ACL tears with Boise State before something didn’t feel right in his hips at the start of 2014.
“I had some MRIs done and they revealed that I had labral tears,” said Loffler. “From there I went to surgery and had it all fixed up.
“Mentally it was hard because I had been through so much already . . . but I just had to stay positive. Staying positive really helped me.
“With me getting a business degree I almost wanted to just pursue that, but I’ve loved football since I started playing it 14 years ago. I couldn’t give it up yet.”
Loffler recalls his path to becoming the 11th-ranked player in the CFL Scouting Bureau rankings and No. 2 on the Canada West rankings heading into the 2016 CFL Draft in the latest prospect profile:
Originally recruited by Boise State, Loffler had already committed to the Broncos when he suffered his first torn ACL in his senior year of high school while running a punt return drill right before the playoffs.
“I just took a wrong step and felt a pop in my knee,” said Loffler.
Boise State honoured the commitment, but when Loffler returned for spring ball in 2012 he jumped over a receiver that fell in front of him, landed funny and tore his ACL for the second time. After suffering torn hip labrals in 2014, Loffler graduated from Boise State with a business degree and ended up at UBC for the fall of 2015.
That was what started UBC’s magical run to a Vanier Cup season, and Loffler’s re-emergence as a highly-touted draft prospect.
“It was a shaky start of the season but once we started to make that run of nine games straight, that’s when everyone bought in and everyone worked together and we were able to pull off a Cinderella season,” said Loffler.
“Just winning that Vanier was a huge, huge accomplishment for my career. It kind of showed that I was able to come back and prove everyone wrong.”
The journey doesn’t end there. Loffler will look to be drafted on May 10 before taking his game tot he next level for a CFL team.
“To hear my name being called on draft day would be a dream come true,” he added. “I’ve always wanted to play pro football so that would just be my goal being achieved, but then there will be many more goals after that.”
The CFL Draft will take place on May 10 at 7 p.m. ET. Click here for broadcast information and full draft order.
