The man who holds nearly every passing record in Ohio football history is taking his talents north of the border.
Former Bobcat quarterback Tyler Tettleton’s signing with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League was officially announced Friday, but he said the signing occurred about a month and a half ago.
Tettleton was put on the team’s “negotiation list,” a list of 35 players each CFL team puts together in August. The list gives them exclusive rights to negotiate with the player within the CFL. The list doesn’t limit players from signing in other football leagues.
After having conversations with his agent, Tettleton decided that this was the best opportunity for him, forgoing an attempt to land with an NFL team for the time being.
“I’d have a shot with making a team and everything, but there would have to be a lot that went into it,” Tettleton said. “Obviously I’d be a free agent and I’d be going from tryout to tryout, trying to do all that stuff. I just didn’t want to bust my butt and miss out on this opportunity.”
He said the chance with the Tiger-Cats is a great start for him professionally and that he could always pursue the NFL in the future.
By the time of Ohio’s Pro Day, Tettleton had already signed with Hamilton. He decided to come back to Athens just to throw to some of his teammates who helped him out in his time at Ohio.
“I only threw to the guys because I felt like I owed it to those guys, Donte (Foster) and all of them, to throw for him,” Tettleton said. “I just wanted to be back and see everybody.”
At the moment, Tettleton is unsure about what his role will be with a Hamilton team that made the Grey Cup last season, which is the CFL’s version of the Super Bowl.
The city of Hamilton is located in the Ontario province off of Lake Ontario. The city has a population of over 500,000 people and is the tenth biggest city in Canada, according to a 2011 census.
Tettleton visited the city a month ago, which was the first time he had ever been to Canada.
“It’s a really big city and they love their football too,” he said. “It’s fun to see and they have a lot going on up there. … It’s a great place to be and I’m looking forward to it.”
ch203310@ohiou.edu
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