Date of birth | April 17, 1968 |
---|---|
Place of birth | Kincheloe, Michigan, U.S. |
Career information | |
CFL status | International |
Position(s) | RB |
US college | Stanford |
Career history | |
As player | |
1991–1993 | BC Lions |
1994 | Las Vegas Posse |
Career highlights and awards | |
CFL All-Star | 1991, 1992
|
Jon Volpe (born April 17, 1968) is a former running back in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Volpe had a difficult childhood. His father left when he was 5 years old, his mother was an alcoholic and lived on the street, and his brother went to jail several times. Jon Volpe, being only 5 feet 7 inches tall, received a football scholarship to Stanford University, where he was an all-conference running back (leading in rushing yards), earning GTE Academic All-American honors and being named a Rhodes Scholar nominee (while getting a BSc in engineering.)
He was not drafted by the NFL. However, he had a tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers before he headed to Canada to play for the B.C. Lions. He had a successful rookie season in 1991; rushing behind Doug Flutie (who threw for a record 6,619 yards), Volpe added 1,395 rushing yards and led the league with 16 rushing touchdowns and 20 total touchdowns. Volpe was named an All-Star and won the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award. In 1992, he added 941 yards and 13 touchdowns, and was again named an All-Star. A contract dispute meant a late start to the 1993 season and he had a generally unsuccessful season, appearing in only five games. He left the Lions after three years and 36 games.
Volpe moved to the expansion Las Vegas Posse in 1994, rushing 43 times for 182 yards and 3 touchdowns in four games. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1995, but a preseason shoulder injury ended his career.
Volpe is chairman and CEO of Nova Home Loans. He is married to Heather and has a daughter, Kaylie, and a son, Trevor.
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
Kelvin Anderson is a former professional gridiron football player. As a running back, he rushed for over 1,000 yards in eight consecutive seasons in the Canadian Football League, a league record. He won the CFL's Grey Cup championship twice, as a member of the Calgary Stampeders, in 1998 and 2001.
Damon L. Allen is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played 23 years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is currently fourth in all-time professional football passing yards and second in all-time CFL passing yards after he was surpassed for first place by the Montréal Alouettes' Anthony Calvillo on October 10, 2011. Allen retired as professional football's all-time leading passer with 72,381 passing yards after he surpassed Warren Moon's total of 70,553 yards on September 4, 2006, in the annual Labour Day Classic. He also retired in third place in all-time CFL rushing yards with 11,920 yards, behind Mike Pringle and George Reed. The 2007 season marked Allen's twenty-third season in the CFL and he officially announced his retirement on May 28, 2008, at age 44. Allen is the younger brother of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen.
Jason Clermont is a former professional Canadian football slotback who retired after ten seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders. Clermont started his professional career with the BC Lions after being selected in the 2002 CFL Draft. He played amateur football in his hometown of Regina, starting with the Regina Rams junior football club, and continuing with the team after they became affiliated with the University of Regina. While playing university football, Clermont was named an All-Star and All-Canadian, as well as the Most Valuable Player in the Canada West Conference and represented Western Canada as one of only 2 Canadian players in the East West Shrine Bowl in San Francisco. As a professional, Clermont's honours have included being named the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie in 2002, Most Outstanding Canadian in 2004 and 2007, as well as the Most Valuable Canadian at the 2004 Grey Cup. Clermont captured a Grey Cup championship with the Lions in 2006. He joined his hometown Roughriders at the start of the 2009 season after being released by the Lions and is now a member of the Regina Sports Hall of Fame as well as the University of Regina Hall of Fame and BC Lions Wall of Fame.
David Dickenson is an American professional football head coach and general manager for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played as a quarterback with the Stampeders and the BC Lions, where he won the 2006 Grey Cup and was named the game's MVP. Dickenson played college football for the Montana Grizzlies, where he led the team to the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA college football championship.
Arland Richard Bruce III is a former Canadian football wide receiver. He is a two-time Grey Cup champion, having won in 2004 with the Toronto Argonauts and in 2011 with the Lions. He has played 10 seasons in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and BC Lions. During the 2011 season, he became the 14th CFL receiver to record over 10,000 yards receiving in a career.
Avon Cobourne is an American former professional gridiron football running back who was most recently a running back coach for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was a running back for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team from 1999 to 2002 before entering the National Football League (NFL).
Joseph O'Brien Smith is a former professional Canadian football player in the Canadian Football League. Smith plays the running back position. In 2007, in only his second season with the team, Smith became the BC Lions' all-time single-season rushing leader.
Jonathan Michael Cornish is a former Canadian football running back who played nine seasons with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted 13th overall in the 2006 CFL Draft after playing college football at the University of Kansas. Cornish was inducted as a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2019 on his first ballot.
Ryan Phillips is the defensive coordinator for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and a former professional Canadian football defensive back. He played most of his career with the BC Lions, where he has been part of two Grey Cup championship teams and was the last remaining active Lions player from the 2006 roster that won the 2006 Grey Cup. He holds numerous Lions franchise records and had been named a western all-star five times and a league all-star four times. Phillips was known for his durability, having only missed four games in his 12-year career which includes a consecutive games-played streak of 181 games. He was also a member of the Montreal Alouettes in 2017. He is a 2006 graduate of Eastern Washington University which is also where he played college football for the Eastern Washington Eagles.
John Thomas "the Bomb" Tracy was an American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Redskins as well as the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Ottawa Rough Riders. He was a fifth round draft pick by the Detroit Lions in the 1956 NFL Draft.
Daryl Stephenson is a former professional Canadian football running back. He was originally drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2008 and played with that franchise for three seasons. Stephenson then played for two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He played collegiately for the University of Windsor Lancers.
Stefan Logan is an American former professional football player who was a running back and special teamer in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Miami Dolphins of the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at the University of South Dakota. Logan has also played for the BC Lions, Montreal Alouettes, and Ottawa Redblacks in the CFL, and the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions of the NFL.
Michael Reilly is an American former football quarterback player who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for 11 seasons. He was the starting quarterback for the Edmonton Eskimos when they won the 103rd Grey Cup and was named the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player. He was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football for the Central Washington Wildcats. He was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 2017. Reilly has also been a member of the BC Lions of the CFL and the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers, St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks.
Andrew Harris is a former professional Canadian football running back who played for 14 years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Harris is a four-time Grey Cup champion, two-time winner of the Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian and one-time Grey Cup Most Valuable Player, as well as a five-time CFL All-Star and a six-time CFL West All-Star. He played for the BC Lions for six seasons before joining the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2016 as a free agent, where he was named the 2017 Most Outstanding Canadian after leading the league in rushing and setting the record for single-season receptions by a running back. In 2022, while a member of the Toronto Argonauts, Harris passed 10,000 career rushing yards and became the CFL leader in career yards from scrimmage by a Canadian.
Emmanuel Arceneaux is an American professional football player who is a wide receiver for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Alcorn State Braves.
Jerome Messam is a former professional Canadian football running back. He most recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the BC Lions. After being traded to the Edmonton Eskimos, he became the seventh Canadian running back since 1955 and the first since 2000 to rush for over 1,000 yards while also winning the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award. Messam played college football for Graceland University.
Christopher Rainey is a former American professional football running back and kick returner. He played college football for the University of Florida, and was a member of Florida's BCS National Championship team in 2009. The Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) selected him in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He has also played for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts and the CFL's Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts.
John White IV is a former American football running back. He played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Los Angeles Harbor College and the University of Utah. He attended South High School in Torrance, California.
William Stanback is an American professional gridiron football running back with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Virginia Union and UCF. He has also been a member of the Green Bay Packers and Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL).