Jordan Beaulieu was feeling a lot of emotions coming into the 2018 CFL Draft, but mostly he was feeling anxious.
He didn’t know what to expect – “You don’t know what the teams want and need,” he said in a recent phone interview – and he started to doubt himself at times.
“Am I good enough to play in the CFL?” he recalled thinking.
And then he’d get his confidence back and say “Aw, I got this!”
“So I was always asking myself some questions, for sure, between the CFL Combine and the Draft,” he said. “It’s a couple of months there. But on Draft Day, obviously having family and friends around made it more exciting.”
Beaulieu, 26, was selected by the Eskimos in the third round, 24th overall, and has been a backup safety/special teams player the last two years.
“I was just happy to get my name called,” he said. “To be able to be drafted in Edmonton, obviously, is a blessing.”
The five-foot-11, 198-pound native of Laval, Que., played 38 games, including playoffs, as a defensive back with the Western Mustangs from 2014-17. He was very opportunistic during his university career, scoring four defensive touchdowns. He had two fumble recoveries (43 and 24 yards) in the same game in 2016, a 70-yard TD off a fumble recovery later that season and a 58-yard interception-return major in his rookie year. He also blocked a kick and made three quarterback sacks.
Beaulieu played safety as a rookie after the starter was injured and was mostly used in packages his second year, starting a few games. In Year 3, he started at defensive halfback on the wide side of the field and switched to boundary half (short-side) in his final season.
He had 36 defensive tackles and an interception in his senior season as the Mustangs posted a perfect 12-0 record, winning their seventh Vanier Cup overall and first Canadian university football championship since 1994.
Considered a quick, aggressive defensive back, Beaulieu had to earn an invitation to the CFL Combine with a strong performance at the Ontario Regional Combine. He clocked the fastest 40-yard dash of 4.57 seconds, tied for first in the shuttle (4.34 seconds), was second in the three-cone drill (7.18 seconds), fourth in vertical jump (34.5 inches) and tied for sixth in bench press with 17 repetitions of the 225-pound weight.
“I would have liked to have run another 40 at the Regional because I was only able to run once,” he recalled. “I was the second guy to go and, at the finish line, I felt a little pinch in my hamstring.
“At the National Combine, I didn’t run at all. I would have liked to have shown that I can run faster than a 4.57.”
While Beaulieu didn’t participate in the 40-yard dash at the National Combine because of his hamstring injury, he was still able to perform the rest of the drills. He was third in the shuttle (4.13 seconds), fourth in three-cone (7.06) and tied for fifth in vertical jump (35.5 inches), beating his previous times in all three drills. His only drop-offs were in bench press (only 14 reps) and broad jump (nine feet, 5-1/4 inches).
“It was an honour to be able to go and compete against the best talent, the best prospects in Canada,” he said. “I was happy to be a part of it.”
Beaulieu had been projected to make a CFL roster immediately because of his special teams ability and that’s exactly what has happened. He has played in 30 games during his first two seasons, making five special teams tackles each year.
“It’s been a learning experience,” he said. “I learn every practice, every game, being around the best coaches, the best players. And I’m still learning.
“I feel blessed to be able to play the game that I love and to be able to do that as a job. I can’t wait to see what Year 3 has reserved for me. I stay ready. I keep working out, even in these tough situations (COVID-19 pandemic) like we all are in right now.”
“I’m still waiting for that start,” he said. “I didn’t do a training camp last year. I got hurt on the second day, so I missed all of training camp. That was tough. Hopefully, this year, I come into (training camp in) shape and stay healthy and I can prove I can be in the starting 12.”