Shortill shines in first season with Alouettes

November 4, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
Heading into the final week of the Canadian Football League, Nobleton’s Nicholas Shortill is in only his eighth year of playing football. The King City Secondary School graduate, now a Montreal Alouettes linebacker, only joined the Lions football program in his Grade 10 year.
Now, the second-round draft pick is fresh off his best game of professional football yet, filling in at middle linebacker due to injuries against the Edmonton Eskimos and recording a week-high 11 tackles.
Named the YRAA football MVP after helping lead the Lions to back-to-back regional titles, Shortill had universities from across Ontario looking at him despite playing only three years with the Lions and never joining club football.
He eventually settled on suiting up for the McMaster Marauders, where he saw a number of openings for playing time. It was the Marauder’s defensive coordinator that discovered the young star, at the 2010 Metro Bowl at Rogers Centre.
“He was hurt, playing on one ankle, but he was making plays all over the field,” said McMaster head coach Stefan Ptaszek in a phone interview.
Shortill surprised the OUA by earning playing time as a freshman with the Marauders, lining up as a linebacker in his first game in the maroon and grey despite playing defensive back and slot back in high school.
“He’s the kind of guy that’s a threat wherever he plays,” said Ptaszek. “He fit right in to the situation.”
In only his first year, he helped the Marauders to a Vanier Cup victory in 2011, despite battling the flu at the time. He was a second team OUA All-Star in his sophomore season, and after suffering injury in his junior year, completed his university career as an OUA All-Star, CIS All-Canadian and the top defensive player in the OUA.
He led the Marauders with 29 solo tackles in seven regular season games, adding an interception and 2.5 sacks.
The 6’2”, 220-pounder entered the 2015 CFL Combine as the eleventh-ranked prospect, and was eventually taken 13th overall by the Alouettes in the second round. He impressed in his rookie season after injuries to some key starting linebackers, acquiring a total of 29 tackles. While the Alouettes will miss this year’s playoffs, heading into the final week with a 6-11-0 record, the future looks bright for Shortill.
“He’s got a lot of athleticism and it translates to anywhere on the field,” said Ptaszek. “He’s got the potential to be a star player in Canadian football.”