Former Carleton Ravens men’s football defensive back Justin Howell never thought he would be able to stay in the city he has called home for the last four years. On May 3, his wish was granted.
After falling to the seventh round of this year’s Canadian Football League (CFL) draft, the senior defensive back out of Bradford, Ont. was selected 55th overall by the Ottawa Redblacks.
“Dream come true, for sure. It was pretty anxious moments leading up to that,” Howell said about being selected by his number one choice.
“There were several rounds before I thought certain teams were going to take me. The way that the draft basically shaped up, I didn’t think I was going to fall to Ottawa by the time the seventh [round] came around, but when I saw my name on the board I was anxious, nervous, and I was relieved,” he explained.
Despite receiving a third to fifth round by many draft experts prior to the draft selection, he now finds himself entering his first professional summer training camp as a late-round pick battling to earn a roster spot. Adversity, however, has been nothing new to Howell throughout his football journey.
“I’ve always been that kind of player. I like to be an underdog,” he said. “I like to have a chip on my shoulder because it just makes me go that much harder . . . I feel like I have a lot to prove, and I’m excited that I get to show them they were right to choose me, even if it was in the seventh round.”
This won’t be the first time Howell has set foot in TD Place Stadium. As a freshman, Howell was able to attend his first-ever CFL game to watch the Redblacks. He remembers the crowd erupting in cheers as he entered the north side of the stadium, just as Ottawa scored a touchdown.
“I just remember hearing the eruption of the crowd and just saying, ‘I want to play here one day,’” Howell said. “Fast-track four years later to hear my name get called and have that opportunity to play for the Redblacks now—it’s surreal.”
After serving as a two-sport athlete, playing basketball and volleyball for the first year and a half while attending Bradford High School, Howell decided to make the leap into high school football in Grade 10.
Upon graduating from high school, Howell enrolled in Cégep Vanier College in Montreal, spending the next two years as a member of the Vanier College Cheetahs’ football squad. In 2014, he accepted an offer to play for Carleton University, where he would balance the next four years between special teams and defensive back.
However, none of this would have been possible if not for an encounter with his high school gym teacher, he said.
One day, as Howell was in the middle of volleyball practice, he said his gym teacher, who also served as his high school football team’s offensive coordinator, decided to interrupt the practice in order to escort Howell outside towards the football field.
“[He] told me I was playing football, and shortly after I started playing in my first game, I had a couple touchdowns and I found success on the football field and just fell in love with it from there,” Howell said. “It ended up being a good decision and I stuck with it.”
As Howell begins CFL training camp, he will be joined by a familiar face in defensive end Kene Onyeka, who was selected by the Redblacks as 29th overall in the fourth round of this year’s draft. After coming to Carleton as part of the same recruiting class, Howell says the experience of playing alongside Onyeka for four years has helped him mature as a player, person, and teammate.
“I think that is going to kind of calm the nerves a bit, the anxiousness and just remember: ‘hey, we’re just playing football. It’s just a different scenario, bigger stage, better players and all that,” he added. “But, at the end of the day, it’s just football and go have fun and enjoy yourself.”
Howell said there hasn’t been a huge adjustment in terms of transitioning from being a student athlete. It’s a benefit he credits Ravens men’s football head coach Steve Sumarah and his coaching staff from Carleton, for helping him to prepare for the transition.
As he reflects on his time as a Carleton Raven, Howell said it will be hard to replace the camaraderie between his university teammates, coaches, and the love and support from the campus community.
“Athletics has been just one big family, to be honest . . . I’ve been around quite a few campuses in Canada,” Howell said. “And there’s not one of them out there that feels quite as special as Carleton.”
Photo by Kyle Fazackerley
