Tunde Adeleke’s first game with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders took him to familiar ground—Ottawa, where he first got his bearings as a top football player with the Carleton Ravens. He never knew that his football journey would take him to winning the Grey Cup in his second season on the team.
“I was just excited to be picked by a team. It didn’t matter what round or what team I went to,” Adeleke said. “But, to get to go to Calgary in the third round was just an honour to be drafted and to be picked to play at a high level.”
Having played football since high school, Adeleke joined the Ravens at the start of the 2013-14 season and spent four seasons playing for Carleton.
While playing as a defensive back, Adeleke also saw playing time as a kick returner for the Ravens.
At the end of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, Adeleke earned first-team Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and all-Canadian honours as a kick returner. He was also named a second-team OUA all-star at defensive back in the 2013-14 and 2015-16 seasons.
“It paid off in getting those honours. And I guess it was pretty cool to get viewed as one of the better players in the league,” he added in regards to the OUA honours.
Winning the Grey Cup was definitely a highlight for Adeleke, who said he had never won a championship in his career before last November’s win.
“I didn’t get to win one in college, and I didn’t win one for my senior year in high school, so, to get that championship, even though we lost it last year, was exciting, and I can always say I’m a Grey Cup champion,” Adeleke said.
Throughout his Ravens career, Adeleke had nine career punt-return touchdowns, averaged 16 yards on 122 punt returns, 26.2 yards on 44 kickoff returns, and recorded 127 total tackles.
Adeleke said he misses playing with his Ravens teammates—calling them “the guys that I first started playing serious football with.”
Adeleke’s stint with the CFL first started in March 2017, when he attended the CFL Draft Combine in Regina.
The CFL Combine is a three-day event in which Canadians in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Canadian university athletes are scouted by general managers, coaches, and scouts of the CFL. This scouting process allows the coaches and scouts to determine who they would like to see on their team in the near future.
At the 2017 Combine, Adeleke posted the fastest time in the 40-yard dash. “It was good to show every team in the league that I was one of the faster guys. It wasn’t something I was really concentrating on. Football’s not really a combine, so as long as I can put that speed into the actual game is what I care about,” Adeleke said.
“It was exciting to play my first CFL game in my home city, in front of my family and friends. It was a surreal moment. And I made my first tackle, and the first time putting my jersey on to actually start a game. So, it was pretty exciting,” Adeleke said.
It was in June 2018 that Adeleke posted his first CFL touchdown—against the Ottawa Redblacks.
As of Feb. 12, Adeleke got traded to the Hamilton Ti-Cats.
As for the future, Adeleke said that he aims “to hopefully win another Grey Cup and keep playing football for as long as it’s still fun.”
Provided by Valerie Wutti
