By Michael Murillo,
CFL.ca
NCAA football fans don’t have to lose track of their favourite players when they leave their competitive teams and conferences. Each week, College Connection looks at a pair of former college stars who are making waves today in the CFL. Their teams will meet in an upcoming match-up, televised in the U.S.
This week: Toronto Argonauts at B.C. Lions, September 15, available on CBC.
Toronto Argonauts: Michael Bishop, QB, Kansas State Wildcats. Bishop’s career at Kansas State was impressive, especially considering he only played there for two years. Before that, he was a star at Blinn Junior College in Texas, where the he compiled a 24-0 record and won two NJCAA national titles before becoming a Wildcat. At Kansas State, he continued his winning ways, leading the team to 11 wins in 1997 and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Syracuse (led by Donovan McNabb). In 1998 the team was in the hunt for the national championship for most of the year, and Bishop threw 23 touchdowns with just four interceptions. To cap off his collegiate career, he finished second (to winner Ricky Williams) in the 1998 Heisman Trophy balloting.
Bishop had a short career in the NFL, but managed to throw a 40-yard touchdown on his very first pass attempt for the New England Patriots. In the Arena Football League, Bishop became the only player in the league history to rush for 100 yards in a game. He also holds the AFL record for rushing yards in a season with 459 yards and was the Chicago Rush’s backup during their 2006 championship run. He has been a part of the Argos since 2002, and came off the bench to log productive stats in last year’s playoffs, including a victory against Winnipeg in the East semi-final.
Since returning from injury, Bishop has led Toronto to two straight wins and has the highest quarterback rating of all current CFL starters.
B.C. Lions: Tony Simmons, WR, University of Wisconsin Badgers. In addition to being a track star at Wisconsin, Simmons displayed his talents on the football field. He left the school with an average of more than 20 yards-per-catch and 23 touchdown receptions, which was a school record at the time. He also earned special teams Most Valuable Player honours four times and left the school with top-10 marks in all-time receiving yards, receptions, yards-per-reception, touchdown receptions and career scoring.
Simmons was drafted by the New England Patriots in 1998 and spent several years in the NFL. He was also allocated to NFL Europe and caught a touchdown pass for the Barcelona Dragons in the World Bowl IX in 2001. After a couple of years off, he returned to professional football by signing with BC in 2005. His 2005 and 2006 seasons started out promising, but injuries derailed both campaigns. Now healthy, Simmons is part of the Lions’ explosive offence, with eight catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns this season.
If you’d like to see a specific school or player featured in College Connection, contact Michael Murillo at vivamurillo@hotmail.com.
(The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of the Canadian Football League)
