Back to the West Coast: Lions Sign Canadian Quarterback Michael O'Connor
February 8, 2022 - Canadian Football League (CFL)
B.C. Lions News Release
(Vancouver)- The BC Lions announced today the signing of free agent National quarterback Michael O'Connor.
"Michael is an exciting athlete who possesses all the tools to become a solid CFL quarterback," said head coach Rick Campbell.
"It's also a bonus to now have two quarterbacks who know each other well and have made the lower mainland their year-round home."
O'Connor, 25, joins the Leos' QB room after dressing in six games with the Calgary Stampeders in 2021.
A third-round pick (20th overall) of the Toronto Argonauts in 2019, the native of Orleans, Ontario suited up in nine games as a rookie while completing 15 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.
As part of the CFL's Canadian Quarterback Internship Program, O'Connor attended 2016 Lions training camp in Kamloops.
After redshirting at Penn State to begin his college career in 2014, O'Connor moved to the West Coast to attend UBC where he helped lead the Thunderbirds to a remarkable 2015 turnaround, winning the 51st Vanier Cup and taking home game MVP honours as the T-Birds took down Montreal for the national championship.
O'Connor played four seasons at UBC, completing 773 of 1,197 passes for 9,990 yards and 61 touchdowns. He led the program to the Canada West playoffs in each season at the Point Grey campus.
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