Taylor Elgersma’s road to Winnipeg and the Blue Bombers has been long and winding and taken him all over professional football’s map.

And on Friday the latest pit stop for the Canadian quarterback in his nomadic journey to find a football home was a McDonald’s in Arkansas as he was making the 20-hour drive to the Great White North.

Elgersma, fresh from signing his contract with the Blue Bombers after a short stint with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL, is now in a mad dash to not only get across the 49th parallel but get his nose into the playbook and reacquaint himself with the Canadian game and his new team.

He met virtually with head coach Mike O’Shea, GM Kyle Walters and offensive coordinator Tommy Condell Thursday night after the deal became official and said he plans to throw with some former Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks teammates in Waterloo before heading to Winnipeg for the opening of rookie camp on May 6th.

“I just told them, ‘I’m ready to start studying, I’m ready to start rolling and I’m ready to start learning,’” he said in a 30-minute Zoom call with local and national media from that McD’s in Arkansas on Friday. “That’s what, ultimately, my whole goal is coming into this thing. It’s about going day by day and becoming a better pro and a better player every single day.

“I’m in an organization that has a winning culture and that’s all you’re looking for as a young quarterback — how can I be around these guys, learn from these people and better myself? And, ultimately, how can I help this organization win a Grey Cup. They know that’s where my mindset is at and that’s what we’re all focussed on.”

The entire media conference is here:

And here are 5 Takeaways from the session:

THE BLUE BOMBERS ARE NOT — REPEAT NOT — HIS PLAN B OR C

Elgersma was selected by the Blue Bombers in the second round, 18th overall, in last year’s CFL Canadian Draft but was then signed as an undrafted free agent by the Green Bay Packers. He spent the summer with the Pack and appeared in three preseason games before being released.

And it’s here is where some fans were impatient with the big QB as he continued to explore NFL opportunities with the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins before joining the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL this spring rather than head north immediately

Elgersma stressed over and over again on Friday that he wanted to give the chase of his NFL dream a year. And so, here we are, with him saying all the right things about now joining the Blue Bombers.

“I’ve been going through a lot. My journey’s been pretty cool,” he said. “It’s been special to kind of go through this, this process of Green Bay through (NFL) combine through training camp over there in the UFL.

“For me I think it was time for me to come home. It was time to start this journey here and start this process of developing and learning and being here in this organization. So, it’s something for me that I’m super excited about, super fired up about and ready to get rolling.

“… I got drafted by this team last year and I was super ecstatic about getting drafted in the CFL. So, I just think heading into camp now, we’re two weeks out from camp, it was time to let them know that I wanted to be here, that it was time to come home. And to get myself prepared for training camp is something that I care about. I didn’t want to show up on the last day before camp and not be ready to roll. I wanted to give myself time to get adjusted back and learn the system and get to meet some people and get into the city.

“So, those were some factors for me.”

THE BIRMINGHAM WORK VISA MESS

Elgersma was drafted by the Stallions this winter and had been practising them. But, with the team/league not able to secure a work visa for him — Stallions coach AJ McCarron even reached out to Senator Tommy Tuberville for help — he wasn’t able to get into any of the first three games of the UFL season.

With that window closed — remember, he was still trying to get 11-on-11 film to possibly earn another NFL look — Winnipeg instantly became his best option.

“The process of the work visa was definitely long,” said Elgersma. “There was a lot of hiccups, you could say, in the process. Obviously, this league had done this before and there was hope that with the connections AJ had that it was going to be able to get done.

“Ultimately, I don’t know about all that behind-the-scenes stuff. I just know that my experience with AJ was very positive. He was someone I learned a lot from in the room. He supported me on and off the field throughout this process. He made it clear to me that he was in my corner and was trying his best to make my situation right. I think it’s ultimately a situation with the UFL more than anything, that whatever they had going on wasn’t done correctly.”

AND NOW — WELCOME TO THE BLUE BOMBERS QB ROOM

There’s been a lot of chatter since Elgersma was drafted last year that he could be the heir apparent to Zach Collaros, who is now 37 and entering the final year of his current contract.

Just to be clear, that heir-apparent narrative has not come from anyone within the Blue Bombers organization. Now he’s just another QB who will be trying to turn heads in training camp along with returnee Terry Wilson and newcomers Bryce Perkins and Payton Thorne.

Here’s Elgersma when the ‘heir apparent’ idea was brought up on Friday:

“First of all, when I talk about Zach, there’s so much to learn from Zach. Any time you’re in a building with someone of his calibre it’s important that you soak up every single thing that you can from him — all the information, all the tips that I can gain from him, I want to learn them.

“I would also say there are a lot of other guys in this room and in this building that I have a lot of respect for. We already talked about Bryce (Perkins, as a former UFL MVP), Payton Thorne is here as well, Terry Wilson… there’s other vets there in this room and for me my job is to come here and help the Winnipeg Blue Bombers win a Grey Cup. That’s all I’m focussed on, is coming to be the best version of myself in the building every single day.”

ROURKE, FORD… ELGERSMA?

There’s a fascination with Elgersma for a few reasons, not the least of which are his credentials as a Hec Crighton Trophy winner in 2024 while at Wilfrid Laurier as the top player in college football in this country.

He’s 6-5 and has a rocket for a throwing arm, too.

On top of all that is he’s Canadian and for decades this league had been craving for the next Russ Jackson to come along before Nathan Rourke did for the B.C. Lions as last year’s CFL Most Outstanding Player as well as Tre Ford, who had his moments as a starter in Edmonton before landing in Hamilton this offseason.

That means Elgersma will be under the spotlight from the moment he steps onto the field for rookie camp in a couple weeks. Asked about what it would mean to be the next Canadian QB to start in this league, Elgersma was quick to pump the brakes.

“To answer what it would mean to be a starting Canadian quarterback? It would mean everything,” he said. “Being able to be a guy who not only goes pro out of U Sports but is able to potentially have a starting role in the CFL one day, would be a dream come true. And you look at guys like Nate, even though he’s played Division 1, having a Canadian at the helm, it brings a lot of excitement to a fan base; it brings a lot of excitement to the league and I think it’s a good thing for this league to have guys like that, and it’s good thing for Canadians to have guys to look up to.

“For me, that’s one thing that’s super exciting. I hope one day there’s young kids out there who choose to play football because there’s Canadians at the quarterback position that are leading the way. There’s been great guys that are doing it right now and I hope to follow in their footsteps.”

COMPARE AND CONTRAST — ELGERSMA = IVAN DRAGO

We had to go here with Elgersma on Friday as yours truly is a massive fan of the Rocky movie series. Over the winter Collaros spoke to the media about the first time he met Elgersma, commenting on how big he is and how he bears a striking resemblance to the Russian boxer Ivan Drago from Rocky IV.

He’s not wrong.

“I did see that. I thought that was funny,” Elgersma said with a grin. “I threw with Zach in the offseason a little bit ago. It was pretty brief. It was nice to meet him and he’s a great dude and he’s a funny guy. You can tell by that quote that he’s a funny guy. He’s very personable and down to earth and so I enjoyed that session with him and I’m excited to connect with him more.

“Like I said, any time you’re going to be in a building with someone of his calibre as a player, his calibre as a person, it’s important for me to learn as much as I possibly can from him. I’m excited to be in the room with him.”