Last Saturday, in only the eighth game of Kaseem Ferdinand’s career, the Alouettes’ receiver caught his first touchdown — the game-winner against Calgary.

While celebrating with his teammates in the end zone, Ferdinand undoubtedly thought about his single mother, Alexia. But he also couldn’t help but think about his late father, Denny, a former CFL fullback whose career spanned 96 games for the Montreal Concordes, Saskatchewan and Ottawa.

Denny never lived to see the birth of his twin sons — Kaseem and Denny Jr. His wife was pregnant when he died suddenly at age 40 from heart arrhythmia. The twins were born six months later.

“It’s hard to say (what he would have said to his father after scoring),” Ferdinand told The Gazette this week after practice at Stade Hébert. “I never had a conversation with him, but feel he would be happy and proud. He went straight from (junior football) to the (CFL). That’s absolutely insane. He was only 19.”

The conversation drifted temporarily before Ferdinand again was asked about his father, whose genetics he obviously inherited.

“I really don’t know what I’d say, other than I love you,” said Ferdinand, 24. “I’d thank him for giving me these good genes. It’s a tough question, but a good question. I’d thank him for the life you’ve given me, thank him for the family I have and thank him for choosing my mom. He made the best choice.”

Denny Ferdinand was far from a superstar, but he rushed for 2,346 yards during his career while scoring 11 touchdowns. In 1983 with Montreal, he rushed for over 600 yards and was named the East Division’s outstanding Canadian.

His son’s path to the CFL has been more laborious.

Kaseem played at Ottawa’s Carleton University — not considered a football hotbed — before attending the 2025 CFL combine in Regina. He believes he tested decently, but went undrafted as teams were perhaps not clamouring for a 5-foot-10, 184-pound receiver.

Undaunted, he returned to Ottawa while continuing to work two jobs — one at a long-term residential care centre and the other delivering for a pizzeria. The tips were good, but Ferdinand’s dream of a football career remained prevalent.

“You don’t go to the combine thinking 100 per cent you’re getting drafted,” Ferdinand said. “At the same time, I thought I played well. I thought my testing wasn’t bad and I had a chance to be drafted.

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“At the end of the day, it’s how you take everything in life. I didn’t get drafted, but I knew this is where I wanted to be. These were my goals. This was something I knew I could accomplish.”

One week into training camp last season, Als head coach Jason Maas told receivers coach Mike Lionello to watch tape of Ferdinand. While he was eventually signed and placed on the practice roster, Ferdinand dressed for only four games — and didn’t catch a pass.

But there was something about him.

“Holy crap. He moves like ),” Lionello said. “He came to camp last year, and it was my fault he was out of position. We moved him. This guy can run routes. The starting defensive backs cannot cover this man. How can we let him develop in our system? It has been incredible.

“He runs full speed on every play,” Lionello added. “You watch professional DBs try to cover him — and they can’t. His speed and change of direction. It’s unreal. And it comes from his dad. The genetics are there.”

On a team that has Philpot, Tyler Snead and Cole Spieker, Ferdinand will probably never stand out. In four games this season, he has caught nine passes for 126 yards. And while he must take a back seat to Philpot, Ferdinand has outlasted other Canadian receivers — Shedler Fervius, Daniel Oladejo, Isaac Gaillardetz and Hakeem Harris — who attempted to become regulars on the Als’ roster.

“Hard working. Perseverance,” Ferdinand said. “I’m willing to outwork anyone on the field at any time. I’m willing to do anything for the team at any point. I’m thankful for all the opportunities.

“The path you have for yourself isn’t always the path God has for you. Everyone has a different path. I didn’t get drafted. You have to trust what’s going on.”

While Ferdinand never met his father, and did a web search to learn about his exploits, he knows he wouldn’t be here without his mother. She’s a mortgage broker in Ottawa who sacrificed for the twins, driving Kaseem to every Carleton football practice — even through his first year of university when he majored in global law (he’s four credits shy of his degree).

They text daily and don’t go a day or two without talking. Ferdinand kept the ball from his first CFL touchdown and will have it encased for his mother.

“Everything she sacrificed and did for me,” he said. “Everything she’s still doing. You may miss a person in your life, but I still have my mom and am thankful. She means everything to me. I’ve never heard her complain about anything. She had nothing but love and support.

“She always said she wanted a purple Mustang. If I get rich from playing …”

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com