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<\/p>\nEDMONTON \u2013 It\u2019s been a bit of a homecoming for Elks offensive lineman Carter O\u2019Donnell.<\/p>\n
The Alberta born, University of Alberta Golden Bear alumni, made his return to Canadian Football last season when he signed with the Elks in September of last year. O\u2019Donnell left USports as\u00a0 one of the most highly touted prospects to ever come out of Alberta, but it would be a while before he made his Canadian Football League debut.<\/p>\n
After five years in the National Football League, O\u2019Donnell is ready to show that he was worth the wait.<\/p>\n
GoElks.com sat down with Carter O\u2019Donnell in the latest edition of Elks in the Offseason.<\/p>\n
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First of all, how is your offseason going so far?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, it\u2019s been really good. (My wife and I) recently purchased a house out in Strathcona County. We found out we\u2019re pregnant, so we\u2019re having a baby due in July, and those have been some pretty big things for us. So we\u2019re really excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
What does a day in the life of Carter O\u2019Donnell look like right now?<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, I\u2019m kind of in my normal offseason routine. I get up, make breakfast, come to the stadium and train. I just do some sort of body maintenance stuff, making sure I\u2019m flexible and keeping the body in good shape. Then go I home to the wife and just kind of do stuff around the house and around the property. We\u2019re also getting ready for the baby. Stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
What does it take to feed an offensive lineman for breakfast?<\/p>\n
\u201cI do 16 ounces of egg whites with two eggs, usually a banana, a couple mandarin oranges, maybe like a couple pieces of sourdough.\u201d<\/p>\n
What has been the highlight of the offseason for you so far?<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably finding out where we\u2019re expecting a child.\u201d<\/p>\n
How ready are you for that? What has been the process getting ready for your first child?<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s all new. It\u2019s all uncharted territory for us. I don\u2019t know if we can be ready, but we\u2019re just trying to prep as much as we can. I don\u2019t know, just buying baby stuff, trying to get a baby room ready, doing all the doctor\u2019s appointments. I think she\u2019s about 20-22 weeks along right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do you have any family in Alberta? Anybody that can kind of help you out a little bit?<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I\u2019ve got pretty much all my family here. My mom and sister are down in Calgary. Grandparents are in Olds. It\u2019s good to have them around.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Courtney O\u2019Donnell (middle) with her silver medal at the 2025 Rugby World Cup<\/p>\n
For those that don\u2019t know, your wife was a member of the Canadian women\u2019s rugby team that competed in the rugby World Cup. What was it like supporting her and then just seeing her team captivate the Nation? It became such a big Canadian story.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it was awesome to see really the country kind of rally around them and support them. It was cool being able to watch them go to the World Cup. Sadly, they got silver, but the amount of improvement they\u2019ve had the last few years in the program and the way it\u2019s developed, it\u2019s been awesome. I wish football and rugby seasons were different times because it would have been awesome to be there in person and watch her play. But unfortunately, I think we had a game in Hamilton that week, so I wasn\u2019t able to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
How did you guys meet?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe both went to U of A and that\u2019s kind of where we met in late December of 2019. The pre-Covid years. We kind of started talking and I think we kind of officially started dating, I want to say, January 27th of 2020. And yeah, we\u2019ve been together ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did you approach her or did she approach you?<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wished me a happy birthday and then we kind of kicked it off from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is it nice having a fellow athlete as a partner? You have somebody who has been going through all the same things that you have to an athlete?<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. Kind of just what you said. It\u2019s nice having someone who understands what you\u2019re going through, knows kind of how you feel after a win or a loss. They have this understanding of your lifestyle. Also, when you have two people who are trying to be high performance athletes, it\u2019s a lot easier to keep each other accountable to your nutrition, or your workouts, or stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve settled down in Alberta now, how has that process been?<\/p>\n
\u201cHomeownership is obviously new to me and it has its ups and downs. It\u2019s been great to be able to put some roots down. I have kind of been moving around quite a bit last few years, so it\u2019s nice to just have some consistency in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Let\u2019s go back to when you were drafting the CFL. What was that process like playing at the University of Alberta under Chris Morris? How was that recruitment process to go from U Sports to the Shrine Bowl?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think growing up in Red Deer, I never really had any dreams of playing university football or professional football. I kind of just took it as it came. I feel like I just had a really good work ethic and if I wanted to do something, I was going to do it right and try my hardest and everything kind of just ended up working out. I remember getting an option to go to the U of A and play under Chris, and I took that opportunity. Even at U of A, I never thought it could become more than that, but it was the same mindset. I just thought if I\u2019d do it, I was going to do it right and work hard at it and enjoy the ups and downs. It led to me playing pretty well at U of A and I was able to get on some scouting radars, which opened up that opportunity to go down to the Shrine bowl, which was awesome. That was a great experience, because I had been playing this Canadian game my whole life. Then, going to play the American game, and having to learn it all in like a week, and play a game, and practice, and play with like some really good talent down in the South, it was a good experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Was there maybe a welcome to the NFL moment for you?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I went down to the NFL, I didn\u2019t get drafted, but I worked out a deal that if I went undrafted, I was going to sign with the Colts. Luckily at the time they had a very good O-line with some future Hall of Famers. I got to learn under guys that everyone knows like Quinton Nelson, and a vet room I had with Ryan Kelly, Braden Smith, Anthony Costanzo and Mark Lewinski. Getting to learn from those guys, especially Quinton, really showed me and demonstrated to me what being a pro is, and how you should approach to the game. Something I never really understood when I was in college, but you learn as a professional, is everyone has a role to play and it\u2019s very important. Even if you\u2019re holding a bag and giving a look, it\u2019s extremely important to give a good look, to have very high effort, not just when it\u2019s your opportunity, but when it\u2019s someone else\u2019s to allow them to improve and become a better player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Welcome home \ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc9b<\/p>\n
OL Carter O\u2019Donnell is back in the Green & Gold!<\/p>\n
FULL DETAILS | https:\/\/t.co\/jqZOymgqnz<\/a> #GoElks<\/a> x @PlayAlbertaCA<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/SiC4BlwF0s<\/a><\/p>\n