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JEFF MCINTOSH \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive lineman Jake Ceresna (right), chasing Calgary Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., is tied for the CFL lead in sacks.<\/p>\n
For starters, he hails from New Fairfield, Conn. The list of pro football players from the town of approximately 14,000 people starts and ends with Ceresna.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more a lacrosse town,\u201d Ceresna told the Free Press after Wednesday\u2019s closed practice. The Bombers (4-4) host the Ottawa Redblacks (0-8) on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Connecticut is not really a football state, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ceresna loved all sports growing up. He got his start on the gridiron when he was eight, while also playing baseball, basketball and wrestling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was always a smaller kid playing growing up. I was always kind of a backup,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That changed in high school. He grew six inches \u2014 with his shoe size jumping from 10 to 13 in one summer \u2014 and began frequenting the weight room early and often.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always loved sports. I just wanted to be a professional sports player in something. And then in high school, it just became apparent that I was better at football,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As a senior at New Fairfield High School, he was the team captain and MVP, while also being named all-conference. But it didn\u2019t matter \u2014 there were no NCAA powerhouse programs knocking on his door.<\/p>\n
\u201cSmall town, small high school, and we weren\u2019t good either. I think we went 3-7 my last two years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere wasn\u2019t a lot of scouts coming around, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eager to keep playing, he went the Div. II route and ended up at Southern Connecticut State University for a year before moving over to Div. III to suit up at Cortland State University(2013-15).<\/p>\n
Ceresna is the only member of the Bombers to come from the D-3 ranks.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of my size alone, (teammates) are usually like \u2018What the heck? That doesn\u2019t make sense.\u2019 But I take so much pride in being a D-3 product,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t change it for the world, I wouldn\u2019t change my journey \u2014 even though I had school loans after.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an average NFL year, there are typically fewer than 10 D-3 players in the entire league.<\/p>\n
Ceresna had impressed enough at Cortland, though, to earn a look. He was invited to Kansas City Chiefs rookie minicamp in 2016 before taking his talents north to the CFL for training camp with the Ottawa Redblacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got my passport because my agent told me to, and then I got this call from the Redblacks and I was like \u2018Who are the Redblacks? What league is this? I\u2019ve never heard this name before in my life,\u2019\u201d said Ceresna.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t take him long to fall in love with the Canadian game, but it would take a little while longer for him to make a name for himself in the three-down loop. He was released by the Redblacks after breaking his hand in camp.<\/p>\n
Once healed, the Green Bay Packers invited him in for a workout \u2014 although they were interested in moving him to the offensive line. When that didn\u2019t result in a deal, he returned home and agreed to be the assistant O-line coach at Cortland.<\/p>\n
Two days later, he got a call from the New York Jets. The next morning, he was on the practice field, rubbing shoulders with names like superstar corner Darrelle Revis and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.<\/p>\n
A high ankle sprain would lead to him being released at the end of August, and he made his way back to Ottawa in 2017.<\/p>\n
After shining in the CFL, the New York Giants signed him in 2019, and he picked up a pre-season sack against his childhood team, the New England Patriots. But outside of that, Ceresna has been plying his trade in The Great White North between Ottawa, Edmonton and Toronto before signing a two-year deal with Winnipeg this off-season.<\/p>\n
The two-time CFL all-star won a Grey Cup with Toronto in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always had that belief, but I never knew which direction my career was going to go in. But I\u2019m glad I\u2019m still playing defensive line and I\u2019m still playing football 10 years later,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m loving it, I\u2019m having fun, and there are days when I\u2019m out there on the practice field and I\u2019m just like \u2018Man, there\u2019s nothing else I\u2019d rather be doing than this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Bombers are struggling to stop the run, Ceresna is doing his part as a pass rusher. He\u2019s tied for the CFL lead in sacks with six and is on pace to set a career high in QB takedowns.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think it\u2019s a great reminder if you\u2019re talented and you have the kind of work ethic that Jake Ceresna and a lot of our guys do, people will find you and good things will happen,\u201d said head coach Mike O\u2019Shea.<\/p>\n
ROSTER MOVES<\/p>\n
The Bombers released National defensive lineman Collin Kornelson and American defensive back Matthew Jackson on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Kornelson, a second-year pro out of the University of Manitoba, recorded two defensive tackles in five appearances this season. Jackson, a product out of Eastern Kentucky, played Week 8 against Calgary and had three special teams tackles. Jackson saw action in 10 NFL games between Tennessee and Jacksonville between 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n
winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n
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Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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