John Metchie III (born July 18, 2000) is a Canadian

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, winning the Jon Cornish Trophy twice prior to being drafted by the Texans in the second round of the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. Metchie would sit out his rookie season after being diagnosed with

acute promyelocytic leukemia Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APML, APL) is a subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer of the white blood cells. In APL, there is an abnormal accumulation of immature granulocytes called promyelocytes. The disease is characterized by a ...

Early years

Metchie was born in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

to a Nigerian father and Taiwanese mother on July 18, 2000. His family moved to

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, when he was one before moving to

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, with his mother and four brothers while his father remained in Ghana. He then moved to the United States to attend St. James School in

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...

. Metchie spent a

post-graduate year A postgraduate (PG) year is an extra year of secondary coursework at a boarding school following high school graduation, but before entering college. It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitted ...

at the

Peddie School The Peddie School is a college preparatory school in Hightstown, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is a non-denominational, coeducational boarding school located on a campus, and serves students in the ninth through twelfth gr ...

Hightstown, New Jersey Hightstown is a borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,494,University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

College career

Metchie played in all 13 games as a freshman at Alabama in 2019 and had four catches for 23 yards. He became one of Alabama's top three receivers his sophomore year in 2020 racking up 916 yards on 55 receptions with six touchdowns. He was the first receiver to win the Jon Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian in NCAA football in the 2020 season. As a junior in 2021, Metchie recorded 96 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns before tearing his ACL in the

2021 SEC Championship Game The 2021 SEC Championship Game was a college football game that was played on December 4, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. It was the 30th edition of the SEC Championship Game and determined the champion of the Southeastern C ...

. Metchie was again named the recipient of the Jon Cornish Trophy, joining

Nathan Rourke Nathan Rourke (born May 24, 1998) is a Canadian professional gridiron football, football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). ...

as the only two-time winners.

Professional career

Metchie was selected by the

in the second round (44th overall) of the

. He was also selected by the BC Lions in the seventh round (59th overall) of the

2022 CFL Draft The 2022 CFL National Draft was a selection of National players by Canadian Football League (CFL) teams that took place on May 3, 2022, at 8:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS. 74 players were chosen from among eligible players from ...

before signing a four-year contract, worth $8 million, with the Texans on May 14, 2022. In July, Metchie announced he would sit out his rookie season after being diagnosed with

Personal life

His older brother,

Royce Metchie Royce Metchie (born September 11, 1996) is a professional Canadian football defensive back for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). University career Metchie played U Sports football for the Guelph Gryphons from 2014 to ...

, is also a professional football player.

References

External links

Houston Texans bioAlabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metchie III, John 2000 births Living people Canadian players of American football Gridiron football people from Ontario Sportspeople from Brampton American football wide receivers Alabama Crimson Tide football players Taiwanese players of American football Houston Texans players Canadian people of Taiwanese descent Canadian sportspeople of Nigerian descent Taiwanese people of Nigerian descent Jon Cornish Trophy winners