Mathieu Betts (born March 22, 1995) is a professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

defensive linemen for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). Betts is the only player in

U Sports football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic confe ...

history to have won four major individual awards after he won the 2015

Peter Gorman Trophy The Peter Gorman Trophy is awarded to the Rookie of the Year in U Sports Football. The Trophy acknowledges the great contribution Peter Gorman has made to the development of Canadian University Football. As founder of the Canadian College Bowl, his ...

as the most outstanding rookie and the 2016–2018 J. P. Metras Trophy awards as the most outstanding down lineman. He is a two-time

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup (french: Coupe Vanier) is the championship of Canadian university football. It is organized by U Sports football and is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. It is named after Georges Vanier ...

champion having won in

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and

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University career

Betts began his

career with the

Laval Rouge et Or The Laval Rouge et Or (, ''Red and Gold'') are the athletic teams that represent Université Laval, located in Quebec City, Quebec. Home games are all held in the PEPS indoor and outdoor sports facilities. Varsity teams Laval Rouge et Or teams co ...

in 2015 where he recorded a nation-leading 12 sacks in eight regular season games played en route to being named the Most Outstanding Rookie. In

, he had nine sacks in eight regular season games, second-best in the country, and was named the Most Outstanding Down Lineman at season's end. He also won his first

championship as part of Laval's 52nd Vanier Cup win. He won his second consecutive J. P. Metras Trophy in

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and won for the third time in

, becoming the first player to ever win the award three times. He finished his fourth year of eligibility in 2018 with another Vanier Cup championship in the 54th Vanier Cup game.

Professional career

In the 2019 CFL Scouting Bureau Rankings for December, Betts was named as the top available prospect in the

2019 CFL Draft The 2019 CFL Draft took place on May 2, 2019 at 8:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS. 73 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian universities, as well as Canadian players playing in the United States on NCAA or ...

. He was one of two

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the C ...

players invited to play in the

2019 East–West Shrine Game The 2019 East–West Shrine Game was the 94th staging of the all–star college football exhibition to benefit Shriners Hospital for Children. The game was played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on January 19, 2019, with a 3:00&nb ...

. On May 2, he was selected third overall in the

by the Edmonton Eskimos, though at the time he was under contract with the Chicago Bears.

Chicago Bears

After the 2019 NFL Draft on April 27, 2019, Betts signed with the Chicago Bears 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 ...

as an undrafted free agent on a three-year contract. Betts was among the final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Edmonton Eskimos / Elks

Betts formally joined the Edmonton Eskimos on September 9, 2019, after being selected by the Eskimos in the first round of the

. In his first game, Betts made a major contribution in making a sack, forcing a fumble against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The following week against the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Starting ...

, Betts had another sack. In total, he played in six games and recorded one defensive tackle, two sacks, and one forced fumble in his rookie season. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

. In

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, Betts played in 13 of the 14 regular season games where he had 12 defensive tackles, but did not record a sack. He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 8, 2022.

BC Lions

On the first day of free agency, on February 8, 2022, Betts signed with the

. Betts played in all 17 regular season games and contributed with 26 defensive tackles, seven sacks and two tackles on special teams. Following the season, in early January 2023, he had a workout with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

References

External links

BC Lions bioLaval bio2019 East West Shrine Game Prospect Interview: Mathieu Betts, Laval
via

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Mathieu 1995 births Living people Canadian football defensive linemen French Quebecers Gridiron football people from Quebec Laval Rouge et Or football players Canadian football people from Montreal Players of Canadian football from Quebec Chicago Bears players Edmonton Elks players BC Lions players