Michael O'Connor (born February 25, 1996) 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 ( ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

who is a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He most recently played 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). He played college football with the

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands just outside the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thu ...

from 2015 to 2018 where he led the team to a

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 ...

championship in 2015.

College career

Penn State

O'Connor received several scholarship offers to play football and was named

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's sixth-ranked quarterback in the 2014 recruiting class. The 4-star recruit ultimately chose Pennsylvania State University to play for then-

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

, Bill O'Brien, and the

Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interc ...

. O'Brien had resigned to accept a position as the Houston Texans' head coach, but O'Connor elected to continue with his decision to enroll at Penn State anyway. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

during his first season there behind the incumbent starter, Christian Hackenberg. Near the end of the 2014 season, O'Connor announced his intention to transfer schools.

UBC

On February 12, 2015, it was formally announced that O'Connor had committed to play for Blake Nill and the

. As a freshman starter, he had immediate success, starting in all eight games, posting 165 completions on 276 pass attempts for 2383 yards, 13 touchdowns, and five interceptions to lead UBC to a 6–2 regular season record. He led the team to a perfect 4–0 record in the post-season, including UBC's 51st Vanier Cup championship win where he was named the game's most valuable player.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Toronto Argonauts

Attracting the attention of professional leagues, O'Connor was ranked as the 17th best prospect in the

's Central Scouting Bureau Final Rankings. Consequently, he was drafted in the third round, 20th overall, 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 ...

by the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

and signed with the team on May 17, 2019. He began the 2019 season on the Argonauts' injured list, but dressed in his first professional game on July 6, 2019, against the

. With Argonauts eliminated from the playoffs, O'Connor took his first regular season snaps under centre on October 26, 2019, against his hometown

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 ...

. In that game, he threw his first career touchdown pass; an 11-yard completion to Rodney Smith. Smith had thrown the ball into the stands, but the fan who retrieved it threw the keepsake back to Argos staff members. O'Connor dressed for nine games his rookie season, and saw snaps in two. He completed 15 passes out of 25 attempts for 173 yards and a touchdown. 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 ...

and he became a

in 2021 following the completion of his rookie contract.

Calgary Stampeders

On the first day of free agency in 2021, O'Connor signed with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

on February 9, 2021. He initially began the year as the backup quarterback, but was relegated to the third-string position following strong performances by

Jake Maier Jake Maier (born April 9, 1997) is an American professional Canadian football quarterback for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at UC Davis in Davis, California. College career Maier played ...

. O'Connor dressed in six regular season games but did not attempt a pass as he ran the short-yardage team where he had four rush attempts for five yards. 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, O'Connor signed with the

. He began the season as the backup quarterback to fellow Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke. When Rourke suffered a significant foot injury in Week 11 O'Connor was named the starting quarterback the following week. Unfortunately, he suffered a groin injury in the second quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. He sat out one game due to injury, but did not see any playing time upon his return to the lineup following the team's acquisition of

Vernon Adams Vernon Anthony Adams Jr. (born January 3, 1993) is an American professional Canadian football quarterback for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Eastern Washington Eagles and Oregon Ducks. He h ...

. He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 14, 2023.

Professional statistics

Personal life

O'Connor was born to Debbie Lavigne and John O'Connor and he grew up in Ottawa. He was named after his uncle who died in a vehicle collision two months before he was born.

Awards and honours

*2016

Male Athlete of the Year Co-winner

References

External links

BC Lions bio

UBC Thunderbirds bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Michael 1996 births Living people BC Lions players Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football quarterbacks Penn State Nittany Lions football players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Canadian football people from Ottawa Toronto Argonauts players UBC Thunderbirds football players