Nic Cross (born June 22, 1999) is a

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, 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 sco ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

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).

Amateur career

Regina Rams

Cross first began his

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 confer ...

career with the

Regina Rams The Regina Rams represent the University of Regina, located in Regina, Saskatchewan in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Rams joined U Sports in 1999 and have competed in the Canada West Conference since then. The program has won ...

in 2017. After a strong performance in training camp, he started at

sam linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pla ...

for the Rams in their season opener and played in all eight regular season games as a rookie. He led the team in tackles with 33 and had 26 assisted tackles, a sack, an interception, and a forced fumble. He also had six solo tackles and two assisted tackles in the team's Canada West Semi-final loss to

UBC The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top three ...

. At the end of the season, he was named a U Sports Second Team All-Canadian and won the Peter Gorman Trophy as U Sports football's rookie of the year. However, the awards were removed on June 20, 2018, after it was confirmed that he had failed a drug test due to testing positive for

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

(a banned substance at the time). He was also given a two-month suspension and was not eligible to return to play until January 4, 2019 (long after the 2018 season would have concluded).

Okanagan Sun

Cross joined the

Okanagan Sun The Okanagan Sun are a Canadian Junior Football team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The Sun play in the seven-team B.C. Football Conference, which itself is part of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) and competes annually for the nat ...

of the

Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to profess ...

for the 2018 season. He played in four games where he had eight tackles, two assisted tackles, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.

UBC Thunderbirds

Upon becoming eligible to return to play in

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 Ca ...

, Cross transferred to the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

to play for the Thunderbirds in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. That year, he led the nation in total tackles with 66.5 and also had a sack and an interception. Cross was subsequently named a U Sports First Team All-Canadian at linebacker. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

2020 U Sports football season The 2020 U Sports football season was scheduled to feature Canadian football competition under the auspices of U Sports as the highest level of competition for amateur football in Canada in 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, U ...

and remained draft-eligible for the

in 2021.

Professional career

Cross was drafted in the first round, ninth overall, by the

in the

2021 CFL Draft The 2021 CFL National Draft was a selection of National players by Canadian Football League teams that took place at May 4, 2021 at 7:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS. 54 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadia ...

and signed with the team on May 21, 2021. He made the team's active roster following training camp in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

and played in his first career professional game on August 5, 2021, against the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

, where he recorded two special teams tackles. Cross played in 12 regular season games where he had two defensive tackles and led the team in special teams tackles with 17. He also played in his first playoff game that year, in the East Semi-Final against the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

, where he had one special teams tackle.

References

External links

Tiger-Cats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Nic 1999 births Living people Canadian football linebackers Canadian Junior Football League players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Players of Canadian football from Saskatchewan Regina Rams players Sportspeople from Regina, Saskatchewan UBC Thunderbirds football players