Chris Merchant (born October 10, 1995) is a

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

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 ...

for the Fehérvár Enthroners of the Hungarian American Football League (HAFL). He is 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 Vanie ...

champion after leading the

Western Mustangs The Western Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. The school's athletic program supports 46 varsity teams. Their mascot is a Mustang named J.W. and the school colours are purple and whit ...

to a win in

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and a

Hec Crighton Trophy The Hec Crighton Trophy (sometimes referred to as the Hec Crighton Award) is awarded annually to the most outstanding Canadian football player in U Sports. The trophy is named after the late Hec Crighton - teacher, coach, referee, and author of ...

winner after he earned the award in the final year of his university playing eligibility in

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University career

Buffalo Bulls

Merchant joined the

Buffalo Bulls The Buffalo Bulls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, New York. The Bulls compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of Mid-Am ...

on a full-ride scholarship in

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where he had a

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season in his first year. He had been recruited to the

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public university, public research university with campuses in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New Yor ...

Jeff Quinn Jeff Quinn (born September 26, 1962) is an American football coach. He was formerly an assistant coach at the University of Notre Dame. Quinn served as the head football coach at the University at Buffalo from 2010 to 2014. He was the 24th hea ...

, but Quinn was fired midway through 2014. He played in one game in 2015 and competed for the starter role in the 2016 spring scrimmage game. However, new head coach

Lance Leipold Lance Leipold ( ; born May 6, 1964) is an American college football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Kansas since 2021. Leipold served as the head football coach at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UWW) fr ...

and his coaching staff had recruited Tyree Jackson in 2015 and indicated that Jackson would be the starter for the 2016 season. Consequently, Merchant announced in May 2016 that he would be transferring to

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 ...

to attend the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames Ri ...

Western Mustangs

Merchant became the starting quarterback for the

and played in all eight regular season games in 2016. That year, he completed 107 passes out of 161 attempts for 1,720 yards with 14 passing touchdowns and five interceptions. He led the team to a first-place finish in the

OUA Oua is an islet on the north-east of Nukufetau atoll, Tuvalu, next to Lafanga Lafanga or Lafaga is an islet of Nukufetau, Tuvalu. The traditional history of Nukufetau recalls that in order to protect the atoll from raiders from Tonga, Fialua, an A ...

and narrowly lost the

Yates Cup The Yates Cup (french: La Coupe Yates) is a Canadian sports trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Ontario University Athletics football conference of U Sports. It is the oldest still-existing football trophy in North America, dating back ...

to the

Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, commonly shortened to Laurier Golden Hawks, is the name used by the varsity sports teams of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University ...

by a score of 43–40. In

, Merchant again played in eight regular season games where he had 127 completions from 207 pass attempts for 1,995 yards, 12 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. In the playoffs, the Mustangs avenged their previous year's loss by defeating the Golden Hawks and winning the

. After winning the

Uteck Bowl The Uteck Bowl is one of the two semifinal bowls of U Sports football, Canada's national competition for university teams that play Canadian football. It is held in the easternmost of the two semifinal venues. The Uteck Bowl champion moves on to ...

over the

Acadia Axemen The Acadia Axemen and Axewomen are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. The on-campus sports facilities used by Axemen teams include Raymond Field for various field sports and An ...

, Merchant qualified for his first

championship game. In the

53rd Vanier Cup The 53rd Vanier Cup (branded as the ArcelorMittal Dofasco Vanier Cup for sponsorship reasons), the 2017 edition of the U Sports football championship, was held on November 25, 2017, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. The defending champion ...

, he threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns, completing 13 of 20 pass attempts in the victory over 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 c ...

. He was also successful with running the ball as he had 13 carries for 89 yards and two touchdowns en route to being awarded the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy as the game's MVP. Overall in the four playoff games he played, Merchant completed 49 passes out of 69 attempts for 964 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions to go along with his 34 rush attempts for 228 yards and six touchdowns. The Mustangs also finished undefeated for the season as Merchant led them to a 12–0 record overall. As the defending Vanier Cup champions in

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, Merchant again led the Mustangs to an undefeated regular season as he completed 127 passes out of 173 attempts for 2,104 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions. He had an outstanding game in the

against the

Guelph Gryphons The Guelph Gryphons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the U Sports(OUA's), and, where applicable, in ...

as he completed 86.4% of his passes for 324 yards and one touchdown to go along with seven carries for 66 yards and three touchdowns. The Mustangs defeated the

Saskatchewan Huskies The University of Saskatchewan began in 1907 and has operated teams that compete with others since 1911. The term Huskie Athletics is defined as those student athletes from the University of Saskatchewan that compete in elite interuniversity ...

in the

Mitchell Bowl The Mitchell Bowl is one of the two semifinal bowls of U Sports football, Canada's national competition for university teams that play Canadian football. It is held in the more westerly location of the two semifinal venues. The winner of this game ...

with Merchant throwing for 251 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 82 yards and one touchdown. Merchant started in the

54th Vanier Cup The 2018 Vanier Cup, the 54th edition of the Canadian university football championship, took place on November 24, 2018 at Telus Stadium in Quebec City, Quebec.

in a rematch against the Rouge et Or and while he passed for 358 yards with one touchdown and rushed for 81 yards, his three interceptions proved costly as Western fell to Laval. After attending training camp with 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 ...

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 ...

, Merchant returned to the Mustangs to complete his U Sports eligibility. He again led the team to an 8–0 regular season record as he had 2,378 passing yards and a 68.5% completion rate with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions to go along with 438 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He took the Mustangs to the

game for the fourth time, but he left the game with the team up 10–0 in the first quarter after he suffered a severe ankle injury. Western could not recover and lost the game to the

McMaster Marauders The McMaster Marauders are the athletic teams that represent McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Athletics at McMaster is currently managed by the university's student affairs, under their athletics & recreation department. The univ ...

29–15. For his outstanding final season, Merchant was awarded the

as the best

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 conf ...

player that year and became the sixth Mustang player to win the award. He finished his collegiate career having played in 32 regular season games, completing 521 out of 775 pass attempts for 8,202 yards with 57 touchdowns and 26 interceptions.

Professional career

Montreal Alouettes

Merchant was eligible for 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 ...

, but was not selected and signed as an

undrafted 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 ...

on May 19, 2019 with the

of the

(CFL). He played briefly in one preseason game on May 30, 2019 against 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 ...

where both of his pass attempts fell incomplete. He was then released on June 8, 2019 as the Alouettes kept former Laval quarterback,

Hugo Richard Hugo Richard (born August 29, 1994) is a former Canadian football quarterback who was a member of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played U Sports football with the Laval Rouge et Or football, Laval Rouge et Or from ...

, who Merchant had faced twice in Vanier Cup games.

Wasa Royals

Merchant signed with the Wasa Royals of the

Vaahteraliiga The Vaahteraliiga (Maple League) founded in 1980 is the highest level of American football in Finland played under American Football Association of Finland. The winner of the Vaahteraliiga is the Finnish champion. The Vaahteraliiga season is playe ...

on February 17, 2020. However, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, he was unable to play with the team for the 2020 season.

Las Rozas Black Demons

On August 10, 2020, it was announced that Merchant had signed with the Las Rozas Black Demons of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Americano to play in their 2021 season. He led the team to an appearance in the championship game, but suffered a serious knee injury as he watched his team lose to the

Badalona Dracs The Badalona Dracs (, "Badalona Dragons") are a gridiron football team based in Badalona, Catalonia. History Three American football enthusiasts got together in Badalona on a December 1987's evening to found the team. They were Pere Moliner, first ...

31–21.

Fehérvár Enthroners

Merchant signed with the Fehérvár Enthroners of the Hungarian American Football League ahead of the 2022 season.

References

External links

Western Mustangs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant, Chris 1995 births Living people Canadian football quarterbacks Buffalo Bulls football players Western Mustangs football players Montreal Alouettes players Players of Canadian football from Alberta Sportspeople from Calgary Canadian football people from Calgary Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary