Frédéric Gelin Plesius (born February 10, 1988) is a Canadian former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who played in

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) 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 (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

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 disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

, and

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 (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. Plesius made his professional debut for the Tiger-Cats in 2013.

College career

Plesius first played for the

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout most o ...

, where he was a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) 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 ...

in 2008. He then played

CIS football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athlet ...

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 team ...

where he was a two-time

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion Canadian football team in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), pl ...

champion in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Professional career

In May 2012, Plesius was invited to rookie

minicamp A mini-camp, also spelled minicamp, is a short camp held by National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) teams usually in spring of each year. The camp usually only lasts 3 days, but the length varies by a day or two depending ...

on a tryout basis with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

After the 2011 CIS season, he was ranked as the fifth best player in the

’s Amateur Scouting Bureau final rankings for players eligible in the 2012 CFL Draft, and third by players in

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

. Plesius was drafted in the second round (tenth overall) by the

of the

in the 2012 CFL Draft. He spent the

2012 CFL season The 2012 CFL season was the 59th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 55th season for the Canadian Football League. The pre-season began on June 13, 2012, and the regular season started on June 29, 2012. Rogers Centr ...

with the Laval Rouge et Or in the CIS. On June 24, 2013, following the CFL preseason games, he signed a 3-year contract with the Ti-cats. In his first season with the Tiger-Cats, Plesius was utilized primarily on special teams. In 2014, Plesius took on a larger role within the team defense as he accounted for 18 tackles, one interception and two fumble recoveries.

Montreal Alouettes (first stint)

On February 12, 2017, Plesius was traded to the

for Nicholas Shortill. He played in seven games with the team in 2017 and recorded seven special teams tackles. Following the season, he was released by the Alouettes on January 31, 2018.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On July 24, 2018, Plesius signed with the

. He played in six regular season games, recording four defensive tackles and five special teams tackles. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

after the 2018 season.

Montreal Alouettes (second stint)

On August 6, 2019, Plesius was re-signed by the Alouettes. He played in six regular season games and the team's lone post-season game where he recorded a total of five special teams tackles. His contract expired on February 11, 2020, and he was not signed by any team during the cancelled

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 ...

. He was re-signed by the Alouettes on October 4, 2021. He played in five games and recorded three special teams tackles. He was released on May 6, 2022.

References

External links

Montreal Alouettes bioWinnipeg Blue Bombers bioHamilton Tiger-Cats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plesius, Frederic 1988 births Living people Players of Canadian football from Quebec Canadian football linebackers Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Laval Rouge et Or football players Montreal Alouettes players Sportspeople from Laval, Quebec Baylor Bears football players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Players of American football from Quebec American football linebackers