Player Profile: A Texan In Toronto
Written by: Jordon Hall
The Canadian Football League (CFL) often becomes one of two things for those in the football profession; either a jumping point for those looking for a path into the National Football League (NFL) or a landing spot after all avenues to the NFL have come up short. For Toronto Argonauts wide receiver John Chiles the CFL falls into the first category as he continues to travel down a long and arduous journey to his NFL dreams. However, Chiles credits his two seasons with the Argos for major steps in his development and confidence.
It was perfect for me to come here because it helped me develop as a receiver,” said Chiles. “It gave me a chance to learn how to be a professional, it gave me game experience, and it gave me more confidence”
This development and growth was necessary as Chiles had previously been accustomed to major success prior to his first foray into the NFL falling short. Chiles’ football success began in high school while attending Mansfield Summit High School in Mansfield, Texas. As a quarterback Chiles excelled and was named a prep All-American, a two-time district 4-5A MVP and four-time honour roll student. With such success Chiles became a highly sought after recruit receiving offers from several Division I schools including USC and Florida. Yet Chiles chose to stay in his home state with the University of Texas Longhorns, a traditional Texan powerhouse. However, in choosing to go to Texas, Chiles had chosen a program with another highly touted quarterback in future NFLer Colt McCoy. Utilizing his speed and natural athleticism Chiles made the decision to convert to wide receiver to better his chances of contributing directly to the Longhorns triumph. The move proved successful and after three years with the Longhorns Chiles looked to make the leap to the professional ranks.
This is when the journey took a turn as Chiles went undrafted and was invited to camp with the New Orleans Saints but was waived a week before the start of the 2011 season. In November of that year, Chiles was signed to the St. Louis Rams practice squad and he finished out the 2011-12 season in Missourri. At the end of the season he was then left in NFL limbo. He took workouts with several teams over the next year but a string of injuries, bad luck and poor timing seemed to have derailed his professional football dream. It was at this point that a close personal friend in Dallas Cowboy great and former Toronto Argonaut wide receiver Raghib “Rocket” Ismail offered the idea of the CFL.
“He’s (Ismail) the guy that has encouraged me and always speaks positively about stuff,” said Chiles. “It helps with my confidence having seen someone like him do it and it makes it seem like something that is a little more attainable”.
Guidance from Ismail would be needed as prior to signing with the Toronto Argos Chiles had never spent an extended period of time any further north than Tennessee. Chiles signed with the Argos in May 2013 and the adjustment to a new country and new league began immediately.
“It took me a while to adjust,” said Chiles. “The field is a lot bigger and I don’t think people realize how much running you have to do. It’s more running, more conditioning, you’re putting more work on your body. What might be a 10 yard route back home becomes an 18 yard route once you add in all the motioning and running it over and over again it starts to add up. It took me a month and a half really before I felt like I could go in every play without feeling like I was going to pass out”.
Luckily, Chiles had the benefit of two CFL veterans on his roster who both eased his transition to the Canadian game. Wide receiver Chad Owens and quarterback Ricky Ray have both been named CFL all-stars numerous times and Chiles expressed thankfulness in having both to lean on in his growth.
“When I got here he (Owens) welcomed me to the team and explained the game,” said Chiles. “If I had any questions his locker was only a couple down from mine so I would always go to him and Ricky takes a lot of the work out of running a perfect route. You know that you won’t have to do something perfect because he puts the ball right in the right spot at the right time”.
Additionally, Chiles grew to love his new home in Toronto.
“I love the city of Toronto, it’s completely different from Texas,” said Chiles. “When I moved here I fell in love with the city, all the different cultures. In Texas I didn’t grow up around these different cultures and seeing all the different people and everybody celebrating their heritage it was the kind of stuff I had only seen on TV growing up”.
The last two years in the CFL have allowed Chiles to grow both as a receiver and a professional. Travelling; meetings; media; route-running; a new confidence has been established with all these professional requirements. The CFL season came to a close this previous weekend and Chiles now heads back home to Texas to take what he has learned the last two years to prepare for that leap once again.
Jordon Hall is a sports writer and blogger. With a particular love of Canadian football, he is a non-conventional sports fan in Canada. Whether it’s basketball, football or mixed martial arts, Jordon is always ready to join the conversation.
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