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Tom Nutten

Tom Nutten

Introduction to football at Canadian high school leads to long and successful pro career

2003

For former St. Louis Rams guard Tom Nütten, it all started in Canada.

The Super Bowl champion and former standout with NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals played his first down of organized football at the Bishops College School in Lennoxville, Quebec.

At age 16, Nütten first stepped on the field, playing along both the offensive and defensive lines.

"My first structured game was at Bishops," Nütten said. "I remember playing in running shoes because there were no cleats my size. That was just a great time with a great bunch of guys."

Nütten grew up outside of Düsseldorf, Germany and spent his high school years in Canada. Following Bishops, his next stop was Champlain Regional in Lennoxville where he excelled in several sports.

In addition to captaining the football team, the 6-foot-5, 300-pounder was voted most improved athlete in hockey and rugby.

"They put me out there on defense and I had a lot of fun," Nütten recalled of his hockey days. "I certainly wasn't much of a skater though."

But he was an extremely formidable presence on the gridiron, which helped him earn a scholarship to Western Michigan and begin a college career in the United States. After earning all-Mid American Conference honors, he spent time with the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos before heading North.

Nütten joined the CFL's Hamilton Tiger Cats where he earned a starting spot on the offensive line.

"After I was released by Denver, Hamilton welcomed me with open arms," Nütten said. "They really wanted me to be a part of the team and I rediscovered the joy of playing football while I was in Canada."

"I'll always look back on my time in Canada very fondly," Nütten said. "It was a lovely place to live and I try to get back to visit my friends and old coaches as much as possible. The people were fantastic to me always."

After starting 57 games for the Super Bowl champion Rams, Nütten had established himself as a key performer on one of the NFL's best offenses. Unfortunately, injuries forced him into early retirement in August 2003, shortly after signing as a free agent with the New York Jets.

Nütten's injuries haven't forced him out of the NFL though. The former Admiral is spending this season as the assistant coach of NFL Europe's new expansion team, the Cologne Centurions.

"Football is something I've been doing for the last eight years professionally and something I know about," Nütten said from training camp in Tampa. "I'm going to find out if coaching is the thing for my second career." (CP)