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Future Pros: Canadian Kevin Challenger

By Michael Preston

All good things come to an end. For Montreal’s Kevin Challenger, his five-year football adventure at Boston College is two games from completion. And they are no ordinary games. “This is probably the biggest game that I’ve ever been a part of in football,” said Challenger whose BC Eagles travel to Jacksonville this weekend to take on Virginia Tech for the ACC Championship on Saturday. Victory will earn a place in a Bowl Championship Series game for the first time in school history. “From when we started training in the summer this is what we were working towards,” said Challenger. “It is my first time in a championship game at this level. We already played Virginia Tech this season and they gave us a really hard time. We will just go out and play our best football because our season is now on the line in this one game.” When BC defeated Virginia Tech 14-10 on October 25 thanks to a late touchdown strike with only 11 seconds remaining, it kept the Eagles perfect at 8-0 on the season. They also retained the number two spot in the BCS rankings ahead of their number eight-ranked opponent. But then came two defeats to Florida State and Maryland, dropping Boston College to its current 11th spot. Virginia Tech now stands sixth. Challenger does not find a negative in the fact the Eagles slipped from near the top of the polls during a topsy-turvy college football season. “It is not disappointing because when we were ranked that high everyone was gunning for us and we had to take everyone’s best shot week in and week out,” he explained. “We’re happy with how the season worked out. We had an entirely new coaching staff, so the expectation wasn’t there when people picked the teams they thought would do well. I feel that overall we adjusted well from the coaches coming in over the summer. “Guys learned the system quickly and it was a surprise that we were doing as well as we were when we were ranked second in the nation.” A glimpse at Challenger’s stats on the year – 40 receptions for 500 yards and 5 touchdowns – suggest that on a personal level his senior year might not have been as productive as his junior contribution of 65 catches for 764 and 7 trips to the end zone and an honorable All-ACC mention. But different things were asked of the former Vanier Prep star his year. “Overall I think this has been a really successful season for me,” he said. “My roles have changed from what they were under the new coaching staff. I have to go out and be that player in that role and what it comes down to is the wins and we’re 10-2 and doing good. I’ve also been getting a lot of playing time, so I’m very happy.” That playing time is sure to have alerted the scouts and coaches who can help Challenger realize the next goal in his football career. Whether it is in the NFL or the CFL, Challenger intends to pursue a living at the professional level. “Obviously my dream growing up was always to play in the NFL and I’d like to give that a shot to see if I can. You watch the Patriots play while living here in Boston and can’t help but imagine what it would be like to be on that team, but I’d be happy with a chance to play anywhere in the NFL, or with playing anywhere professionally. “I was already drafted by Calgary in the CFL. I’ve been to Calgary, which is a very pretty city and I’d like to play out there if that is the way it works out. I grew up watching the CFL, being from Montreal, and I really admired those teams. To get drafted was an honor, especially as I went fairly high at 14th overall.” If the professional game does not offer Challenger a career, he has some steady academics to fall back on having already graduated with a major in communications and a minor in education. He is currently studying for a second Bachelors’ Degree in sociology, which will have to be put on hold if he chooses an athletic path over an academic direction. Challenger is humble when discussing his success and believes that either fate or luck played a big part in him having the opportunity to make the grade at a school as prominent as Boston College. “My goals were always to try to get to an NCAA school because you know it’s more competitive down here,” he explained. “I didn’t really think about the alternative and although I would have loved to have represented a Canadian university, I focused on getting to the NCAA. “Overall I’d say I was at the right place at the right time because Canada has a lot of great players who could play at this level but don’t have the opportunity and simply aren’t seen by coaches of some of the big schools. “Vanier had a great team when I was there and had seven players who went to NCAA schools, so there was a lot of interest in everyone on that team. My coach Ray Gagnon got coaches here in the US to come and take a look at me and I’m fortunate to be here because it could have been anyone else.” Now, five years later, Challenger faces Virginia Tech on Saturday and then hopefully an Orange Bowl opponent in Miami, a city where Boston College closed the regular season at 10-2 by winning there for the first time since Doug Flutie threw his legendary game-winning Hail Mary pass in 1984. Challenger is gradually coming to terms with the fact that his Boston College experience is almost over. He admitted: “It’s a little weird because you get into a routine and I have been here for five years, doing this every day and it is what I’m used to. “I’m coming to the end and have two hard games and then that’s it. It hasn’t really kicked in yet and I will miss it, that’s for sure.”