James Piper is very proud of his 2021 Vanier Cup championship ring.
The 6'5" receiver did not get to play a down in his rookie season but he took in everything he could with the Mustangs who beat the U of Saskatchewan Huskies 27-21 in the Vanier Cup final on December 4 of 2021.
He believes it was still a great way to start his USport football career.
"Going into a program like Western there is an expectation of excellence every year and not just at the Yates Cup but at the national championship level so going into that you need to understand you are the rookie on the team against five-year veterans lots of which just got drafted in the CFL Draft," said the former West Ferris Trojans standout.
Piper played five years of football at West Ferris Secondary School. In his first two years, playing junior football, he helped the Trojans capture two NDA titles. In his first year of senior, he started to come into his own as a receiver, helping West Ferris capture both the NDA and NOSSA titles.
Piper understands the process along with the challenge of trying to hurdle over a multitude of veteran players due to the cancellation of the 2020 season.
"It is all about working hard, getting those reps all year long in practice, getting to know the playbook and really getting comfortable in such a big and such a great program," said Piper who credits Larry Tougas with helping get connected to Western head coach Greg Marshall.
"It is a challenge that is greatly accepted for one. These guys have been at this program for five years now so I have lots to learn from them and once these guys move on that is when I have the opportunity to hopefully step in."
See related: Piper co-winner of Britt Jessup Athlete of the Year
Piper also hopes to follow in the footsteps of his former teammate Adam Wallace who was selected by the B.C. Lions (68th overall) out of the University of Ottawa. He believes seeing Wallace drafted out of North Bay brings hope for his future too.
"Wallace got selected by the BC Lions and he is a past Ferris guy like myself, and that is definitely something that is on my radar too," said Piper.
"That is the goal and going to a school like Western too - that was a big part of my decision with the final goal to be the CFL and I want to take the proper steps to get there and going to Western has shown to be a good path to choose and I think I chose correctly."
