VIDEO: Josh Brinkworth Discusses Being Drafted
FOREST GROVE – Safety Josh Brinkworth (Sr., Elk Grove, Calif.) became the first Pacific University football player to be drafted by a professional league Tuesday night, becoming a sixth round selection in the Canadian Football League (CFL) Draft.
Brinkworth was selected by the BC Lions with the 49th pick in the draft. One of 15 U.S. players selected in the draft, Brinkworth joins Ali Marpet of Hobart, who was a second round selection of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL Draft, as the only two NCAA Division III players to be drafted this season by the two North American professional football leagues.
"I am happy for Josh and proud of the work that he has put in to continue to play football after his career at Pacific," Pacific head coach Keith Buckley said. "What kid doesn't grow up dreaming of playing professional football? I can only imagine the excitement he felt when that phone rang last night."
Brinkworth, who holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship, was packing up following finals in Forest Grove when he received the call from the Lions. He will report for the team's rookie camp at the end of May.
"Being able to play professionally is the ultimate dream," Brinkworth said. "To see it come to life is something that is remarkable. You strive for it, you do everything you can to try and achieve that goal. For it to come true is a blessing and I am grateful that it happened to me and to have a chance to do something I love."
Neil McEvoy, director of player personnel for the BC Lions, said Brinkworth impressed the coaching staff with his blue-collar style of play during the CFL Combine, held in March in Edmonton, Alta.
"Josh is a dedicated and determined young player who can give us some depth on both special teams and as a defensive back," McEvoy said. "He is a hard-nosed guy that plays with an edge and he's going to be the kind of player willing to do anything to make our team. I look forward to having him in camp and we'll see if he can take his game to another level."
After missing nearly half of the 2013 season due to injury, Brinkworth bounced back to be a depended upon part of the Pacific defense during the Boxers' run to the 2014 Northwest Conference championship. A starter in all nine games, Brinkworth finished the season with 49 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack. He finished with a season-high nine tackles in the NWC season opener with Whitworth on Oct. 4 and had seven-tackle performances against the College of Idaho on Sept. 6 and at Lewis & Clark on Nov. 4.
Brinkworth's only sack of the year came early in the Boxers' game against then nationally ranked Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 18. The sack also caused a fumble which resulted in Pacific's first touchdown of the as the Boxers went on to beat the Lutes 31-28.
A regular starter at safety or defensive back in each of his four seasons, Brinkworth earned Second Team All-NWC honors as a defensive back in 2012. That year, he led the league with 7.9 tackles per game, 51 solo tackles and three fumble recoveries.
Brinkworth gives a lot of credit to Buckley and the entire Pacific coaching staff for preparing him for his professional moment. "I owe them more than I could ever re-pay," Brinkworth said. "They have helped me so much on the field and off the field. Anyone who has seen me has seen the change I have made at Pacific, and it wouldn't have happened without Coach Buck, Coach Yoro and all of the staff working with me and never giving up on me. When it comes to Coach Buckley, he genuinely cares for players beyond football. I came to Pacific for a reason and Buck helped me change as a person and as a player. I am extremely grateful."
Brinkworth has a chance to become just the fourth Pacific player to play professionally in one of the two North American leagues. Bob Light saw time during the 1963 season with Saskatchewan of the CFL, while Dick Daniels played five seasons in the NFL between 1966 and 1970, seeing time with the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. Tim Hauck played at Pacific for one season before transferring to Montana where be became a two-time Division I-AA All-American. Hauck went on to play 13 NFL seasons, retiring in 2002.
Brinkworth helped lead Pacific to a 6-3 record in 2014. In just their fifth season back on the field after a 19-year hiatus, the Boxers went 6-1 in Northwest Conference to win a share of league title for the first time since 1952.