Ben Cahoon (born July 16, 1972) is a Canadian-American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

slotback Slotback (SB), also called slot receiver, is an offensive position in gridiron football responsible for covering a ''slot,'' the playing area between the⁣⁣ offensive tackle and the wide receiver. A player who lines up between those two pl ...

who spent his entire career with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He won the award for the Most Outstanding Canadian in the CFL two years in a row in 2002 and 2003. At the time of his retirement after the 2010 season, Cahoon ranked sixth overall in career receiving yards with 13,301 yards and the all-time leader overall in pass receptions with 1,017. He is also the all-time leading receiver in

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

history with 46 receptions and 658 receiving yards.

Early life

Cahoon spent part of his childhood in

Cardston, Alberta Cardston is a town in Alberta, Canada. It was first settled in 1887 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who travelled from Utah, via the Macleod-Benton Trail, to present-day Alberta in one of the century ...

, and is therefore considered a non-import under the CFL's import/non-import ratio rule. Cahoon was born in Utah but qualified as a Canadian in the CFL because his parents were Canadian and he spent time as a youth in Alberta. Throughout his career Cahoon steadfastly maintained he felt he was Canadian despite being born in the U.S. and attending both high school and college in Utah. Cahoon played his high school sports at Mountain View High School in

Orem, Utah Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Utah, Provo, Lindon, Utah, Lindon, and Vineyard, Utah, Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the pri ...

, where he earned All-Region and All-State honors in football, basketball, and soccer. He was named Mountain View's Athlete of the Year in 1990.

College career

Cahoon played two seasons (1993–94) at Ricks College, now known as

Brigham Young University–Idaho Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU–Idaho or BYUI) is a private college in Rexburg, Idaho. Founded in 1888, the college is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Previously known as Ricks College, ...

, in Rexburg, Idaho. He set school records for most receptions and most receiving yards in a single season and in a career. In 1994, he ranked second in the nation in receiving and was named Junior College

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He transferred to

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

. He played in every game for the Cougars in 1996, when BYU became the first Division I-A team in NCAA history to win 14 games in a single season. In his senior year (1997), Cahoon became BYU's top receiver with 84 catches. He averaged 84.6 receiving yards per game during that season including an 8-catch, 217-yard performance in the Cougars' 13–10 win at Arizona State University.

Professional career

After going undrafted at the

1998 NFL draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

, Cahoon tried out for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

before being released. He was drafted by the

in the first round (sixth overall) in the 1998 CFL Draft. He won the

90th Grey Cup The 90th Grey Cup was the 2002 CFL season, 2002 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Montreal Alouettes on November 24 at Commonwealth Stadium, in Edmonton, Alberta. The Alouettes defeated the Eski ...

97th Grey Cup The 97th Grey Cup was played on November 29, 2009, at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta, and decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) champion for the 2009 season. The Montreal Alouettes came from behind to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughrider ...

and

98th Grey Cup The 98th Grey Cup was a Canadian football game played between the East Division champion Montreal Alouettes and West Division champion Saskatchewan Roughriders to decide the champion of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the 2010 season. ...

with Montreal in 2002, 2009 and 2010. He was named Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian in both 2002 and 2009. His number with the

is 86. His jersey was retired on July 29, 2016, at Percival Molson Stadium in Montréal. In 2004, Cahoon was part of a CFL precedent with four receivers on one team reaching the 1000-yard mark in one season: Cahoon with 1183 yards, Jeremaine Copeland with 1154 yards, Thyron Anderson with 1147 yards, and Kwame Cavil with 1090 yards. The 2005 Montreal Alouettes would repeat this feat, with Cahoon the only player repeating: the four receivers consisted of Kerry Watkins (1364 yards), Terry Vaughn (1113 yards), Cahoon (1067 yards), and Dave Stala (1037 yards). On August 2, 2007, Cahoon kicked a game winning 22-yard field goal in overtime in a 30–27 victory over the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. He replaced

Damon Duval Damon Duval (born April 3, 1980) is an American former professional football placekicker and punter. Duval played college football for Auburn University, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He played professionally for the Jacksonvi ...

, who had been ejected from the game. Ben Cahoon stands only 5'9, but is able to bench press 225 lbs 19 times. He is also considered to be one of the greatest slotbacks ever, and was nominated with

Anthony Calvillo Anthony Calvillo (born August 23, 1972) is an American professional Canadian football, football coach and former quarterback who is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football Lea ...

for the CFL Greatest QB-WR Combo of All Time. He was named an East Division All-Star in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. He has also been named a CFL All Star on numerous occasions. In 2008, Cahoon broke Peter Dalla Riva's record for most touchdowns ever by an Alouette receiver. He has had nine 1,000 yard receiving seasons, including a streak of eight straight. On December 15, 2008, Cahoon re-signed with the Alouettes, where the deal called for a one-year contract with an option. This enabled him to play his 12th CFL season, all of them with the Montreal Alouettes. On May 14, 2010, Cahoon confirmed his return for the 2010 season. On October 11, 2010, in a home game against the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

, Cahoon became the CFL's all-time reception leader, catching his 1,007th career pass from

in the 4th quarter. The previous record of 1,006 was held by Terry Vaughn. On January 26, 2011, Cahoon announced his retirement. In 2014, Cahoon was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

. On July 29, 2016, his number 86 was retired by the

in a ceremony during half-time of their game against the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

Coaching career

On February 1, 2011, Brigham Young University head football coach,

Bronco Mendenhall Marc Bronco Clay Mendenhall (born February 21, 1966) is an American college football coach who is the head coach at Utah State University (USU). He was previously the head coach at the University of New Mexico (UNM) for the 2024 season, the Unive ...

, announced Cahoon would join the BYU coaching staff as the wide receivers coach. He served in that role through the end of the 2012 season, after which the school re-hired its former offensive coordinator Robert Anae, leading to Cahoon being released on January 15, 2013. Cahoon returned to the coaching staff for the 2016 season under new head coach

Kalani Sitake Kelaokalani Fifita "Kalani" Sitake (born October 10, 1975) is a Tongan–American American football, football coach and former player. He has been the head football coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) since 2015, and is the first Demographic ...

and offensive coordinator Ty Detmer for 2 seasons.

Statistics

Honors

*Grey Cup Most Outstanding Canadian: 2003, 2009 *CFL Most Outstanding Canadian: 2002, 2003 *East Division Most Outstanding Canadian: 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009 *Alouettes' Most Outstanding Player: 2006, 2007 *Alouettes' Most Outstanding Canadian: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 *CFL All-Star: 1999, 2004, 2008 *East Division All-Star: 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 *CFLPA All-Star: 2002 *CFLPA East Division All-Star: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 *No. 86 retired by Montreal Alouettes: July 29, 2016 Cahoon had caught at least one pass in 202 of his last 203 games and at least one pass in each of his last 144 games.

Personal life

Cahoon was owner of Power Pad Insoles, LLC, a company that sells performance enhancing insoles. Cahoon and his wife, Kimberli, have four daughters. As a result of his marriage, he is the son-in-law of former

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Gary R. Herbert. A devout member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, Cahoon said he disliked playing football on Sunday, which he believed should be reserved for rest and prayer.

References

External links

Montreal Alouettes bio

BYU bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cahoon, Ben 1972 births American emigrants to Canada Latter Day Saints from Utah BYU Cougars football coaches BYU Cougars football players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Canadian Award winners Canadian football slotbacks Canadian Latter Day Saints Living people Montreal Alouettes players Naturalized citizens of Canada Players of Canadian football from Alberta Ricks Vikings football players Sportspeople from Orem, Utah Players of American football from Utah Players of Canadian football from Utah American football wide receivers Coaches of American football from Utah Players of American football from Alberta