Demerio Houston (born September 3, 1996) is an American 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 ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who is a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He has played for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

and

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 ...

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).

College career

Houston played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Southern Jaguars The Southern Jaguars and Lady Jaguars represent Southern University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Southern University's 13 athletic teams participate in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) which is a part of the NCAA Division I. Footb ...

from 2015 to 2018.

Professional career

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On October 22, 2019, Houston signed a futures contract for the 2020 season with the

. However, the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

was cancelled and he did not play in 2020. Houston began the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

on the practice roster following training camp, but made his professional debut on October 15, 2021, against the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

, where he had three defensive tackles. He played in four regular season games for the team where he had seven defensive tackles and three special teams tackles. He was placed back on the practice roster for the post-season as the Blue Bombers won the

108th Grey Cup The 108th Grey Cup decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2021 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was cancelled and the start of the 2021 season was delayed, pushing the game to December 12, 2021. The ...

and Houston became a

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 ...

champion in his rookie year. In

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, Houston made the team's active roster following training camp and played as a backup for the Blue Bombers' first two games. Following an injury to Winston Rose, he started at

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the third game where his six-tackle performance made veteran Tyquwan Glass expendable, who was released in favour of keeping Houston in the starting lineup. Two weeks later, on July 9, 2022, he recorded his first career interception on a pass from Michael O'Connor in a game against the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

. In the following week, on July 15, 2022, he recorded a victory-clinching, diving interception in the final minute of the game against the

. He played in 11 regular season games where he had 27 defensive tackles and two interceptions.. In the 2023 season, Houston played in 15 regular season games where he had a league-leading seven interceptions along with 50 defensive tackles and three fumble recoveries. He became a

upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024.

Calgary Stampeders

On February 13, 2024, it was announced that Houston had signed a two-year contract with the

. He played in 15 regular season games where he had 74 defensive tackles, one sacks, five interceptions, and one forced fumble. After being charged with domestic violence in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, Demerio was released by the Stampeders on February 12, 2025.

Personal life

Houston and his wife, Ashley, have five children.

References

External links

Calgary Stampeders bio

Southern Jaguars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Demerio 1996 births Living people American football defensive backs Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football defensive backs Players of American football from North Carolina Players of Canadian football from North Carolina Southern Jaguars football players Sportspeople from Shelby, North Carolina Winnipeg Blue Bombers players