Jason Arakgi (born May 12, 1985) is a former

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

Linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for 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 ...

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 played

CIS football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athlet ...

for the

McMaster Marauders The McMaster Marauders are the athletic teams that represent McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Athletics at McMaster is currently managed by the university's student affairs, under their athletics & recreation d ...

Professional career

Arakgi was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2008 CFL Draft by the

. He made the active roster in his rookie year and played in all 18 regular season games and made an immediate impact on special teams as he recorded 32 special teams tackles in his first year. He continued to play on special teams throughout his career while also serving as a backup linebacker. On August 19, 2016, in a 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 ...

, Arakgi became the CFL's all-time leader in

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles with 185, passing

Wade Miller Wade Thomas Miller (born September 13, 1976) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros (–), Boston Red Sox (), and Chicago Cubs (–). He batted and threw ri ...

. On June 17, 2017, he announced after playing in the team's final pre-season game that he was retiring from professional football. He finished his career with a CFL-record 190 special teams tackles in 155 regular season games, along with 26 defensive tackles and two forced fumbles. His special teams tackles record was surpassed by Mike Miller on August 21, 2021.

Personal life

Arakgi was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, and grew up in

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town and List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. Generally seen as a commuter suburb of Toronto, it is located on Lake ...

. He is the son of CFL receiver Nick Arakgi.

References

External links

Canadian Football League profile
* * 1985 births Living people BC Lions players Canadian football defensive backs McMaster Marauders football players Sportspeople from Oakville, Ontario Players of Canadian football from Ontario Players of Canadian football from Quebec Canadian football people from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people Canadian people of Egyptian descent {{Canadianfootball-defensiveback-stub