Jason Pottinger (born June 29, 1983) is a former professional

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 ...

who played in 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 was drafted second overall by 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 2006 CFL Draft. 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 ...

Early years

In Grade 11, Pottinger began to receive recruitment letters from several American Division I and II schools, as well as Canadian universities from coast to coast. Jason opted to attend

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and played

for the

as a starting Linebacker from 2002 to 2005. In both 2004 and 2005, Jason was named a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) First Team All-Canadian – an honour given to the best Canadian football players in the CIS – and awarded the President’s Trophy as the defensive MVP of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) league. He was named an Ontario University Athletics All-Star three times. Jason played his early years of football with the Oshawa Hawkeyes city football club, receiving numerous team MVP awards. In 2002, he was selected to represent Ontario in the prestigious Canada Cup tournament, held that year in the nation’s capital. Team Ontario defeated Team Manitoba in the championship game and Jason was awarded Most Valuable Defensive Player of the tournament. Jason played football with the Oshawa Hawkeyes from age 9 until he began playing for McMaster University. Jason continues to stay in touch with Durham Region youth football programs, and is a big supporter of youth football everywhere.

Professional career

Pottinger was drafted in the first round, second overall in the 2006 CFL Draft by the

. In his first season, the

2006 BC Lions season The 2006 BC Lions season was the 49th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 53rd overall. The Lions finished in first place in the West Division for a third consecutive season with a 13–5 record and won the 94th Grey C ...

, he recorded 6 tackles and 19 special teams tackles in all 18 games for the Lions and was part of the Lions

94th Grey Cup The 94th Grey Cup game took place on November 19, 2006, at Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba before 44,786 fans. Ticket prices ranged from $141 and $275. The game decided the championship of the 2006 Canadian Football League season. The ...

victory. In his three seasons with the Lions, Pottinger recorded 115 combined tackles and one sack over 54 games. On March 23, 2009, it was announced that Pottinger was traded to 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 ...

in exchange for a first round pick in the upcoming 2009 CFL Draft. He won the starting middle linebacker job in training camp of 2010. In the opening game of the 2011 season, Pottinger tore his ACL. Despite injury, he returned to the lineup for the final 8 games of the season before having surgery at the end of the year. The Toronto Argonauts re-signed Pottinger to a new 2-year deal on February 15, 2012, that would see him through the 2013 season. He won his second Grey Cup championship with the Argonauts after their

100th Grey Cup The 100th Grey Cup was a Canadian football game between the East Division champion Toronto Argonauts and the West Division champion Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League to decide the Grey Cup champions of the 2012 season. The ga ...

victory in November 2012. On December 16, 2013, Pottinger was drafted by the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

in the 2013 CFL Expansion Draft. He played all 18 games for the REDBLACKS in 2014, providing veteran leadership in Ottawa’s inaugural season. He announced his retirement on May 29, 2015. During his CFL career Pottinger dedicated much of his time to his charitable initiative, Tackles 4 Toilets (T4T), which raises money to build new latrines for rural grade schools in Kenya and has sent over 200 underprivileged Toronto youth to Argonauts games. Pottinger joined the Board of the Toronto Argonauts Alumni Association in 2023. He was voted President in 2024.

Personal life

In 2014, Pottinger completed his

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

at the

Schulich School of Business The Schulich School of Business is the business school of York University located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The institution provides undergraduate and graduate degree and diploma programs in business administration, finance, accounting, bus ...

. Pottinger resides in the GTA with his wife Elizabeth and two daughters Quinn and Reese.

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pottinger, Jay 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Whitby, Ontario Canadian football linebackers McMaster Marauders football players Toronto Argonauts players Players of Canadian football from Ontario BC Lions players Ottawa Redblacks players