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

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

who played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

(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 of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

in the

2006 CFL Draft The 2006 CFL Draft took place on Thursday, April 20, 2006. 50 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities Universities in Canada are established and operate under provincial and territorial government charters, ...

. 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 (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic conf ...

for the

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

Early years

Pottinger went to

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 and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical ...

in Hamilton,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and played

for the

from 2002 to 2005. He was named a member of the

Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; french: Sports universitaires de l'Ontario) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providin ...

All-Star Team in each of his last three seasons and a member of the All-Canadian team twice. He was named the Outstanding Defensive Player of the OUA in for both the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Jason played football with the Oshawa Hawkeyes from age 9 until he began playing for McMaster University. He 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

by the

. In his first season, the 2006 BC Lions season, he recorded no sacks, 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 B ...

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 competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

in exchange for a first round pick in the upcoming

2009 CFL Draft The 2009 CFL Draft took place on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 11:00 AM ET on TSN. 48 players were chosen from among 774 eligible players from Canadian universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. Of the 48 draft ...

. The Toronto Argonauts re-signed Pottinger to a new 2-year deal on February 15, 2012, that will see him through to 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. On December 16, 2013, Pottinger was drafted by the

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

in the

2013 CFL Expansion Draft The 2013 Canadian Football League Expansion Draft was a three-round CFL Draft that took place on Monday December 16, 2013. It was designed to assign players from existing CFL teams to the expansion Ottawa Redblacks. The structure of the draft w ...

. He announced his retirement on May 29, 2015.

Personal life

In 2014, Pottinger completed his

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

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, busine ...

. Pottinger resides in the GTA with his wife Elizabeth and daughter Quinn.

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