‘I can hit people for free, not get fined, no assault charges.’
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Wearing a white cowboy hat and carrying his shoulder pads while leaving a recent University of Regina Rams game, Tarick Polius looked too lanky to be a bull rider and too thick to be a hockey player.
“Football is my major,” said 6-foot-7, 310-pound Polius, a defensive end using his fourth year of Canadian college eligibility during his first season with the U of R’s football team. “I played every sport: Basketball, baseball, too.
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“Football is the sport that attracted my heart. I love playing football. I can hit people for free, not get fined, no assault charges.”
Born on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, Polius was in Grade 2 when his family relocated to Toronto. Growing up with four brothers and one sister, he started playing football in Grade 6 after watching NFL games on TV. All the brothers play football; two are receivers and one is an offensive lineman.
“I was way skinnier than this in high school, so I was playing Y receiver; tight end,” said Polius. “I got bigger. I’m a big guy, quick, fast on my feet. (Offensive) line was too slow for me. Defence was always a fast game. I can let my anger out, so defence was always for me.”
After playing awhile at King City Secondary School and graduating from West Toronto Prep, Polius spent two seasons with the Westshore Rebels and played a third year of Canadian Junior Football League in 2023 with the Okanagan Sun before a close friend convinced him to join the Rams.
“He knows one of our current guys, (defensive back) Delani Robinson, who’s also from Toronto and talked to him about joining our program,” said Rams head coach Mark McConkey. “You gotta take him if he’s available.
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“Huge size, playing with passion and physicality. You can’t teach that size. A big-play guy who plugs up the middle and helps stop the run.”
With a personality as large as his frame, Polius is noticeable off the field and on, where his joy for hitting truly shows. He’s aggressive and fast off the line of scrimmage, boasts an amazing radius for knocking down passes and has a penchant for making big plays, such as a late-game sack that insured a long-awaited Rams victory this season against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. Polius will certainly catch the attention of CFL scouts before next year’s college draft.
Through four games with the 2-2 Rams, Polius has 2.5 sacks and two pass breakups. He leads all Canada West defensive linemen in those categories, while his eight tackles trail Manitoba’s Tristan Francis (11) and his nine assists are fewer than only Manitoba’s Kaleb Mackie-McLeod (10) and Regina teammate Toryn Swystun-Bernes (10).
Regina’s next game is Saturday in Winnipeg against undefeated, first-place Manitoba (4-0).
“This was God’s plan,” said Polius. “McConkey reached out to me after my Okanagan season and (Robinson) told me to come here.
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“I came here early, got here in January and I’ve been here for winter. Nahhhh, I don’t really like winter, but everything else is wonderful. It’s been that way since I arrived.”
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