Ethan Pyle is starting his pro football career in familiar surroundings.
The Canadian offensive lineman opened the Toronto Argonauts' rookie camp Wednesday at Guelph University's Alumni Stadium. That's where the six-foot-two, 280-pound Pyle played collegiately before being selected by Toronto in the seventh round, 64th overall, in the 2025 CFL draft.
Pyle is someone others are already gravitating to.
"I've had a few people come up to me and ask me how to get to the weight room," Pyle said with a chuckle. "A few guys even said, 'Oh, I didn't know Guelph had this nice of a facility.
"I couldn't be happier to be here at Guelph right now. It's really nice."
Pyle, of Milton, Ont., played at Guelph from 2020-2024 and was a '24 second-team Ontario University Athletics all-star. But it hasn't taken Pyle long to realize he's playing at a much different level now.
"Everything is a lot faster," he said. "Different teams use different line calls and stuff like that.
"But at the end of the day if you understand the scheme, get to your spots and make your blocks, it will all sort itself out."
On Wednesday, the CFL named the participants in its annual quarterback internship. Since 2010, the program has allowed Canadian college quarterbacks to practise with clubs as well as attend positional and team meetings.
The participants include: Waterloo's Nick Orr (Toronto); McGill's Eloa Latendresse-R茅gimbald (Montreal Alouettes); Alex Vreeken of Queen's (Ottawa Redblacks); Guelph's Tristan Aboud (Hamilton Tiger-Cats); Manitoba's Cole Anseeuw (Winnipeg Blue Bombers); Saskatchewan's Anton Amundrud (Saskatchewan Roughriders); Huskies player Cohen Wright (Calgary Stampeders); Alberta's Eli Hetlinger (Edmonton Elks); and UBC's Alex La Vecchia (B.C. Lions).
For Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie, rookie camp begins the preparation for a new season. The '24 campaign was a successful one for the Argos, who defeated Winnipeg 41-24 to capture their second CFL title in three campaigns.
Toronto edged Winnipeg 24-23 in 2022.
Dinwiddie said two priorities of rookie camp are introducing young players to a professional environment and what the Argos' expectations are. For Americans, it's also exposing them to the nuances of Canadian football while for U Sports graduates like Pyle, it's presenting them with an understanding of the jump between university football and the CFL.
As important, though, is also giving rookies an idea of what lies ahead when veterans report for the start of training camp Sunday.
"Really, we're trying to get in as much work as we can, add to that what we're going to do the first three days (of training camp) so they're familiar with that when it comes," Dinwiddie said. "We have a heavy load and volume as far as the different plays 鈥� but we're only running 20 reps on the field.
"So it's getting them into the meeting rooms and making sure we take care of their bodies so when the vets come we're not wearing them down."
Many rookies have had their playbooks for a while but Pyle only got his this week.
"The past two nights I've been here right after meetings it's up to the dorm and reading the playbook," he said. "It (training camp) is something to look forward to but it's also something to be nervous about.
"Once the vets come in, it's all going to change because they're comfortable in the scheme and the league and so it will definitely be a bigger jump. But I feel with rookie camp and getting here early and doing stuff has really been helpful to kind of calm the nerves down."
During rookie camp, Pyle hopes to show the Argos' brass his football intelligence and ability to play fast. But he also acknowledges there are parts of his game that he must work on.
"I like to think I'm pretty quick laterally," he said. "But my explosiveness off the ball and being able to move people around are things I need to improve upon the most."
Dinwiddie said while Pyle might be green professionally, he'll have a shot at cracking Toronto's lineup.
"Will he make our roster Year 1? Who knows," Dinwiddie said. "But he's going to get every opportunity to do it.
"He has some things he might struggle with but at the same time there's a lot of positive things he did. That's why we pulled the trigger."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2025.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
