For most football players, the Canadian Football League Combine is something they grew up watching and imagining themselves in one day. This week, that dream becomes real for University of Regina Rams linebacker Colin McKellar.
McKellar is one of the U Sports standouts invited to compete at the CFL Invitational Combine in Waterloo, Ontario, an opportunity to earn a coveted spot at the league’s main combine March 27–29 in Edmonton. And if you ask the Rams defender, the excitement has been building ever since he got the call.
“Oh man, it doesn’t get much more exciting,” McKellar said. “This is what we dream about as football players our whole lives, and it’s finally happening. So yeah, pretty cool.”
McKellar’s road to this opportunity hasn’t followed a straight line.
After beginning his university career with Simon Fraser in 2022, where he recorded 10 tackles in nine games with the Red Leafs, uncertainty followed when the program shut down. That led him east to Regina and the Rams program, a move that has helped reshape his football path. Looking back, McKellar admits it would have been difficult to imagine this moment a couple of years ago.
“It’s been a pretty crazy journey for me to get to this place. It’s something I’ve always dreamed about, but something that seemed very difficult to obtain in the past.”
He credits the Rams coaching staff for helping him develop into the player he is today.
“All the credit to the coaching staff here and the Ram, they’re unbelievable with us. They put in the time, the hours in film, developing our skills — they know how to develop talent.”
McKellar’s growth has shown clearly on the field. After playing all eight Canada West games in his first season with the Rams in 2023, he began to emerge as a defensive presence. By 2024, he led the team with 57 total tackles, added 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and forced a fumble, while also recording an interception in Regina’s Hardy Cup victory over Saskatchewan.
He followed that up with another productive campaign in 2025, finishing with 29 tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack, including a season-high eight tackles against Manitoba on November 1.
Across three seasons of U Sports football, McKellar has totalled 98 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks, along with an interception and a forced fumble. But Friday in Waterloo is less about game tape and more about testing numbers, speed, strength, explosiveness and measurable athleticism. That has meant a very different offseason.
“It’s been a lot more running in straight lines and doing the drills you expect at the combine. Less football movements and more trying to run fast, jump high and be strong.”
McKellar isn’t completely new to this environment. In 2025, he was invited to the prestigious U Sports East-West Bowl, an experience that gave him an early taste of what elite-level evaluation looks like.
“It was awesome. You meet guys from all across Canada doing the same thing you are. Being in that environment a year before the CFL Combine really helped.”
He’ll return to the same field in Waterloo for the Invitational Combine, something he believes will help calm the nerves.
“I remember the turf there, I know what cleats to wear,” McKellar said. “It’s nice knowing what to expect.”
Still, with dozens of athletes competing for limited spots at the national combine, the challenge becomes staying focused on personal performance rather than the numbers others are posting.
“I’m competing against myself,” he said. “I can’t control what other guys do, I focus on doing what I can do to put myself in the best situation.”
As Friday approaches, preparation isn’t just physical. McKellar says visualization has been a major part of his mental approach.
“I’ve been dreaming about it, visualizing running a fast time, putting up a lot on the bench press. I’m a firm believer that when you visualize yourself succeeding, it prepares you.”
There is pressure, of course. Opportunities like this are rare. But McKellar views that pressure through the lens of something Rams head coach Mark McConkey often tells his players.
“There’s absolutely pressure, but it’s a privilege. Not everyone gets this opportunity.”
Ultimately, the mission in Waterloo is straightforward: perform well enough to earn that invitation to Edmonton. Ask McKellar how he’ll know if the weekend was a success, and he doesn’t hesitate.
“If I run a 4.6 forty,” he said with a laugh. “If I run fast.”
For the Rams linebacker, the dream is already unfolding. Now comes the chance to prove he belongs at the next level.
