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Nouvelles des anciens

Molson headed to NFL Combine

JJ Molson 2014 will be one of four UCLA football players who will be taking part in the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine In Indianapolis from Feb. 4 through March 1.
 
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February in Indianapolis, where selected college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Football League coaches, general managers and scouts.
 
This announcement turns up the volume on the buzz generated around what seems to be JJ’s imminent move to the NFL from college ball.
 
Currently pursuing a bachelor of sociology degree at UCLA, JJ has already had interviews with the Packers, the Chargers and the Giants, and is even considering the Canadian Football League.
 
“I did not have the vision that I could play in the NFL one day,” JJ says. “Over the years, I realized that is was possible even if it was not always easy. In my first two seasons, I thought about quitting several times and was sometimes depressed. It is a demanding job. There are times when you are not at your best and it is important to keep going. With experience, it is no longer an option to stop. The only way I would stop is if no team was interested in my services.”
 
This year at UCLA, he says “I did well on kickoffs, finishing second in the NCAA with 53 touchbacks in 61 attempts, but I did not do as I wanted on placements. I put too much pressure on myself. I wanted to get the best percentage of success in order to reach the next level. Now I show up on the field with the goal of having fun, and I’m more relaxed.”
 
In interviews, JJ is quick to give praise to his coach at Selwyn House, Athletic Director Mike Maurovich, as well as to his first kicker coach, Gerry McGrath. “Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he says. “I owe them everything. These are the two people who have had the most impact in my life in Canada.”
 
JJ is also becoming more involved in projects off the football field. At UCLA, he became friends with Cordell Broadus, a teammate on the Bruins who also happens to be the son of rap music artist Snoop Dogg. The two Bruins have started a music production company and are promoting a rising female star whose name has not yet been announced, but whom they feel is in the brink of stardom.
 
“Our artist has a great story,” says JJ. “Cordell’s goal is for her to win a Grammy one day. We want to do women empowerment. Cordell takes care of the creation side and I the administration. Snoop Dogg is our advisor.
 
“We don’t do this for the money,” he says, “but to offer a different platform to artists. Coming to Los Angeles, I wanted to take advantage of the privileges I had to help others and forge a career independent of my family. Football and music give me some adrenaline.”

To read an interview with JJ in the Toronto Sun, click here.
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