Sights set on making Manitoba proud

De Shawn Le Jour dialed Brian Dobie’s number with the intention of saying, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

After establishing himself as one of the top receivers in Canadian Junior Football with the Edmonton Huskies in 2021, the Regina product had ultimately decided to take his talents to the UBC Thunderbirds.

Dobie, the head coach of the Manitoba Bisons at the time, proceeded to talk Le Jour’s ear off for the next three hours and somehow convinced him to join the Herd instead.

“He did not let me get off the phone unless I told him, ‘Yeah, OK, I’m coming,” said Le Jour in a chat with the Free Press.

“He was basically saying how Winnipeg is closer to Regina so if I ever wanted my family to come and watch games it’s a little more realistic. It’s not as expensive in Winnipeg, and he just sold me on the idea that living in Vancouver would be the worst idea and that living in Winnipeg was where I’d want to live. It just goes to show the level of recruiter that Dobie is that he was able to sell the city of Winnipeg over the city of Vancouver.”

Now retired from coaching, perhaps Dobie should pursue a job with Winnipeg’s tourism board.

“I am more than happy with the decision that I made,” said Le Jour.

“I made some of my closest friends and have had some of my best football memories here in Winnipeg so I think everything worked out the way it was supposed to.”

Four seasons later, Le Jour’s on a potential path to the pros. He will be one of 83 prospects who will showcase their skills in Waterloo, Ont., on Friday for the CFL Invitational Combine. The top prospects will then advance to the CFL Combine in Edmonton from March 27-29.

“It was kind of a weird feeling,” said Le Jour on finding out he scored an invite to Friday’s event.

“It was one of those things where you work for something your entire life and then when it happens, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is actually happening.’ But then you kind of snap back to reality and be like, ‘Yes, this is cool, but there’s still a lot more work that needs to be done.’”

“…It’s something I’m very proud of for not only myself, but for Nic, Victor, and Kaleb as well.”

Le Jour, 25, is one of four Bisons — with linebacker Nic Pereira, offensive lineman Victor Olaniran, and defensive lineman Kaleb Mackie-Mcleod being the others — that will try to impress in Waterloo. Receiver Nathan Udoh earned a direct invite to the national combine after finishing in a tie for fifth in Canada West in receptions (40) and sixth in receiving yards (531).

“You play with these guys for four or five years and you grow into young men with them. To see us reach this national stage and get this recognition, it’s something I’m very proud of for not only myself, but for Nic, Victor, and Kaleb as well,” said Le Jour.

“I think we’re going to do the best job that we can to make the U of M and Manitoba proud.”

At six-foot-four, 220-pounds, you can’t teach what Le Jour has, but he does have a lot to prove to CFL scouts this week.

He missed most of 2024 with a torn MCL, and after months of aggressive rehab, he tore it again four days before the team’s pre-season game in 2025. Le Jour still managed to play two games as a senior with a knee brace and finished with two catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.

“As a receiver who wants to get in and out of breaks and be as agile as you can, wearing a brace is not the most functional thing,” said Le Jour.

“I didn’t end up having the year that I wanted and I’m not one to make excuses and say that it was because of the knee brace or whatever, but I’m feeling good now, healthy now, and I’m excited to see what I can do now on Friday with no brace at all.”

“I just think it’s very important for young Indigenous athletes to know that they are capable of doing everything that everyone else is.”

Le Jour has spent the past two years helping out Manitoba’s U18 Indigenous team as a receiver’s coach. In July, they won gold at the Indigenous Cup — an event run by Football Manitoba at St. Vital Mustangs Field that featured teams from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and northwestern Ontario.

Le Jour, who is half Black, half Métis, hopes a career in the CFL will help him become a role model for the next generation of athletes.

“I just think it’s very important for young Indigenous athletes to know that they are capable of doing everything that everyone else is,” he said.

“At the end of the day, growing up as an Indigenous kid, you don’t really see a lot of Indigenous athletes and I think at times that can be a little discouraging. I just want to let young Indigenous athletes know that it’s possible.”

For Pereira, making it as a pro has been a dream of his since he started playing the sport when he was seven or eight years old. His family had season tickets to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and he was always enamored with the game’s best linebackers like Henoc Muamba and Adam Bighill.

“I’m super excited to go out there and show them what I’m capable of and the player that I am,” said Pereira, 22.

Pereira, a St. Paul’s High School product who still has another season of eligibility left at the U of M, hasn’t missed a game in his four seasons with the team. He’s coming off a career year where he was named a Canada West All-Star after leading the Bisons with 44.5 tackles, along with two forced fumbles and a pass breakup.

He’s been training with former Bison and current Bombers defensive tackle Collin Kornelson on a daily basis to prepare for Friday.

“I’m just happy with the work that I put in leading up to this,” said Pereira. “Whatever happens on combine day, I can respect that I put the work in and have no regrets, for sure.”

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