New ODA quarterback makes bold move

Imagine you’re a high school student who has spent your entire life in the same place, around the same people, doing the same things.

Now imagine how difficult it would be to give all of that up to chase a dream before it’s time to go to college.

For quarterback Edouard Chaput, it wasn’t much of a decision to move from Quebec, Canada to Bradenton in July to play football for The Out-of-Door Academy in his senior year.

“I had it in mind that I was going to leave,” Chaput said. “It’s hard. It’s hard to leave all of my friends back there, but it’s part of the process, and I’ve made some new friends here, too. I’ll be fine.”

One reason that decision was made easier is that playing football in Canada isn’t nearly the same as playing it in Florida. Another reason is that it's easier to be noticed by college recruiters in the U.S. than it is in Canada.

In Canada, football is a secondary sport to hockey, and the rules are entirely different. Those rules include having 12 men on the field for offense and defense and players starting to run behind the line of scrimmage to gain a head start.

After growing up playing hockey, Chaput found himself drawn to football, even though he described it as a sport that “some of the guys play in the fall,” in Canada. 

By now, Chaput has become a student of the game. 

He roots for the New England Patriots, and pays close attention to other teams as well, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that he's becoming a fan of as a Floridian.

When it comes to individual players, Chaput compares himself to a younger Bo Nix, the quarterback of the Denver Broncos. 

Photo by Vinnie Portell

“I’m an all-around quarterback,” said Chaput, who completed 46 of 77 passes for 509 yards and six touchdowns in five games last season for Seminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivieres. “I’m not the biggest. I’m not the strongest. I’m not the fastest. My mind, my intelligence and my understanding of the sport helps me and my game. That might be my biggest strength.” 

Though transitioning to football in the United States might seem like a hurdle to overcome from an outside perspective, it might be easier for Chaput than some might think. 

He will now have to deal with one fewer defender, and will be playing alongside a team full of players and coaches whose dedication and experience are hard to come by in Quebec. 

And even though Chaput’s first language is French, he grew up learning English in school, and already has grown accustomed to using it as his primary form of communication. 

“It’s weird at first, for sure,” he said. “It’s something I have to get used to, but since my English is pretty good, it’s not that bad. I still speak French with my family, and with my friends back home, so I still speak French with them, but here, it’s something I have to get used to.”

Chaput’s bold decision to take a chance that the Thunder could wind up being as beneficial to him as he is to his new team.

Out-of-Door Academy moved Nate Strawderman from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator this offseason, and he said one of his top priorities is to throw the ball more often. 

Photo by Vinnie Portell

Last season, ODA finished with an 8-1 record and ended its season one game short of playing in the state championship despite passing the ball 72 times the entire season.

With record-breaking running back Allen Clark back for his senior season, a varied offense could make the Thunder much more unpredictable — and better — this fall. 

“I have a belief system that I like to do anything out of everything, and I don’t want anything to be expected,” Strawderman said. “I think what we did last year worked really well. We had to adapt to our personnel, but when you start to get a great group of athletes who are versatile, who can throw the ball, catch the ball and run the ball and block, you want to utilize all of those weapons, so how do you do that? You put yourself in a situation where you run a lot of different formations with a base set of plays and different motions. We don’t want anyone to know what we’re doing.”

Along with Chaput, ODA also gained quarterback Jaxon Lawhun, a junior who transferred in from Braden River.

Though Chaput and Lawhun competed for the starting position this fall, Strawderman said the team has plays designed for both quarterbacks to be on the field at the same time — adding a layer of unpredictability to the offense. 

If everything goes according to plan, both parties can succeed, with Chaput earning an opportunity to play football in a college in the United States and the Thunder winning games.

“My team goal is to win a state championship,” Chaput said. “I want to win it all.”