VANCOUVER – In June of 2016 at the Paris Rugby Sevens, Rugby Canada's Adam Zaruba made on of the most amazing catches ever seen on a pitch. The footage of Zaruba soaring into the air off a Canadian restart and snagging the ball with one hand, while maintaining an effortless sprint into the scoring area, was beamed repeatedly to screens around the world.
The catch even had some observers calling Zaruba the "Odell Beckham Jr. of Canadian Rugby", in reference to the NFL's one-handed catching aficionado. So it shouldn't come as any surprise that Zaruba, coming off one of Rugby Canada's most successful sevens circuits ever, would start to draw some interest from professional football teams on both sides of the Canada-US border.
"I just was contacted to see if I was interested in playing some football," explains Zaruba. " I thought it might be a good idea to just pursue some options and see what comes of it. So I'm just kind of out there, catching some balls, getting some footage and seeing what comes of it. "
By "out there", Zaruba is referring to Ken Woods Field at the University of British Columbia where he was seen one recent afternoon catching passes thrown by UBC Thunderbirds star quarterback
Michael O'Connor. Zaruba last played football four years ago, in a brief stint at SFU. In high school he played offensive line. Now standing 6'5" and carrying a rock-solid 260 pound frame, you could see how pro football scouts would salivate at the thought of the Vancouver native running seam routes as a tight-end. O'Connor was impressed by what he saw at the workout.
"The first thing that stuck out to me was his hands. He catches everything," said UBC's record holder for touchdown tosses and passing yards in a single season. "His route running too. It's good. It's real good. This is the first time he's been out in four years. Give it a couple of months and his improvement will be really good."
In rugby sevens Zaruba often patrols the wing, so foot speed will be an asset for him, not a hindrance as he looks to race down the field against defensive backs and linebackers. He feels he could run a 40-yard dash 'in the high four-fives'. As the summer continues he plans to work out with O'Connor more often and adjust to catching the smaller, more slender football, as opposed to the larger, oval-shaped rugby ball.
"He's got a really good throw," says Zaruba of his newfound training partner. "It's good to catch the ball again, get the feel for some routes and getting the feel for the football again. It feels awesome."
