NFL superstar Aaron Rodgers hosted Jeopardy! for the first time on Monday evening. A number of special guests are hosting the show until a full-time replacement is found for the late, great Alex Trebek.
Jeopardy! was Rodgers’ favourite show growing up and he said that the opportunity to host was, “Other than the Super Bowl, the honour of a lifetime.” He filled the role so enthusiastically that we couldn’t help but wonder which CFL player would make the best host of the show.
Trebek was born and raised in Canada. Why wouldn’t a CFL player — half of whom are Canadian — make a good replacement? Here are five players we think would crush it.
Nate Behar
The Carleton University product was a first-round pick in the 2017 CFL Draft and played for the Edmonton Football Team (2017-2018) and Ottawa Redblacks (2019).
Behar wrote a thoughtful essay in June 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter movement and is the founder and CEO of ATNMY, an exciting new Canadian marketing company.
The 26-year-old is thoughtful, intelligent, and well-spoken — he’d make a great host for the popular trivia show.
Adam Bighill
The two-time CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player is an elite talent, but there’s more to Biggie than what he does on the field. He is also establishing himself as a financial advisor and is building a client base in Winnipeg.
The 32-year-old is well-respected for his leadership skills and strong character, both of which were on display when he called on TV host Wendy Williams to apologize for making fun of people with cleft palates.
Williams eventually made a public apology and a pair of charitable donations to organizations that benefit people with facial differences.
Peter Dyakowski
The Vancouver native played ten seasons for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2007-2016) before finishing up his career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (2017).
The two-time CFLPA all-star actually appeared on an episode of Jeopardy! in June 2014, though he finished in third place. He achieved more success on a special episode of Canada’s Smartest Person in 2012 in which he was crowned the winner.
Dyakowski was a great quote throughout his CFL career and excels as a public speaker. He’d be a natural.
Bo Levi Mitchell
Bo knows football and Bo knows how to be on camera.
The two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player is a confident, gregarious gunslinger. He’s essentially Canada’s version of Aaron Rodgers, which makes him a seamless fit for Jeopardy! hosting duties.
Mitchell has faced as much pressure as any CFL player over the past decade and routinely rises to the occasion, twice winning Grey Cup MVP. We feel he’d rise to the occasion on television as well.
John Urschel
This is cheating since Urschel never actually played in the CFL. With that said, the Canadian offensive lineman is simply too smart to pass up.
The Winnipeg native played three seasons for the Baltimore Ravens (2014-2016) before retiring to pursue a PhD in mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
In 2017, Urschel was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 outstanding young scientists. He also got a 43 on the Wonderlic test at the 2014 NFL Combine, which is the sixth-best score ever recorded since the test started being administered in the late 1960s.
Urschel might be the smartest man ever to play professional football, which seems like Jeopardy! material to us.
