All Nolan Ulm has ever wanted to do is go the distance.
Relentless dedication to the process has been his creed for close to a decade now, a drive which he ripped straight out of Hollywood blockbusters. The once-scrawny kid from Kelowna, B.C., found his inspiration while watching the Rocky movies growing up, and life has been a never-ending training montage ever since.
Now, the top CFL Draft prospect is running up the metaphorical steps for the last time in this chapter of his story and trying to soak it all in.
“Talking to these scouts, sometimes I have to pinch myself. You dreamed of this, and you’re sitting there, being around all these NFL guys. It’s really cool,” Ulm told 3DownNation earlier this offseason. “You’ve worked so hard for this. I’m doing my best to enjoy it, because you’re not going to get this again. You only do this once.”
There are plenty of parallels to be drawn between Ulm and Sylvester Stallone’s titular main character. They share humble beginnings, journeys marked by peaks and valleys, and a singular tenacity for getting up off the mat.
For Ulm, there is little question where his toughness comes from. He was born in Edmonton to an 18-year-old single mother, Kelsey, who packed them up into a beaten-down Toyota Corolla and drove the eight hours to Kelowna in search of a better life for her son when she was barely more than a child herself.
“We were moving to low-income housing; we had nothing,” Ulm recalled. “She would eat seven-layer dip for breakfast, lunch and dinner, just to save money so I could eat good. We had suitcases for tables.”
“I just remember she would pray for three things. Every single morning, she’d pray for a new house, a new man in her life, and more siblings for me. One day, she really wanted to have more kids. All three of those things happened. I have two little brothers who are 10 and eight years old, and we live in a beautiful house, and got out of that struggle.”
Ulm’s father was just 16 years old at the time, a good kid who had fallen in with the wrong crowd. He’d never get the chance to get to know his son, tragically passing away in a motorcycle accident when Nolan was five. Football serves as the lasting connection between the two, as the youngster was enrolled in the sport that his dad also played growing up.
A passion for the game transformed into an obsession in the halls of Kelowna Secondary School. Ulm found himself inspired by the images of former CFL safety Taylor Loffler, who earned a scholarship to Boise State University, in the Owls’ trophy case and set his sights on making it to the Division 1 level. It was an improbable ambition for a receiver hailing from a modest Canadian city, but he succeeded in capturing the attention of Eastern Washington University, located roughly five hours southeast.
Just getting a scholarship was an accomplishment in and of itself, but Ulm would have to overcome several Balboa-style setbacks to prove he belonged on the Eagles’ red turf. He arrived in a crowded receiver room amidst a pandemic and faced a steep learning curve to get on the field, with some on the coaching staff feeling he’d be better off adding weight and converting to outside linebacker.
“It was really tough. I got destroyed when I first got there, quite frankly,” Ulm admitted. “If it was a Rocky montage in high school, it was like a Rocky montage for fighting Drago in college.”
“Every second of every day, you’re just obsessing about how do I get towards this goal? How do I become the best player that I can be? It wasn’t pretty. I don’t think a lot of people would be willing to do what I had to do to get there.”
Ulm credits receivers coach Pat McCann for showing him the path to success. At the same time, his workout regimen became more intense, spurred by a love of CrossFit that he had adopted from his stepdad. By year two in Cheney, he had carved out a role as a core special teamer and caught his first touchdown pass in double coverage in a playoff win over Northern Iowa.
The six-foot-two target’s upward trajectory peaked in 2023, when he finished second on the team with 45 receptions for 564 yards and four touchdowns. However, Ulm soon learned that his efforts in the gym could be a double-edged sword.
He entered what was supposed to be his final collegiate season in 2024 weighed down by too much muscle mass, and promptly suffered a high ankle sprain, which he refused to rest properly. After playing through the pain for four games with little success, the decision was made to shut him down for the season and utilize a redshirt.
“That sucked. I did it to myself; I overtrained. Really disappointing,” Ulm explained. “I was really looking forward to that being a huge year, but it taught me a lot and it made me evolve outside of football. I learned a really good lesson that’s going to save me in the future: you’ve got to recover. You have to treat that as seriously. The Mamba mentality is great, but there is a limit to what you can do physically to perform at your best.”
Ulm returned in 2025 with a slimmer physique, dropping from 210 pounds to 197 in order to regain his speed and quick twitch. After a fine-tuning process, he believes he’s found a weight class that works for him. Unfortunately, the results on the field were underwhelming as the Eagles went through a tumultuous season at quarterback, limiting Ulm to just 27 catches for 228 yards and one touchdown.
Those numbers are unquestionably less than what the 24-year-old was hoping for in his swan song campaign, but Ulm has still managed to carve out an illustrious legacy at Eastern. A two-time team captain and recipient of the Golden Eagle Award for leadership, he has drawn national acclaim for his community work, which began with the launch of his annual Make It Happen youth football camp in Kelowna in 2023.
“There was a moment where I realized that accolades and trophies, it kind of all fades. It’s all about who you become and the people that you impact,” Ulm said. “I really dove into that. That’s what life’s all about, is really creating those ripple effects that will last far beyond you.”
The event, which has partnered with NFL Canada for the past two years, is coached by an impressive list of notable CFL and NFL alumni in the hopes of providing more athletes from the B.C. interior with the skills needed to reach the next level.
Additionally, Ulm has raised more than $22,500 for the charity Mamas for Mamas, a non-profit helping low-income mothers in the Kelowna area. While at school in Washington, he volunteered for Helping Captive, an organization that assists victims of human trafficking in Spokane, and helped organize the local YMCA’s Touchdown for Dollars charitable campaign.
For his combined efforts on the field, in the classroom, and in the community this season, Ulm was named an Academic All-American and a semi-finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy as the premier scholar athlete in college football. He was also one of 22 players to be named to the American Football Coaches Association’s Good Works Team and was honoured during the Sugar Bowl for his charitable efforts.
“I really believe that what we were doing was one of one, so it was cool to get that recognition. I hope that doesn’t just shine the light on me but that it inspires others to do the same,” he said of the experience. “Give back to where you came from. I believe that it’s our job to send the elevator down, so others can rise as well.”
Ulm’s off-field endeavours have also included media work as the host of the Make It Happen podcast. Though dormant while he’s focused on making the leap the professional level, he has interviewed a long list of notable athletes including close friend Keelan White, Tyson Philpot, Matt Nichols, Manny Arceneaux, and current Elks defensive coordinator J.C. Sheritt.
Much like his original sporting inspiration, Rocky, he has also turned his training obsession into a secondary career helping others. He shares his increasingly chiselled physique and free fitness advice across multiple social media platforms, while boasting over 80 personal training clients, including several Eagles teammates.
Ulm suspects training and coaching will be a lifelong endeavour for him, but for right now, his focus is firmly on himself. Eastern Washington will host their Pro Day for NFL and CFL scouts on March 30, giving him a chance to prove that all those muscles aren’t just for show.
Seven of the 11 players who were in the receiving room during his freshman season have earned NFL opportunities in some form or fashion, most notably current Patriots receiver Efton Chism III. Ulm is the last to come out, and while an NFL contract would be unlikely given his production, a top spot in the 2026 CFL Draft is all but guaranteed.
The hurdles of the past few seasons have knocked him down the board, but Ulm remains the 17th-ranked prospect on the CFL Scouting Bureau list. Evaluators will have a hard time ignoring his prototypical frame and sparkling character references, while his 1,330 career receiving yards in the FCS speak for themselves. His 19 special teams tackles scream even louder, telling the story of a prospect who could make an immediate impact while his offensive role evolves.
Having already gone a round or two more than anyone expected, Ulm is excited for his next bout and all the opportunities it will bring.
“There’s so many more doors open. The platform is bigger, so the impact is only gonna get bigger, and it’s gonna allow me to do a lot more,” he grinned. “I plan on leveraging that, just like I’ve done at Eastern Washington, to the nth degree.”
The 2026 CFL Draft is set for Tuesday, April 28, at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
