Nicholas Cenacle: NFL Draft Outlook & Scouting Report

His name is Nicholas Cenacle. His teammates nickname him “Smiley”. The receiver from Saint-Hubert represents one of Quebec’s brightest prospects for the NFL draft. However, he describes himself above all as the son of a single mother who did not let the environment in which he grew up consume him.

“We were three children. I’m the one in the middle. I have an older brother and a younger sister. We didn’t have much in life, but we never knew it. My mother never wanted us to find out. It was my reality,” Cenacle explains to The Pressduring a videoconference.

Cenacle smiled. Like a reflex to forget suffering. Or at least to hide it. Throughout the interview, the 24-year-old never hid his enthusiasm or buried his snickers at the end of his sentences. Even when he talks about his pitfalls, his eyes shine.

“My high school journey was not a fairy tale. My mother got sick. She could no longer support the family and meet our needs. »

Doctors detected a tumor on his head. Bad news, three operations and too many difficult-to-pay bills forced Nadia Cenacle to live on the streets.

Thus, from secondary school until his second year of college, Nicholas Cenacle was welcomed by the family of his best friend, Gerry Caruana. “It was really a good Italian family,” says the athlete of Haitian origin.

“They treated me like one of their children. I went on vacation with them, I took Christmas photos with them…” The Caruanas “gave him a family” and instilled “important values”.

Of pain and misery

Cenacle knew what he wanted to do with his life at the age of 8. “My older brother played football. I went to his matches. I thought it was crazy. I wanted to play too. »

So he put on epaulettes and wore the uniform of the Rebelles de Saint-Hubert. Then he played for the Greenfield Park Packers.

To continue his development, he then lugged his backpack to Vanier College.

“I always wanted to play in the top division in the United States. It was my dream. And in Vanier, I thought I had a chance to do it,” explains the 6’2” player.

In its first season, Cenacle did not see much action. He played more the following year. During his third campaign, he began talks with the heads of some American universities. “I had talked to the coach at Syracuse who told me that if I had a good camp with them, they were going to give me a scholarship. It was perfect for me. And when I returned to Montreal, the borders closed. »

The pandemic put an end to his dream of shining among our neighbors to the South. “Overnight, I no longer had any offers from the United States. » However, the programs at Rutgers, Buffalo and Connecticut had also shown interest.

During the pandemic, the recipient worked for the postal company UPS, in order to accumulate some money. “I was doing [quarts de travail] not possible from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. And at 10 a.m., I went to Pierrefonds to train. Afterwards, I went to Laval for receiver training and came back to the South Shore. It was intense. But I had to do it. »

Cenacle has therefore completed its fourth year of eligibility in Vanier. The team won a first Bol d’Or in eight years. In seven games, the receiver finished first in the Quebec college network with seven touchdowns. “But at the end of the season, I hadn’t received an offer. Interests, including Central Michigan, but nothing concrete. I was a little angry that this had become my reality. »

So, reluctantly, Cenacle committed to playing his college football at McGill. “It was the best compromise to also have a top-quality education,” he explains.

And a week before fall training camp, his phone rang. On the line, the receivers coach of the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. The program offered him a position and a scholarship. “I accept, I accept, I accept,” he said without his interlocutor being able to finish his sentence.

“I didn’t even know who the guy was or where the campus was. But I figured it was Hawaii, so it couldn’t be that bad. »

Direction NFL

According to his own words, getting a visa and “sorting out the paperwork” took forever. Cenacle was absent from his new team’s spring and fall camp.

He therefore joined his teammates during the first week of the season, a few days before the first match. Cenacle didn’t know what to expect. Looking back, the scene he describes makes him laugh.

“I arrived with my backpack on the field and no one knew who I was. At my first practice, the coaches wanted to see how I caught the ball. And American quarterbacks are throwing a little harder. So the first three passes they threw to me went through my hands. I didn’t catch one. Everyone looked at each other. »

This first impression forced Cenacle to work hard. At the end of each training session, the 20-year-old rookie wanted to make 500 catches.

In his first campaign, he played, “without breaking anything”. In his second, he moved from outside receiver to inside receiver. In his third season, “it was either make or break.”

In 12 games, he caught 63 passes for 721 yards and six touchdowns. The Quebecer then considered the option of changing schools to play in a bigger program. “But I told myself that if I went to a bigger school, maybe I wouldn’t play as much. That I would have to start from scratch. So I stayed in Hawaii for one last season. »

In his second match, Cenacle injured his knee. He missed six games. Less than a month after returning to play, he injured his foot against San Diego State University.

Cenacle returned to the game just in time to play in the Hawaii Bowl, the conference final against the University of California. And on the last play of the game, with 10 seconds left, Cenacle caught a 22-yard pass in the end zone to give his team the victory.

Five days after the triumph, the receiver announced his intention to make the jump to the professionals by becoming eligible for the NFL and CFL drafts this spring.

November 15th, The Press published a list of the best Quebec hopefuls. Cenacle appeared fourth on the list. According to predictions, he could be chosen in the later rounds of the NFL draft, but among the first in the CFL.

“The NFL remains the primary focus. This is what I’ve dreamed of since I was a child. But I’m proud to be Canadian. And I would also be happy to play in the CFL. Alouettes players have always been idols. »

Five sentences pronounced with a smile from ear to ear. Which is not surprising. “I just want to play football. And have fun. It’s simple. »