Jake Reinhart (Canadian football) explained

Jake Reinhart
Image Upright:1
Status:Retired
Import:no
Position1:Long snapper
Birth Date:25 November 1989
Birth Place:Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Cis:Guelph
High School:Guelph Collegiate
Height Ft:6
Height In:0
Weight Lbs:220
Cfldraftedyear:2012
Cfldraftedround:Undrafted
Playing Team1:Toronto Argonauts
Playing Team2:Toronto Argonauts
Career Highlights:
Cfl:jake-reinhart/159902/

Jake Reinhart (born November 25, 1989) is a former professional Canadian football long snapper who played in eight seasons for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a Grey Cup champion after playing in the Argonauts' 105th Grey Cup victory.

University career

Reinhart played CIS football as a linebacker and long snapper for the Guelph Gryphons from 2008 to 2012.[1] He was named a CIS Academic All-Canadian in 2012.[1]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2012 CFL Draft, Reinhart returned to play for the Guelph Gryphons in 2012. After completing his CIS eligibility, he was then signed as an undrafted free agent by the Toronto Argonauts on June 4, 2013.[2] However, he was released after the team's first pre-season game on June 16, 2013.[2]

Following the departure of the Argonauts' incumbent long snapper, Chad Rempel, Reinhart was re-signed by the team on April 15, 2014.[3] [4] He earned the long snapper job following training camp and played in his first professional game on June 26, 2014 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He played in all 18 regular season games that year and recorded seven special teams tackles.[5]

In 2015, he again dressed in all 18 regular season games and had six special teams tackles.[5] Reinhart also played in his first post-season game which was a loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Semi-Final.[5]

In the 2017 season, Reinhart played in all 18 regular season games and both post-season games. He played in the first Grey Cup game of his career which ended in an Argonaut victory over the Calgary Stampeders in the 105th Grey Cup.[6]

The Argonauts home pre-season game in 2018 was played at Alumni Stadium in Guelph, marking Reinhart's first return to play at his university's stadium.[7] He finished the regular season with a career-high 11 special teams tackles in 18 regular season games.[5] Reinhart was injured in the 2019 season opener and missed the first six games of his career.[8] Prior to that, he had a 94 consecutive games played streak, including the post-season.[8]

On February 28, 2020, Reinhart signed a contract extension with the Argonauts through to the 2022 season.[8] However, he did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season. As of the 2021 season, he was the longest serving member of the Argonauts.[8] On October 6, 2021, Reinhart suffered a severe elbow injury in a game against the Ottawa Redblacks that required emergency surgery in Guelph.[9] Due to the severity of the injury and the possibility of an arm amputation, Reinhart missed the remainder of the season.[9]

In 2022, Reinhart returned to the Argonauts and played in the team's first seven games before re-injuring the same elbow that caused him to miss the rest of the 2021 season.[10] After spending time on the injured list, he announced his retirement on September 30, 2022.[10] At the time of his retirement, he was the longest tenured member of the team and had played in 117 regular season games, two playoff games, one Grey Cup and had recorded 35 special teams tackles.[10]

Personal life

Reinhart was born in Guelph, Ontario to parents Ellen and John Reinhart.[11] His younger brother, Will, played football with him in high school, and his youngest brother, Job, also played long snapper at Guelph and was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders in 2019 CFL Draft.[11] [12] Following his retirement from football, Reinhart announced that he had accepted a position with the Kitchener Fire Department.[10]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gryphons in the CFL . . June 17, 2015.
  2. Web site: Transactions – Football player trades and signings . . October 17, 2021.
  3. Web site: Boatmen ink 2013 Draft pick Adjei . . April 15, 2014.
  4. Web site: Bears add CFL long-snapper Rempel . . April 7, 2014.
  5. Web site: Jake Reinhart . . October 17, 2021.
  6. News: Argos stun Stamps in Grey Cup with late field goal . . November 26, 2017.
  7. Web site: Ottawa Redblacks newbies come up huge in pre-season win over Toronto Argos . . June 7, 2018.
  8. Web site: Argonauts sign LS Jake Reinhart through 2022 . . February 28, 2020.
  9. Web site: Football world pulling for Reinhart following gruesome elbow injury to longest-tenured Argo . . October 9, 2021.
  10. Web site: Longest Tenured Argonaut Jake Reinhart Calls It a Career . . September 30, 2022.
  11. Web site: Alumni Stadium Gears Up for Home Opener . . September 6, 2012.
  12. Web site: Big brother Jake paved the football path in the Reinhart household . . June 2, 2020.