MONTREAL – Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, a former McGill University football star who went on to play in the NFL and win the Super Bowl, has been appointed to the Order of Canada. He was among 88 new laureates announced Wednesday by Canada's Governor General Mary Simon. She said that he received this honour because he embodies "team spirit on the football field and in everyday life."
 
This is the latest of many honours for the 33-year-old native of St. Hilaire, Que., who has been a Knight on the National Order of Quebec since 2019. Among them was the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award in 2021 for his selfless work on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also was a co-recipient of the Lou Marsh Trophy in 2020, presented annually by the Toronto Star to Canada's athlete of the year, professional or amateur. He was also named Sports Illustrated's Person of the Year.
 
Duvernay-Tardif announced his retirement from professional football on Sept. 21, 2023 at his old stomping grounds at Percival Molson Stadium on the McGill campus. He earned his football stripes playing at the University from 2010 to 2013.
 
During his four seasons playing for McGill, "LDT" was a three-time RSEQ conference all-star and two-time All-Canadian. He was the second offensive lineman in school history to win the Forbes Trophy, awarded to the McGill male athlete of the year. A co-captain with the team, he also captured the prestigious Metras trophy as the most outstanding lineman in CIS (now U SPORTS) football in 2013.
 
Duvernay-Tardif was one of two CIS players picked to play in the 2014 East-West Shrine Game, a showcase primarily for graduating NCAA seniors. That was his stepping-stone to the NFL.
 
A 6-foot-5, 321-pound offensive lineman, he was a sixth-round selection by Kansas City in the 2014 NFL Draft. He became the third McGill product to make an NFL roster, a select group that includes Dr. Jean-Philippe Darche (BSc '97), a long-snapper for Seattle and Kansas City and Randy Chevrier (BEd '01), who was drafted by Jacksonville and played for both Dallas and Cincinnati.
 
"LDT" garnered world-wide attention on many fronts over a brilliant eight-year career in the National Football League. While playing in the NFL, Duvernay-Tardif graduated from McGill medical school in 2018, won the Super Bowl with Kansas City in 2020 and opted out of playing the following season to serve in the medical world at the height of the COVID pandemic. He returned to the NFL in 2021 and played parts of two seasons with the Jets.
 
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
McGill Athletics and Recreation
(514) 398- 7012
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
www.mcgillathletics.ca