Niagara Falls footballer Anthony Federico invited to NFL/CFL prospect showcase

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Published October 26, 2021 at 5:47 pm

Anthony Federico, a Niagara Falls native, celebrates a sack during a Queen's Golden Gaels football game in Kingston, Ont., on Oct. 8. (Robin Kasem, Queen's Athletics)

Anthony Federico, who started playing football in his native Niagara Falls, will reportedly be part of the Canadian contingent at a postseason showcase for players with NFL and CFL ambitions.

Federico, a defensive end for the No. 3-ranked Queen’s Gaels, will head to the College Gridiron Showcase in Fort Worth, Texas, in January, according to a report by 3DownNation. The 23-year-old Federico has shone on the field this fall, averaging more than one sack per game while helping the Gaels earn a 6-0 record in the Ontario University Athletics regular season.

The College Gridiron Showcase serves to feature players from smaller and medium-sized football programs in the NCAA and U Sports. Two prominent Hamilton Tiger-Cats, quarterback Dane Evans and running back Jackson Bennett, participated in the event following their senior seasons.

Other CGS alumni include Washington Football Team running back JD McKissic, Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo, Denver Broncos safety P.J. Locke and New England Patriots defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale. A number of CFL first-round choices have also participated.

Federico, a grad of Saint Michael Catholic High School in Niagara Falls, first graced the gridiron in the Niagara Minor Football Association. Along with playing for his school team at Saint Michael, he played with the Ontario Varsity Football League’s Niagara Spears.

After high school, he joined the Hamilton Hurricanes of the Canadian Junior Football League and played two seasons there while earning a diploma in sports management from Niagara College. Federico joined Queen’s, which is in Kingston, Ont., in 2018.

Due to COVID-19, Canadian university football was cancelled in 2020. Because Kingston was in in a ‘safe’ zone at that stage of the pandemic, Queen’s players such as Federico were able to have non-contact practices and workouts on campus.

The OUA returned to competition in mid-September with a shortened six-game regular season. Since then, Federico has tallied 25 total tackles, 10½ tackles for loss and seven sacks in six games, while helping Queen’s allow a league-few 7.3 points per game.

Queen’s has also earned home-field advantage throughout the Yates Cup playoffs, which begin Nov. 6.

The College Gridiron Showcase takes place from Jan. 8 to 12, 2022.

(Cover photo by Robin Kasem, Queen’s Athletics.)

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