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Former McGill University football coach Sonny Wolfe realized immediately he had something special in Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. At six foot five and 275 pounds in 2010, Duvernay-Tardif was an impressive physical specimen when he enrolled at the Montreal university in 2010. What’s more, the defensive lineman had been accepted into the school’s medical program. “Any time you get someone six foot five and around 275 pounds who’s able to get into McGill, you have a couple of adult beverages because it’s unusual for that to happen,” said Wolfe, knowing it’s common for Quebec’s top recruits to opt for more successful football programs at the University of Montreal or Laval. “He’s a rare bird in that he’s someone who had big talent and big potential at that time as well as the academics to not just get into McGill but be accepted into medicine. STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT “When he was ultimately accepted we were real happy, but we had no idea how talented he was going to become.” READ MORE: Quebec M.D., Kansas City Chiefs lineman to compete in the Super Bowl Ten years later, the hulking Duvernay-Tardif has reached the top of his profession — landing a spot in the Super Bowl to cap his sixth season in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs. The 28-year-old native of Mont-Sainte-Hilaire, Que., who now weighs 321 pounds, will start at right guard for the Chiefs when they face the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 2 in Miami. However, Duvernay-Tardif’s budding career nearly ended before he played a down of university football. Many at McGill advised him against trying to combine football with medical school. “He didn’t want to leave football completely,” Wolfe said. “So he asked if he could come out once a week and see how it would go and perhaps down the road, a couple of years later, he might have a chance to play a significant role. “Two weeks after classes had started he came into my office and said, ‘Coach, I can handle both so if you’re willing I’m ready to be a full-time football player.'” The then-Redmen (McGill’s men’s teams ditched the name last year) switched Durvernay-Tardif to offence, something he did with ease. He secured All-Canadian honours (2012-13) and the J.P. Metras Trophy (2013) as Canadian university football’s top lineman. STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT Duvernay-Tardif also earned a nickname from his teammates. 2:01 Montreal-area doctor headed to the Super Bowl Montreal-area doctor headed to the Super Bowl “They called him Dr. Death because he was a medical student who’d finish every play,” said Wolfe, who spent 24 seasons as a Canadian university head coach at Acadia (1983-2002) and McGill (2007-11) and is now a high school coach in his native Montreal. “You can’t be as good as he is without having a real toughness and desire to move people. Not to hurt them but dominate them so he became Dr. Death.” Off the field, Duvernay-Tardif could be a terror around campus. “As big as he was, he’d skateboard around campus and you’d want to get out of the way,” Wolfe said with a chuckle. “Not that he was looking to block anybody from med school (or) the gym but that was a big, big body on a skateboard.” The NFL took notice of Duvernay-Tardif in March 2014, with nine teams attending his pro day. Two months later, the Chiefs drafted Duvernay-Tardif in the sixth round, No. 200 overall. After cracking Kansas City’s starting lineup in 2015, Duvernay-Tardif signed a five-year, US$42.36-million contract extension with the Chiefs on Feb. 28, 2017. The deal included $20.20 million guaranteed and a $10-million signing bonus. STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT READ MORE: Montreal-born NFL star Laurent Duvernay-Tardif officially graduates from McGill med school Despite the windfall, Duvernay-Tardif remained in school. In May 2018, he graduated from McGill’s Faculty of Medicine with a Doctor in Medicine and Master in Surgery, becoming just the fourth NFL player — and only active one — to become a medical graduate. Duvernay-Tardif’s life experiences involve much more than just football and medicine, however. In 1999 and again in ’06, Duvernay-Tardif’s parents took him and his two younger sisters on year-long sailing trips along the American east coact and through the Caribbean. The children were home-schooled along the way and the family often ate fish they’d caught themselves. Duvernay-Tardif clearly was comfortable on the water. In his younger days, he competed in sailing and served as an instructor. “I’ve never asked him this but my guess is football was a way to balance his life,” Wolfe said. TWEET THIS “He had so many things going on but football was important, being part of a team I think was very important to him.” Duvernay-Tardif often arrived at McGill’s morning meetings with food for his offensive teammates. Offensive linemen received items from Duvernay-Tardif’s family bakery and fruit while the remainder of the offensive unit got just fruit. STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT Often, what most people see of Duvernay-Tardif is his gregarious, fun-loving side. But Wolfe said that persona transforms once Duvernay-Tardif gets on the field. “Between plays in practice, he can be joking with a guy,” Wolfe said. “But snap to whistle, nobody is more intense, no one is tougher. “He’s got a special ability to be a real, real nice human being but you don’t want to be lining up in front of him on gameday.”

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