Alouettes’ Adeyemi-Berglund draws relentless attitude from ‘gritty’ upbringing

By Canadian Press on November 5, 2025.

MONTREAL — Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund always knew he was built to play defence.

The Montreal Alouettes defensive lineman isn’t much of a “finesse guy.” He relies on power, effort and relentlessness, traits that trace back to his upbringing in rugged Dartmouth, N.S.

“I’m from the East Coast of Canada, where it’s a gritty place to live, it’s a blue-collar place to live,” he said Wednesday after practice at Stade Hébert. “Everyone there kind of has the same attitude. The tough, hard-working, bring your lunch pail and your hard hat to work.

“I feel like I showed that through my play. It’s everything I do. I try to mimic that same approach. It shows on the football field, and it exemplifies my play.”

Adeyemi-Berglund — a two-time East Division All-CFL player — was named the East’s nominee for outstanding Canadian for a second consecutive season last week. On Saturday in Hamilton, the six-foot-one, 250-pound pass rusher will look to disrupt CFL passing leader Bo Levi Mitchell in the East final against the Tiger-Cats.

The 29-year-old grew up in a single-parent household, and his mother, Robyn Berglund, still works a job as a cleaner. Because she didn’t drive, his grandparents, Judith and Peter Snair, would drive an hour each way to get him to school and football practice.

As he’s grown older, their commitment has served as an inspiration.

“They just sacrificed so much,” he said. “You don’t really notice it as a kid, you’re just getting to practice. If it was a snowstorm, they would drive in and then drive me to my practice.

“I had to grow up pretty quick, and I feel that I carry that, and I carry out that maturity in my game, and it definitely has contributed to the way that I play. Yeah, just so inspired by that, especially now, but I can see how it has changed the way that I play football.”

Judith and Peter were in the Molson Stadium stands for last Saturday’s 42-33 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the East semifinal, surprising Adeyemi-Berglund, who had one sack and four tackles, by asking for last-minute tickets.

His grandparents, and his mother, were also there for one of his career highlights at Southeastern Louisiana University, when Adeyemi-Berglund sacked LSU quarterback Joe Burrow — the eventful No. 1 pick in the NFL draft — on Sept. 8, 2018.

Adeyemi-Berglund played one year of CÉGEP football at Champlain College in Lennoxville, Que., to land a scholarship at Southeastern, where he also excelled as a biology student. He was drafted third overall by the Calgary Stampeders in the 2020 CFL draft.

Alouettes teammate Shawn Lemon, one of the CFL’s all-time sack leaders with 103, was with the Stampeders when Adeyemi-Berglund debuted during the 2021 season.

Lemon remembers the youngster trying to soak up all the knowledge he could, from which angles to take while rushing to how to work as a unit with his fellow linemen.

“He’s like a little brother to me,” the 37-year-old Lemon said. “He puts the work in, he puts the time in. Since 2021, he sat by me in the meeting rooms in Calgary, and he wanted to learn everything that I knew.

“I just know what he’s been made of, and he’s proven me right throughout this whole time.”

Adeyemi-Berglund signed with the Alouettes last season following three years in Calgary and has taken his game to another level.

After posting a career-high 36 tackles with five sacks in 2024, Adeyemi-Berglund led the Alouettes this season with 11 sacks, adding 29 defensive tackles and a fumble-return touchdown.

“There’s a reason we went out and got him in free agency,” head coach Jason Maas said. “I feel like he’s just consistently gotten better each and every day he’s been here … He’s consistent. Every single day, he comes in with a plan.”

On Saturday, Adeyemi-Berglund plans to get to Mitchell, help the Alouettes advance to the Grey Cup on Nov. 16 in Winnipeg, and get his family tickets to the big game.

“One hundred per cent. We just talked about that (Tuesday) night,” he said. “Whenever I got family here, I always have a good game.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2025.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press