SASKATOON — Odds are pretty good that if Saskatchewan Roughriders' receiver Joe Robustelli was any other player, professional football would currently be the furthest thing from his mind.
The grandson of Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Andy Robustelli, Joe was essentially born into the sport, but decided early on in high school that the game just wasn’t for him, and in the vast majority of cases, that would be that.
But a renewed interest in the tackle gridiron game shortly after the COVID pause changed his trajectory. And through good luck, happenstance and all the hard work in the world, Robustelli is in his second year as a member of the Roughriders.
Robustelli admits his pro football journey started thanks to what was a less-than-ideal beginning to his educational ventures, eventually leading to the six-foot-three, 220-pound Stamford, Conn. product taking another shot at the game.
“I went to college, ended up partying a little too much, didn't really do too well, so I ended up moving home during COVID, got back in school and decided I'm a good athlete,” Robustelli explained. “I got the blood. My brother played, all my family members were all really good athletes. I was like, ‘I just want to start working out, training and see what happens’.”
Robustelli hadn’t been completely out of the game and during his first college stint had developed into an elite flag football player, even cracking the roster of the U.S. national team in 2023.
That meant he had skills, and the Roughriders ended up giving him a work out. Problem is, Robustelli hadn’t played tackle football since his aforementioned high school days and the Riders hoped to get some film on him. So Robustelli worked with his older brother’s football connections to land a spot with the NCAA Division II Tusculum Pioneers. After playing out the season there, he landed at another open workout and garnered another look from Roughriders' GM Jeremy O’Day and assistant GM Kyle Carson.
“I performed pretty well and they seemed like they were really interested, but I didn't really actually hear from them for a while,” Robustelli said. “So I kind of thought it wasn't going to work out.”
As training camp progressed in 2024, injuries began to pile up and with only a handful of days remaining in main camp, Robustelli finally got the call.
“Last year in training camp, I wasn't really here,” he said. “I didn't come to rookie camp, I was only here for the last four days of training camp. So I was able to come, learn a little bit of the playbook that I could. It was tough. Then I got to play in one drive in the preseason game, had a nice catch and ultimately made the practice squad.”
Robustelli used that time to hone his knowledge of the Canadian game and eventually made his CFL debut in Week 18 as a last-minute activation against the Calgary Stampeders. That all led to Wednesday afternoon, where after a solid showing during practice, he received the honour of breaking down the team.
“I thought highly of him, I’m really happy for the kid,” head coach Corey Mace said. “I know how hard he works, he spent the majority of the year with us on the practice roster last year and he made us better defensively. He only knows one speed for himself and he’s getting a chance to showcase it now, I’m really pleased with Joe.”
That time on the practice squad was invaluable for his progress in the game and Robustelli put it to good use as he tried to learn as quickly as he could.
“It’s getting to know the game,” Robustelli said. “I'm still relatively new to football. This is really only my third legit year playing tackle football at a higher level, so there's a whole bunch of things that come to it. Like getting comfortable with the playbook, being able to learn all the details and being able to be comfortable and allowing my athletic ability to take over.”
That all led to the time and effort refining the mental part of the game, which unsurprisingly takes some getting used to when one is a raw rookie trying to break into the world of elite professional football.
“I felt like I knew the plays, but I wasn't really locked in on the details,” Robustelli said. “All they talk about is: ‘Know the details, know the details.’ So even when I was getting my reps, I would maybe mess up on the details, I wasn't hot or something like that. [In the off-season] I was really making sure that I knew exactly what I was doing on every single play and making sure that when I got my opportunity that I was going to succeed and not have any missed assignments.”
Having a chance to play in his first game last season certainly helped with Robustelli’s off-season motivation, even if things didn’t go completely to plan in his CFL debut.
“Big time, big time,” he said. “If you go look at the film, I left a little bit out on the field. I wish I could have had some of the plays back, but I felt I could hang here. If there was a little more work that was done in the offseason I could excel at a very high level. I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm excited to progress and keep going.”
