First International Gridiron Football All-American Owen Lock Signs With Wagner College

The 2023 Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game made history two years ago by having the first two international players to ever play in the All-Star game from the country of Canada. The second player to commit to the bowl game was running back Jayden Gurzi MacDonald, who ended up signing with Queens University last fall, and now, the first international player to commit has now signed with a college as well and that is Owen Lock.

From Huron Heights High School in Keswick, Ontario, Canada, Lock played his high school football with the Warriors and throughout his prep career, the 6’1, 235 pound thumper played like a Warrior.

As an All-Canadian and All-Ontario selection, Lock was a two way star by having 67 carries for 839 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns on offense to go along with 70 tackles, 16 solo tackles, three forced fumbles, five sacks, and a pick six on defense for the 2023 season. His ability to take over the game at both positions certainly impressed the Gridiron Football staff as he was offered to take part in the 2023 Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game.

Being one of the best players in Canada was not enough for the big, physical linebacker as he wanted to test his talent against the best in the United States at the end of December in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“When I think of football, I think of the SEC, and I think of Louisiana, Alabama, and the South. I know that’s where all the players came down from there. Going into it, I was excited about going in there and showing what I can do.”

Huron Heights High School LB and Wagner signee Owen Lock

“As a pretty good Canadian player going down to Louisiana, I didn’t know what to expect. I thought me and Jayden (Gurzi-MacDonald) fit right in and the talent level wasn’t really that different. I loved it. It wasn’t just the football aspect. The players as people were really welcoming. In a football sense, all these guys have been playing football since they can walk. It was cool because the language was different in terms of play calls, but the ideas were the same. Offense, there is a lot of different terminology, but defenses, there are just concepts. It was a lot of fun coming down and exposing myself to a different atmosphere.”

Huron Heights High School LB and Wagner signee Owen Lock

For the Canadian linebacker, it was actually a football drill that hit close to home that allowed him to feel like it was home even though he was 2,000 miles away.

“The Big Cat drill is a drill that we run in practice at my high school, but we called it the Board Drill. As soon as it started, I knew what was going on. Andrew Lowry signed with Miami Ohio and he was the only one to really beat me in that drill, but outside of that, I was the king of that drill at my high school. I set the tone at the bowl game practices with that and from there, it was great. They started calling me Canada and I fit right in with the rest of the linebackers. I definitely made some plays in the game. The game was unique because you had rivalry games, but in this game, everybody was giving 100% and being respectful while helping each other out.”

Huron Heights High School LB and Wagner signee Owen Lock
Huron Heights LB Owen Lock during 2023 Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game Practice (Photo taken by Billy Metcalf Photography)

It did not take any time at all for Lock to immediately bond with his position group during the bowl game practices as he not only formed relationships, but still maintains those relationships to this day. While bonding over hitting ball carriers, this particular linebacking trio from different parts of the country also discussed things more than what was on the field.

“We all follow each other on social media. I know Zeke (Carwile)’s father is a pastor and he is working to be that so I see him posting about that. I know that is a huge passion of his and he is enjoying that. I know not just in football, but in life, Zeke and Hutch (Grace) are having a good time. We have churches and that kind of stuff. My grandmother is Orthodox and we go to church a couple of times, but when I came down there, I believe that was what made everybody so friendly. Down there, they love everybody and it doesn’t matter what their past is. It is about accepting people and Zeke actually gave me this beautiful Bible. It’s more about our personal journey and what I have been learning through that. I also remember Hutch telling me that Faith is all about believing and there will be moments in your life that you can feel it and I have had those moments. I have gotten more connected with God since my experience at the bowl game.”

Huron Heights High School LB and Wagner signee Owen Lock

Owen Lock took his experience of playing in America back to the Great North where he actually had another season of high school football. He carried that into his super senior season in which he played his best football of his career. This past season, Lock was once again a tone setter at not only linebacker, but fullback with 122 carries for 966 yards and 14 touchdowns on offense to go along with 96 total tackles (30 solo), 3 forced fumbles, 7.5 TFLs, and 2 sacks on defense. He led the Canadian Powerhouse to an undefeated record against other Canadian teams with their four losses only going against teams in the United States.

Despite the losses, Lock played well in those games against U.S. teams and it was the confidence of playing in the bowl game that gave him even more confidence to excel. His physicality and toughness displayed throughout his career drew the attention of Wagner College, which was the only Division I team to offer the Warriors’ two way starter.

“I didn’t have any other Division I offers besides Wagner. I had a couple of Division II schools. I was getting emails and my coaches were making calls. I was still looking for opportunities and they called my coach about me. From there, they gave me a call. I talked to them, came down for an official visit and they offered me. I went home, talked it over with my family. It’s a beautiful campus and it’s a great city with tons of cool attractions and restaurants. The school has small class sizes. I don’t think I had a class with more than 20 students in it. The undergrad population is 1,600, which was the same as my high school. I already have a professional relationship with my professors.”

“From a football perspective, they are building. The past four years, their record is getting better and better. They are always bringing in new guys. I know Coach Masella brought us in for a team meeting and to talk about what is that next step in terms of training and attitude. Everything fits and that’s why I wanted to go there early.”

Huron Heights High School LB and Wagner signee Owen Lock

With that being said, Lock has signed with Wagner College and is already participating in workouts with the team. Not only is it a great fit for him from a school perspective, but for his role on the field, it makes a lot of sense as well.

“They were looking for a linebacker that is big and wants to come downhill hard to play the run. Being from where I played high school football is definitely growing, but we don’t get to see a lot of passing offenses. Our offense is very run heavy. Wagner was also showing me the film and they got a lot of athletic linebackers, but not necessarily as big and strong as me in terms of stopping the run. That’s the missing link that they wanted was to find a run stopper. I agree. That’s where I fit too and down the road, they want me to be that middle linebacker.”

Huron Heights High School LB and Wagner signee Owen Lock

Adding to that physicality and intensity is also a chip on Lock’s shoulders that it is not only the Americans that can lace up the helmet and shoulder pads and succeed at the game of football.

“It definitely gives you something extra to prove and to prove that Canadians can play football as a whole. The more Canadians we can get, the more we can prove that Canadians can play football too. To be one of those representatives is a gift.”

Huron Heights High School LB and Wagner signee Owen Lock
Huron Heights LB Owen Lock during 2023 Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game Practice (Photo taken by Billy Metcalf Photography)

“In high school, I was a great leader for the team. I would like to grow in one of those roles here. I want to be a team guy and would like to push players to be the best that they can be. The culture here at Wagner is just so fitting and I am going to do my best to help other players excel as they are helping me right now.”

Huron Heights High School LB and Wagner signee Owen Lock

Owen Lock has made history by becoming the first player in the history of the Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game to sign with a DI college. Having the confidence to go outside your comfort zone in a total different country and perform at an All-Star game has helped him be in the position that he is in today and he wants to make sure that other upcoming seniors take advantage of playing in Gridiron’s game when given the same opportunity.

“I think the bowl game is great especially if you are from small areas and you are not getting as much media exposure. When I was playing in Canada, there were a couple of photographers, but not a lot of media coverage per say. We had a great writer that would write articles about my high school in Sam Laskaris. The Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game is great for exposure and the more people can see you, the more opportunities that you are going to have. Camps, social media, sending emails, the Gridiron game, anything that can get you exposure, that is what you have to do to be seen.”

Huron Heights High School LB and Wagner signee Owen Lock
Huron Heights LB Owen Lock during 2023 Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game Practice (Photo taken by Billy Metcalf Photography)

“Football is football no matter where you come from. If you work hard, you are going to end up where you are going to end up. You got to work hard, but what helps is having friendly competition that can push you to work harder. Have competition where you both want to beat each other. As an athlete, you always want to be competitive so why not be as competitive as possible. The best thing when I went down there was I had no idea where I was going to stack up in Baton Rouge and I realized that I could play football like these guys. That was what we did with the Big Cat drills in practice. It’s a great environment. Overall, I just learned a lot of good football skills and a lot of good life skills.”

Huron Heights High School LB and Wagner signee Owen Lock

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