Considered a small player for his position, Chad Folk always found ways to overcome his deficiencies on the football field.
Those attributes didn’t go unnoticed during Folk’s two-year stint with the Butte College Roadrunners in Chico, CA.
The 42-year-old Kelowna native was inducted this month into the California Junior College Hall of Fame.
During his two years as starting center with the Roadrunners, Folk earned multiple honours, including the Golden Valley Conference (GVC) offensive player of the year in 1994.
A former player with the Okanagan Sun, Folk helped Butte College win two conference and two bowl titles and was a two-time All-American.
He went on to play two years as a starter at the University of Utah. In 1997, Folk was the No. 1 overall CFL draft of the Toronto Argonauts.
Folk played 12 seasons with the Argos, winning the Grey Cup in 1997 and again in 2004.
Following his retirement in 2009, Folk, who played at an undersized 6-foot-1, 275 pounds, talked about enduring at a bigger man’s position throughout his career.
“My entire career I was the smallest starting O-lineman around and it was just something I had to find a way to get past,” said Folk. “I needed to find ways to utilize my strength, I spent lots of time in the weight room, and watched a lot of film to help me with different techniques. I was able to survive against bigger players for 12 years.”
Folk grew up in Kelowna, and played four seasons with the Sun beginning in 1989.
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