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Tyron Vrede
Dutch gridiron football player (born 1996) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Tyron Vrede (born 18 September 1996) is a Dutch professional gridiron football linebacker for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the tenth overall pick by the Redblacks in the 2021 CFL Global Draft.
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Early life
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Vrede grew up playing association football in his hometown of Amsterdam, describing himself as a physical player, but got interested in American football after he was gifted a copy of the video game Madden 2000 for the PlayStation.[1][2] Since the Netherlands does not allow kids to play tackle football until they are 17, he played flag football for a few months before he could join a full-contact team.[1][2] However, with no exposure to international recruiters, Vrede did not receive any offers to play college football after graduating from high school.[1] Over the next two years, he carried luggage at an Amsterdam airport, coached flag football, and managed a gym to make enough money for a potential move to the United States.[1]
Vrede played with the Amsterdam Crusaders in his hometown, even serving as the team's placekicker.[3] He played in the EFL Bowl in 2016, which they lost to the Frankfurt Universe.[3] Vrede was also called up to the Dutch junior national teams on several occasions.[2] He was eventually selected to play in the International Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, representing Team World against Team USA under-19s.[1][2] "That's when I knew I could play at an American level," Vrede said of the experience.[1] He began sending his highlight film to American junior colleges and attended football camps in Germany to attract attention from coaches.[1][2]
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College career
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Vrede enrolled at West Hills College Coalinga with the help of fellow Amsterdam native Dylan Bakker, who had played at West Hills and North Dakota.[1] As a freshman, Vrede recorded 36 tackles and five pass breakups in nine games at defensive back.[4][5] He also helped the Falcons upset an unbeaten Shasta College team in the 2016 NCFC American Division Bowl, tallying nine tackles in the 20–14 comeback victory.[6] However, the coaching staff was fired in the offseason, leading Vrede to transfer to Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas.[1] Now listed as a linebacker, he recorded 28 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble in his lone season with the Broncbusters.[7] His performance helped him land a scholarship to play NCAA Division I football at the University of North Dakota.[1][2]
Vrede played in all 11 games for the Fighting Hawks during his junior year in 2018, logging 23 tackles, six tackles for loss and two sacks as a reserve linebacker.[1] Because of differences between the Dutch and American education systems, he was originally labelled a senior throughout the season by the NCAA and was not cleared to play his actual senior year until spring break.[1][8] In 2019, Vrede played in all 12 games and recorded 33 tackles, four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.[9] He tallied five tackles in their season opening win against Drake.[10]
Vrede graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2020.[11]
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Professional career
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Vrede was selected by the Ottawa Redblacks with the tenth overall pick in the 2021 CFL Global Draft.[12] Before the draft, JC Abbott of 3DownNation.com had rated him as the second-best linebacker available after Les Maruo.[13] Vrede signed with the Redblacks in late April, and officially made the roster after final cuts were announced a week before the start of the 2021 season.[9][14] He recorded four special teams tackles in his first four games and finished the year third on the team with ten special teams tackles in 14 games played.[15][16] He also broke into the defensive rotation towards the end of the season, where he recorded five defensive tackles.[16]
In 2022, Vrede played in 12 regular season games where he recorded seven special teams tackles.[17] At the start of the 2023 season, he played in the first four games where he had 18 defensive tackles, including a career-high 11 defensive tackles on July 8, 2023, against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.[18] He also recorded two special teams tackles in those games, but suffered a season-ending injury and was out for the remainder of the year.[18][17]
In 2024, Vrede played in 10 regular season games where he had 16 defensive tackles, three special teams tackles, and one sack.[18] He also played in the team's East Semi-Final loss to the Toronto Argonauts where he recorded two special teams tackles.[19] After becoming a free agent in the following offseason, Vrede re-signed with the Redblacks to a one-year contract.[20]
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