A torn labrum created the very real possibility of a shattered dream.
But Jake Dolegala persevered, to the extent that he cracked an NFL roster as an undrafted player — an odds-defying feat — and is now poised to make his second CFL start for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
And to think that it all could have unravelled on Sept. 20, 2013, early in his third game as a senior at St. Francis High School in Hamburg, N.Y.
“I thought at that point that, being a quarterback and injuring my throwing shoulder, my career could have been over,” Dolegala reflects leading up to Sunday’s game against the B.C. Lions (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
“I was going through a lot. I had surgery pretty much right away. I was just down, bad. Mentally, I was thinking, ‘Am I going to do this again?’ ”
The answer, he resolved, would be yes.
For support and encouragement, Dolegala could turn to many key people in his life — such as his parents (Greg and Tia) and brothers (Jarrett and Jadd).
Tia’s father, Al Bemiller, spent nine years with the Buffalo Bills and helped them win American Football League championships in 1964 and 1965. Jake was very close to his grandfather, who was 84 when he passed away on Nov. 30.
Also in Dolegala’s corner during his recovery were John Scibetta (who was the St. Francis Red Raiders’ offensive co-ordinator at the time) and Jim Kubiak (a quarterback development coach whose own playing career included time spent with five NFL teams and, along the way, Peyton Manning).
The messaging from the mentors, during the toughest days of 2013, was succinct, simple and sensible: Just take it one day at a time.
“And that’s what I did,” Dolegala recalls. “I remember that it took a long, long time for me to be back to where I wanted to be.
“I remember the day that I couldn’t throw the ball 10 yards — and now I am where I am.”
Living a childhood dream.
“Obviously, my grandfather had a lot to do with it,” Dolegala says. “Going to so many games, with him being an alum of the Buffalo Bills, that was a huge part. But football just runs in my blood. My dad played growing up. He obviously always wanted us to play.
“I started when I was six and it has been a love affair ever since.”
Albeit one with some heartache.
Until being injured, Dolegala had received overtures from several major NCAA schools. His size (now 6-foot-7 and 242 pounds) and rocket-powered throwing arm had left scouts salivating.
Heading into Grade 12 at St. Francis, he was coming off a junior year in which he had thrown for 619 yards in eight games. It was a start, but representatives of the university programs were clamouring for more.
“There were big options,” Dolegala says. “The thing was that they all wanted to see film.
“I hadn’t really played much at all in varsity until my senior year. I had subbed in or whatever, but I had never started, really, until my senior year.
“They were all intrigued from the camps I had been going to previously, but they wanted to see the first three games on film. And, of course, I get hurt in the third game on the third series.
“It was really poor timing. A bunch of big schools were ready to offer me (scholarships). It was just the way it happened.”
But hope was not lost.
“It was Jim Kubiak working his magic for me,” an appreciative Dolegala says.
Kubiak contacted Bill Chaplick, the long-time head football coach at Milford Academy, and put in a good word.
Just like that, Dolegala’s post-secondary journey was to begin in New Berlin, N.Y.
He quickly seized the opportunity, throwing for 363 yards and three TDs in his first game with the Milford Academy Falcons.
Over an 11-game schedule in 2014, he amassed 2,276 aerial yards and 20 TD passes en route to being named the team’s offensive MVP.
The passing prowess led to one scholarship offer — from Central Connecticut State University.
“I went in there as a freshman, thinking that they’d probably redshirt me or whatever, but by the end of camp I was competing for the job,” Dolegala says.
“I ended up winning it and starting my freshman year and I started every year after that.”
Over the four seasons that he spent with the Central Connecticut Blue Devils, he threw for 8,129 yards and 48 touchdowns and scored another 18 majors along the ground.
As a bonus, Dolegala was able to play alongside his brothers, both of whom were tight ends at Central Connecticut.
With a scroll of school passing records to his name, Jake Dolegala prepared for the 2019 NFL Draft.
He was bypassed over seven rounds but, once again, he refused to lament his fate or be derailed by adversity.
Instead, he signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals and vowed to make the most of that chance.
Cue an eye-popping debut, in which he completed 10 of 12 passes for 94 yards and two TDs against the New York Giants in an Aug. 22, 2019 pre-season game.
One week later, he went 28-for-42 for 254 yards against the Indianapolis Colts while playing all four quarters in the Bengals’ exhibition finale.
Dolegala was soon informed that he had made Cincinnati’s 53-man roster — an impressive accomplishment for any rookie, but especially for someone who had not been drafted out of a high-powered college program.
“It goes to show you the different opportunities that different organizations are willing to give,” says Kubiak, who owns the QB Evolution training program and is also a freelance sports writer for the Buffalo News.
“Andy Dalton was the starter in Cincinnati and he and Jake had a great relationship. They sort of hit it off.
“The Bengals, to their credit, gave Jake some good opportunities, both in practice and in the pre-season, and he did very well.”
The following year, though, Dolegala was among the Bengals’ final cuts. He was soon signed by the New England Patriots and placed on the practice squad.
On April 29, 2021, New England drafted quarterback Mac Jones in the first round. Dolegala was released the next day.
Over the rest of 2021, he had two stints with the Green Bay Packers, a second go-round with New England, and a three-week stay on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad.
The Roughriders entered the equation on Feb. 15, 2022, when Dolegala signed a CFL contract.
By then, he was already familiar with Naaman Roosevelt.
Roosevelt, a Roughriders receiver from 2015 to 2019 and now the team’s Offensive Assistant, is also from the Buffalo area. He and Dolegala have worked out together for a series of off-seasons.
“First of all, I noticed that he had a strong arm,” Roosevelt says when asked about first impressions.
“When you’re running routes out there, you can hear the ball whistling when it’s coming toward you. He’s firing that thing at you.
“He’s a big kid with a strong arm. You can see it out here (at practice). He gets the ball anywhere on the field. Even with the wide field, he gets it anywhere. That’s his thing.
“He’s got a big arm and he does a great job of locating his guy and getting the ball to him.”
Uncommon arm strength was among the many attributes that enabled Dolegala to stick with the Roughriders in 2022.
Most memorably, he was elevated to starting duty on July 24 of last year. He quickly ascended from No. 3 to No. 1 on the depth chart after a COVID-19 outbreak sidelined several Roughriders players, including quarterbacks Cody Fajardo and Mason Fine.
Despite playing with a depleted arsenal, the Roughriders led the Toronto Argonauts 15-11 at halftime — by which point Dolegala had completed a 10-yard TD pass to Tevin Jones — and 21-14 after three quarters. Toronto then scored the final 17 points to win 31-21 at Mosaic Stadium.
Nearly 13 months later, Dolegala awaits his second pro start.
This time, he has received a full week of starter’s reps in practice, following a hamstring injury that has landed Fine on the six-game injured list alongside fellow quarterback Trevor Harris (knee).
“I’m excited to play,” says Dolegala, 26. “It’s a nasty business that we’re in. It’s the next-man-up mentality.
“It sucks for Trev and Mase and I feel terrible, but when you get your opportunity, you’ve got to make the most of it. That’s what I plan on doing.”
Opportunities are the key for Dolegala, in the assessment of a long-time coach and friend.
“When you look at Jake — a big guy, a great worker, really smart, and someone who wants to be the best he can be — he’s a guy who you can hang your hat on as a franchise,” Kubiak says.
“It comes down to that commitment from any organization to say, ‘We can build around this guy. We can bring in this kind of receiver in the slot or this kind of receiver on the outside who would help us build an offence around his skill set.’
“That’s what good organizations do. They make those decisions and then they implement the pieces to complement the players’ abilities.
“Make no mistake: He possesses the physical, emotional and leadership tools to be that guy.”
That is why Kubiak begins an interview by emphasizing that he loves to talk about Dolegala.
“What is so interesting about Jake is that he has excellent character and integrity,” Kubiak continues.
“When it’s time to work, he’s there on time and he’s ready to go. He gives you great effort, he wants to learn, and he’s a genuinely good person.
“He’s the kind of guy that would stay longer to sign autographs or do anything that the organization would ask him to do.
“He’s just that kind of a person — the kind of person you want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with and chat about things.
“The other part that makes him so endearing is how he has been able to overcome some significant adversity. It’s wonderful to see somebody continue to press on in the face of those adversities.”
With that in mind, Kubiak will be paying close attention from upstate New York as Dolegala faces a formidable Lions defence on Sunday.
“You don’t see a lot of guys like Jake make it to where he is today,” Kubiak says. “I’m really proud of him, because I know that road is really difficult — overcoming all of the odds, with the injury and really being a guy that nobody thought could do it.
“Let’s be honest about that. You come out of college as an undrafted free agent and you’re in a bunch of different situations. If they don’t work out, it’s hard to pick yourself up and dust yourself off and get back to it, but Jake has always done that. That’s a remarkable strength.”
