Judge enjoys career year with Riders after nearly calling it a career

Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker Cam Judge has developed into one of the top linebackers in the CFL, but there was a time he considered hanging up the cleats at the age of 22.

His rookie season in 2017 was cut short due to a torn labrum he suffered in just his third game, putting an end to his season. He had torn his other labrum in college.

“It was terrible,” Judge said as the team prepared for Friday’s game against the B.C. Lions (8 p.m., BC Place).

“I felt like I didn’t play as much as I wanted to in college and I felt I was coming up here for a new start. Getting hurt, it was tough on me.”

It was so tough on him that Judge almost decided to quit playing the sport, even taking to Twitter to say he was going to focus on an off-field opportunity.

“I didn’t want to play football anymore,” Judge said. “I was kind of over it at the time. I had to go and find my love of the game again.”

Luckily for Rider Nation, Judge found his love for the game of football and has become one of the team’s top defenders.

“I just thought about the things why I started playing and it made me want to keep playing,” said Judge, 24. “I realized it was better than sitting at a desk.

“I’m just glad (I continued to play). This is probably the most fun I’ve had playing football since high school.”

While playing football is a common thing for many high school students, Judge’s childhood had a few out-of-the-ordinary experiences.

His father, Christopher, is an actor best known for playing Teal’c in the television show “Stargate SG-1” and he was the voice of Kratos from the 2018 God of War video game. Cam’s mother, Margaret, was an Edmonton-born model.

Judge was born in Montreal while his dad was working on “Sirens,” but his family moved to California shortly after Cam’s birth.

His family moved around a lot when he was a growing up, living in Vancouver, Victoria and various other places before settling once again in California. Judge went to high school at Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village.

“I got to meet a lot of cool people and I couldn’t stay in contact with a lot of them for too long,” he said. “That was probably the bad part, but it was nice getting to meet a bunch of people from different places.”

Having an actor for a father afforded Judge a few interesting opportunities inside the special-effects trailers while on set growing up.

“They had some fake blood. It’d look like water on your skin but if you rub a Popsicle stick on it, it turns to blood. I loved that when I was little,” Judge said. “I wouldn’t make too many of them but I’d hang around the special-effects guy (and) make explosions and stuff. It’d be cool to see.”

Judge’s parents weren’t the only people who have provided inspiration to him in his life. The linebacker has tattoos of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

“Coming from a mixed family — without people like Martin Luther King, people like Malcolm X and all the civil rights people — who knows where we would be today?” Judge said.

“We still have work to do today so imagine if people like that wouldn’t have been around. Who knows if my parents would have even been allowed to meet? So things like that are just a blessing and I’m thankful for people like that who sacrificed everything for the betterment of the future.”

Judge’s mother is Caucasian and his dad is an African-American. Judge said he wasn’t the target of much racism growing up because of his light skin but he was still exposed to it.

“Most of the racism I heard was people thinking they were safe to say how they really felt (because of my light skin). I learned a lot of people are not who they pretend to be or who they say they are (because) behind closed doors when they think it’s safe, you’re hearing it all come out,” Judge said. “I definitely saw my fair share of (racism).”

On the football field, Judge’s father provided a lot of the inspiration in Cam’s life. Christopher was a defensive back for the University of Oregon Ducks from 1982 to 1985.

“My dad was a pretty good player so any advice he had for me, I was definitely taking it all the time and I feel it definitely helped in my growth as a player,” Judge said.

And what advice sticks out the most in his mind?

“Be a dog. Don’t let anyone push you around,” Judge recalled. “Assert yourself and make yourself known out there.”

He took that advice to heart as a member of the UCLA Bruins. In 47 games in college, Judge amassed 46 tackles and one interception. While he wasn’t selected in the NFL draft, he was a highly sought-after prospect in the 2017 CFL draft.

Then-Roughriders head coach and general manager Chris Jones made Judge the second overall pick.

“I got my name into the draft a week before the draft and it was a weird feeling, it just came so fast,” Judge said. “I watched the draft by myself. I had it open on my laptop and I was just playing video games.

“I didn’t know I was going to go that soon. I didn’t really talk to Saskatchewan.”

The pick turned out to be a good one for the Green and White. After only appearing in three games in 2017, Judge appeared in all 18 in 2018 and recorded 41 tackles and two sacks.

He’s enjoying his best professional season this season, with 53 tackles, four sacks and his first career interception in 14 games.

And while the injury in his rookie season nearly made him quit altogether, it ended up making him stronger.

“It was tough but I feel like the things I went through because of that made me a better person and a better player and made me who I am today,” Judge said. “Everything happens for a reason.”

The Green Zone pre-game show gets underway Friday at 6 p.m.