Mike Davis remembers the conversation like it was yesterday.
The Vegas Knight Hawks head coach was a big fan of Justin Rankin in the tight-knit Indoor Football League — where the running back said his pay started at a cool $250 per game "before taxes," in 2021 in North Dakota — and Davis was convinced the arena-ball star could more than hold his own on a bigger stage.
In late fall of 2023, after Rankin won an IFL title with the San Jose-based Bay Area Panthers, the former Saskatchewan Roughriders assistant gave Rankin a shout.
"This is exactly how it went down," Davis recalled recently, adding he won't go to bat for "bull---- players."
"I was like, 'Rankin, I'm going to get you an opportunity in the CFL. If I do, are you taking it?' He goes, 'Absolutely coach. I'm taking it.'
"So I call (then-Elks GM/coach) Chris Jones (who brought Davis to the CFL in Saskatchewan in 2016) and (then-assistant GM) Geroy (Simon) and I said, 'Hey, I need you to do me a favour. I need you to sign this kid. Here's his film, get back to me. If you say no, I'm shopping him to somebody else. Literally within two hours, I had contracts in my inbox."
A cold call, in this case, started the CFL career of an emerging star. The Edmonton Elks' do-it-all running back is not the first pro footballer with an unusual introduction story — Ricky Ray leaving his job as a Frito-Lay potato chips drive to attend camp with the San Francisco 49ers and Anthony Calvillo practising with the Las Vegas Posse in a casino parking lot come to mind.
But it's not like Rankin was stashed on a negotiation list for years in hopes of him eventually crossing the border.
The five-foot-10, 210-pound Rankin played three years at Kent State University in his home state of Ohio before transferring to Division II at Northwest Missouri State — or as Simon jokingly called it, "one of the directional Missouri schools." Rankin, now 28, had the misfortune of finishing college just before the COVID-19 pandemic started, meaning NFL tryouts and pro days were limited.
A longtime football-playing buddy of his from Ohio, defensive back Malik Duncan, who was playing in the IFL, encouraged Rankin to give arena ball a try after he wasn't selected in the 2020 NFL Draft.
At first, Duncan was met with resistance: "Dude, I'm never going to play arena," Rankin told him, thinking he'd be better off finding a job outside of football.
But eventually, Rankin changed his mind, even if Bismarck, N.D. might as well have been another planet upon arrival.
"I had to basically rip everything out of my brain about football and just be open-minded to this new game and how they played me and how things are run," Rankin said. "We're taking buses to games like we're in high school again. It was crazy. Very much a humbling experience. A lot of guys complain about some of the things that happen in the CFL or NFL or UFL and I'm like, 'You guys have no idea, you have no idea what it's like to have nothing in this football world."
The longest bus ride? "Sixteen hours one time," Rankin said, though he might have lost track of time. Rankin's Bismarck Bucks played one game in 2021 in Worcester, Mass., a mere 26 hours away.
Things did get better as years passed, financially and statistically. Rankin made All-IFL Teams in 2022 in Frisco, Texas and 2023 in San Jose. Pay got up to about $1,000 per game and Rankin also was working full time selling insurance, making a good living.
However, the opportunity to try the CFL was too good to pass up, especially because Rankin was "doing the waggle for three years before I even came up to Canada. I tell people tell all the time it's harder to waggle in arena than it is in the CFL."
Unfortunately, things didn't line up perfectly. With veteran running backs Kevin Brown and Javon Leake on the roster, the Elks had Rankin as a receiver in camp in 2024. He suffered a hamstring injury and was cut before the pre-season opener, sending him back to Frisco for arena ball.
A couple months later, Jones was fired and Simon was promoted to assistant GM. The former CFL star receiver wanted Rankin for the practice roster, this time at his natural spot.
"Rankin was so good, we had to get him on the field," said Simon, now working in an executive role at his alma mater, the University of Maryland. "After a few weeks, we were like we're just making him the starter because he was clearly the best back."
The breakout came in his third game when Rankin rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns in Hamilton. The Elks were 7-4 with Rankin playing and 0-7 without him that year.
In his first full season last year, Rankin was sixth in the league with 1,013 rushing yards. He also led all running backs with 712 receiving yards, earning a contract extension through 2027.
Two weeks ago, Rankin rushed for 102 yards and had 94 receiving yards in a win in Ottawa, Edmonton's first season-opening triumph since 2019. The Elks play their home opener Saturday against Montreal.
"He's the best back in the league, without question," Simon said. "He's got the versatility, just like Andrew Harris had. ... He plays with power, he plays with great balance, he understands where to hit the hole, he can accelerate and he has breakaway speed."
Added Davis: "He was a pro before he was a pro ... The coaches who coached him in the IFL before he went to Edmonton they're like, 'Man, he was the first one in, last one out.' In Edmonton, he's one of the first ones in, one of the last ones out. As long as he wants to play up there, he'll play up there because he takes care of his body so well."
Before the season, Rankin told 3DownNation he was hoping to become the first CFL player to have 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in one season. He proved in the opener he has the skill set to make a bid for that lofty goal.
So how exactly did Rankin go under the radar for so long?
For one, he plays running back, where competition is fierce. There always will be a long line of replacement candidates for any injured running back, no matter how good they are. You can become yesterday's news quickly.
"He wasn't a Power Five guy, he was a mid-major guy and he transferred down to Division II," Simon said. "Even though he had success, you're always going to find a guy who's just as big and just as fast. (Many are) going to go for the bigger guys. But he has something you can't measure, he's got the heart of a lion."
Simon compares Rankin to two Hall of Fame running backs: "He has the power of a Mike Pringle and the versatility of a Kelvin Anderson."
Rankin has a long way to go to match the feats of those men, but it might be unwise to bet against him.
"Since I was little to now, there's never really been a doubt in my mind," Rankin said. "I was in college playing Alabama, playing well against them. If I can play against those guys, half those guys are in the NFL. It's no surprise to me. I think I work extremely hard. I think I work harder than a lot of people that play football in general, regardless of the league.
"I believe in me, I believe in my ability and I believe in my work ethic."
Week 3 glance
B.C. Lions (0-1) at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT
Lions QB and reigning CFL most outstanding player Nathan Rourke battles 2025 East MOP nominee Bo Levi Mitchell in an excellent quarterback matchup. Some fans figure to be cheering for Rourke, who grew up in nearby Oakville, Ont.
Toronto Argonauts (0-1) at Ottawa Redblacks (0-1), Saturday, 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT
New Redblacks head coach Ryan Dinwiddie faces his old team, which promoted ex-QB coach Mike Miller to the top job.
Montreal Alouettes (2-0) at Edmonton Elks (1-0), Saturday, 4 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. MT
Als quarterback Davis Alexander is 13-0 as a starter for his regular-season career after throwing for 441 yards last week in a win over Toronto. He can tie Mitchell's CFL record for most consecutive starts with a victory on Saturday. Alexander goes up against the man he unseated for Montreal's starting role last year — Elks QB Cody Fajardo — for the first time.
Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-0) at Calgary Stampeders (0-1), Saturday, 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. MT
The Stamps have won five of their past six games against the reigning Grey Cup champion Roughriders.
