Elyria Catholic grad Justin Rankin finding football success in Canada

After a few twists and turns along the way, Justin Rankin has found a football home in the Canadian Football League. The former Elyria Catholic standout running back was initially cut by the Edmonton Elks in 2023, but the team is probably glad they reversed that decision a couple of months later because he's become one of their best playmakers. Rankin came up huge against Toronto on Aug. 16, piling up 179 total yards — 92 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries and 87 receiving on five catches — during the Elks' 28-20 win. Edmonton (4-6) is going for its third straight win today. This season, Rankin's played in 10 games with 88 carries for 436 yards and four touchdowns, also adding 38 catches for 485 yards and two more touchdowns (through Week 12). "It's the ultimate team sport," Rankin said. "We believe in each other. We had a good week of practice. We saw the plays we were making for each other during practice and that translated to the field. People just believed in the playmaking ability. When a guy is feeling good, we just give him the ball and continue to feed him. When you're in that groove you feel unstoppable and on that day I felt good and I felt unstoppable." After a standout high school career with the Panthers, Rankin made an immediate impact at Kent State. As a freshman he had 846 total yards — leading the team with 335 yards receiving. His sophomore year he put together 901 total yards with 311 yards receiving. He scored nine touchdowns and threw for another during that span. His final season with the Golden Flashes was 2018 where he ran for 574 yards and four touchdowns and caught 14 passes for 127 yards and another touchdown. Rankin transferred to Northwest Missouri State in 2019, appearing in 14 games and amassing 1,050 rushing yards with 13 touchdowns. He added 34 catches for 371 yards and four more touchdowns. Rankin went undrafted in 2020 and spent three seasons from 2021-23 in the Indoor Football League, first with Bismarck, running for 454 yards and 15 touchdowns. He landed in Frisco in 2022, leading the league with 776 yards and tied for second with 28 rushing touchdowns. He earned All-IFL first-team honors. He joined the Bay Area Panthers in 2023 and improved on his breakout season with 791 rushing yards and 38 rushing touchdowns, gaining All-IFL second-team honors. The Panthers won the IFL Championship with a 51-41 win against Sioux Falls in the final. "I love arena football," Rankin said. "I'm a huge advocate for it. I try to tell all my younger guys who are looking for an opportunity to play to go there. I'm extremely grateful that they continued to give me a chance there. The biggest thing that helped me in arena was making people miss in close quarters. I played on a 50-yard field, it's super small. At the end of the day it gave me an opportunity to play football. And that's the biggest blessing." His three years in the IFL gave him the platform to showcase his skills. Edmonton took notice, signing him to the squad Nov. 23, 2023. Rankin made the most of his camp, making the initial cut. But two days later he injured his hamstring and was let go in May of 2024. "It was tough," Rankin said. "That was my first time getting cut. It was tough mentally. I got hurt, was going through the mental strain of getting hurt and on top of that getting released. But staying around family and everyone in my corner made sure I was good and uplifted me. I fell back on my faith and believed God had a plan whether it was in football or not." Rankin relocated to Texas and was ready to spend another season in the IFL with Frisco. Four games into the season, his phone rang and Edmonton wanted him back. He only recorded 33 carries for 162 yards and four touchdowns with Frisco that season because he landed on the Elks practice squad on July 21, 2024. Two weeks later, he got promoted to the active roster and nearly two weeks after that in Week 11 had his breakout moment. He ran for 108 yards and three touchdowns in a 47-22 victory against Hamilton on Aug. 17, 2024. In 11 games, he finished with 765 rushing yards and five touchdowns, adding nine catches for 52 yards and a touchdown. "The biggest thing for me was I always just wanted to prove to myself that I belonged," Rankin said. "Seeing I could make plays and actually hang up here gave me relief. It was a weight off my shoulders to know I wasn't just dreaming. I wasn't just hyping myself up like I belong, my play and my actions are backing the dream up. I can play up here, and it felt good to put that on film." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.