Michael Sam Comments on CFL Debut with Montreal Alouettes

Michael Sam admitted there were some nerves as he made his first appearance in the Canadian Football League on Friday night. Once he got beyond those debut feelings, he was pleased with his performance despite a limited number of snaps.

Sam, who became the first openly gay player to appear in the CFL, and the Montreal Alouettes lost to the Ottawa Redblacks, 26-23, and sit at the bottom of the East Division with a 2-4 record. Afterward, the defensive end talked about what went through his mind right before the opening kickoff, as noted by the Associated Press.

"I was focusing on my assignments, actually," Sam said. "I'm not going to lie, there were some big jitters out there and I was nervous when I first got on the field. I didn't get any opportunities to make many plays. I had some good pass rushes, I thought, but close enough is not a sack."

He didn't make any tackles in his first game of the campaign. His debut got delayed after personal reasons caused him to leave training camp back in June.

The 25-year-old defender starred at Missouri before breaking barriers for the LGBT community by getting drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the 2014 draft. He also made a stop with the Dallas Cowboys, but didn't stick with either NFL squad.

Now he's at least getting a chance to play in the CFL. His role should steadily increase as he becomes more acclimated with his new surroundings and returns to peak game fitness. He's shown the ability to get after opposing quarterbacks, racking up 11.5 sacks in his final collegiate season.

If Sam can start to make a more consistent impact with the Alouettes, it could eventually earn him another shot in the NFL.