Before the opening kickoff, before every game, Justin McInnis takes a knee and engages in a private conversation inside his head.
“I do it all for her,” the BC Lions receiver says to himself. “I do it all for her.”
By her, he means his daughter Aria. She’s five. And while her dad navigates a big change of his own these days — catching passes from quarterback Nathan Rourke instead of Vernon Adams Jr. — Aria is the one dealing with a major life shift.
“She just started kindergarten,” McInnis says. “She’s all excited to go in every day and meet new people and have a good time.”
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In this season of change, Aria and her dad are both thriving in their respective pursuits. McInnis, 28, roared into the 2024 season with the stated goal of becoming the top National receiver in the league. After 13 games, the Pierrefonds, QC product leads all CFL players — regardless of nationality — in receiving yards (1,074) and receiving touchdowns (seven).
“You just put your head down, you work really hard and good things happen,” says the towering six-foot-five, 210-pounder. “I also have a group of guys around me that believe in me, believe in my ability.
“They’re just giving me the opportunity to make plays when they come my way.”
Not bad for someone originally signed by BC in 2023 as a utility guy to plug holes and help wherever needed as the sixth receiver on his team.
Now he’s the most prolific pass catcher in the land.
“Just a great pick-up for us,” says Jason Tucker, the Lions’ receiving coach. “I mean, he’s well-polished. A big target. A big body. Probably some of the strongest hands I’ve seen in a long time.
“He’s a model of consistency. And that’s what we preach in this game. You’ve got to be consistent, and that’s what he’s been ever since he got here.”
A model of consistency. That’s quite the compliment coming from the understated Tucker, the very definition of the term throughout his seven-year CFL playing career in Edmonton.
McInnis has blossomed in his fifth CFL season, leading the league in receiving going into Week 15 (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)
In 2023, Tucker says McInnis dutifully filled in for the injured starters, capitalizing on every opportunity.
“We’re all in this business to win,” Tucker says. “He was consistently making plays every time he stepped in for somebody that was hurt. He worked his way into it. Like we’ve got to find a way to get this guy on the field.”
Off the field, Tucker sees a man with his priorities in the right place.
“Great guy, great dude,” Tucker says. “He’s a dad. His daughter Aria comes around here, and she’s one of the little kids everyone embraces.”
Back when he played in Saskatchewan, McInnis cared for Aria full-time for six months while her mom finished nursing school.
“I don’t even know if I knew how to put her hair in a bun or anything,” says McInnis, who played his college ball at Arkansas State. “I was trying my best to figure it out.”
He figured it out.
“The early years were super hard because she didn’t know what sleep was at all,” he says. “For like two, two-and-a-half years of her life, she just would not sleep at all — like quick little two, three-hour naps in the night. But now she’s great. She’s awesome. She’s full of energy all the time. And, you know, she keeps me motivated. She keeps a smile on my face. I love it. I love being a dad.”
And Aria clearly adores watching her dad play football.
“She loves coming to the game,” McInnis says. “She loves cheering. She asks me all the time if she can come to football practice with me.
“She tries to get everyone to play with her. She knows if she needs some candy, she just runs up to coach Tuck’s room and he’s going to spoil her.”
From back-up to star attraction — McInnis is thriving in the limelight. But he’s quick to credit his adopted brothers in the BC receiving corps for his own success.
If one guy is double-teamed or having a rough game, another guy steps up.
The offensive weapons at Nathan Rourke’s disposal include Alexander Hollins (56 catches for 881 yards), Ayden Eberhardt (28 catches for 490 yards), Jevon Cottoy (26 catches for 298 yards) and Keon Hatcher (18 catches for 269 yards).
“These guys are genuinely excited for each other to have success because they know it’s not just one person,” Tucker says. “Anybody can have a big game. And when that happens, they’re all dancing with each other in the end zone.”
The goal for the Lions, of course, is to dance in the end zone with the Grey Cup at BC Place on Nov. 17. But McInnis says he’s only focused on Friday’s game against the Toronto Argonauts.
After all, he knows from experience that hard work every day, even when it’s raining, even on the days where it’s hard, is the only route to the top.