The gap between when he saw his name called and when his phone rang – with an Alberta area code on the other end – seemed like a split second, if that.
By the time he answered the call, Felix Gacusana Jr. was already over the moon.
The Burnaby native and St. Thomas More Collegiate alumnus was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday, the 43rd player selected in the annual event.
“I was originally going to go pitch-and-putt with my girlfriend, just to take my mind off (the draft),” Gacusana told the NOW. “But I decided to stay home with my family.
“My girlfriend saw my name on her phone and was freaking out, everyone was yelling. Right when I saw my name the phone rang.”
The Simon Fraser University offensive lineman had, in the weeks prior to the draft, including the draft combine in April, talked with every other team in the Canadian Football League – every team but Calgary.
That made the announcement all the more interesting for Gacusana.
“I didn’t get any interest from Calgary, not at the combine where I had interviews with Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and Toronto,” the 21-year-old noted. “Before the draft I got calls from Hamilton, Montreal, Toronto and B.C., but nothing from Calgary.
“I was so surprised to hear them draft me, but you never know.”
The Stampeders had a need at offensive line, but used its top pick, sixth overall, on defensive lineman Randy Colling of Gannon University. They addressed other positions with the next three picks, while watching offensive linemen like Mason Woods, a six-foot-seven product from PoCo, get tabbed by other teams.
Their patience worked out when Gacusana was available in the fifth round.
“(Gacusana) performed well in the one-on-one pass rush drill at the regional combine. He showed a competitive attitude and a nasty streak," Calgary's offensive line coach Pat DelMonaco said in a press release.
That nasty streak was something he honed while on Burnaby Mountain.
"I learned so much (at SFU), about the technical side and offensive schemes," Gacusana said. "Before that I thought it was just about blocking. I learned how to play more aggressively and violently."
A second team all-star in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with SFU despite an 0-8 record, Gacusana was one of a handful of Clan players to draw draft interest.
In the fourth round, Calgary grabbed fellow SFU grad and friend Ante Milanovich-Litre, a running back.
The trials and tribulations with a program that struggled for wins over four years on the NCAA Div. 2 circuit proved to be a great classroom for someone coming out of a serious high school program.
"I definitely learned technique. In high school I was just a big kid and could overpower kids," he recalled. "That changed in university -- I was up against seniors on the line and (I) got blown away... You learn so much playing against the big dogs."
Up until Grade 10, Gacusana was more likely found shooting hoops on the basketball court. But while most of his STM teammates leaned out, he grew thicker and heavier. A change in sport was the fork in the road, and football was the choice.
Now, almost eight years later, in the fifth round, Calgary called the six-foot-two, 315-pound lineman’s name.
“I want to show (the Calgary coaches) that while I’m probably the shortest lineman, you can’t find any lineman who loves it more than me,” he said. “I love to play, I love contact, everything about it.
"I just want to better my craft."
Along with Milanovic-Litre, chosen 28th overall, SFU saw brothers Justin (54th, by Toronto) and Jordan Herdman (60th overall, by B.C.) get chosen.
Calgary's camp kicks off May 24.
