Alain Cimankinda doesn’t lack confidence in first CFL training camp

Alain Cimankinda didn’t always have dreams of being a football star – but he’s confident he could be one of the best.

The 25-year-old defensive tackle has compared himself to NFL star Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams.

“Some of the strength that I have is very similar to Aaron Donald strength – it might not be at the same level but I believe my ceiling could be around there,” Cimankinda said. “For a guy that is under-sized in certain people’s eyes, I have great quickness, great power and great speed that I can utilize to my advantage to attack (offensive linemen) before they are able to get to me and be able to make a lot of chaos in the backfield.”

Football wasn’t always on Cimankinda’s radar. He and his family are originally from Congo.

“I come from a family of 12. My dad had moved to Ottawa a couple years before the family came down so for the most part of my youth, I was raised by my mom alone so that was kind of special. I was able to learn some different values and life through that,” Cimankinda said.

When he was about eight years old, his entire family – including a few nephews and nieces – moved to Canada as well.

“It’s been amazing since then, learning English and going through school,” Cimankinda said. “We came down in February of 2005 so it was super cold. We landed in Montreal and we didn’t have a winter coat or winter clothes but my dad and my uncle were able to give us all that stuff when we landed. It was a huge culture shock. I was used to going outside and it being sunny the whole time and being able to go out and run around. Here I have to check the weather first.”

Cimankinda would eventually find his way onto the gridiron when he was 11 and he was one of the last of his brothers to pick up the sport.

“I was more of a stay-at-home guy – watch TV, play video games and read books. One summer I was getting bored at the house and decided to watch my little brother’s practice. While he was practising, the president of the team was there and asked me if I wanted to play and they took care of the rest,” Cimankinda said.

Cimankinda, who played university football with the Guelph Gryphons, was taken in the fourth round (35th overall) in the 2021 CFL draft.

For Cimankinda, he always had the confidence he could make it to the pros and that started to become a reality as he met with more CFL coaches ahead of the draft.

“I saw the respect that they had for my game and they saw the same thing about my ability and talent.”

Cimankinda is also willing to do whatever it takes to help him contribute to the team.

Head coach Craig Dickenson said that Cimankinda asked if he could give fullback a go.

“He feels like he can help us on offence as a fullback so we said why not? He’s playing the nose tackle which is Charbel Dabire and Makana Henry and those are big men. He’s not small but he’s not big like that,” Dickenson said. “We may have a diamond in the rough there. We will have to get him going and see if he can help us on offence, because he can help us on special-teams, I know that.”

The Riders will kick off the season on Aug. 6 against the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium.

Notes: Slotback Jordan Williams-Lambert injured his knee while stretching on Monday. Dickenson doesn’t believe it is serious but kept him out of practice on Tuesday … Safety Mike Edem (groin) and wide receiver Justin McInnis (hamstring) missed Tuesday’s practice as well … Offensive tackle Terran Vaughn (shoulder), defensive end AC Leonard and defensive back Lorenzo Jerome all returned to practice Tuesday.