Panthers left tackle David Foucault shouldn’t be starting against the Saints. Quarterback Cam Newton’s blindside shouldn’t be protected by a guy who was playing his college football in Canada last fall. But it’s not like the Panthers had many other choices.

Good tackles — shoot, good players — aren’t sitting at home unemployed during a season. So this is what happens when your starter (Byron Bell, out with ankle and knee injuries) and top backup (Garry Williams, injured reserve) are hurt.

Nate Chandler and guard Amini Silatolu could have been options, but Chandler will be at right tackle despite a groin injury, and a calf strain is forcing Silatolu to miss his third straight game.

“This is the situation we’re in,” head coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday. “It’s not like we said, ‘Hey, you know what? When we get to Week 9, why don’t we put the kid out there at left tackle?'”

So Foucault, who in a perfect world would be spending this season on the Panthers’ practice squad, will make his first start since his Université de Montréal Carabins lost to Quebec’s Collège Laval last November. That was in something called the Coupe Dunsmore, which may or may not be a bigger deal than starting in a nationally televised NFL game.

During his few months with the Panthers, Foucault has impressed coaches with his work ethic, and he actually is further along than most thought he would be at this point. He always smiles widely when approached, and he does his best to communicate through a thick accent.

So perhaps one day the first scene of “The Blindside, 2” will be set on a frozen pond in Canada. A solid game by Foucault against the Saints wouldn’t necessarily be Oscar-worthy, but it would be one heck of a story.

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Here are 15 other things to know about the Panthers new starting left tackle:

1. The 25-year-old is from LaSalle, Quebec, a borough of Montreal.
2. A hockey player growing up, he didn’t start playing football until he was a teenager.
3. He played guard his first two years in college before he switched to tackle for one season.
4. The 6-8, 305-pounder drove a Versa.
5. The Montreal Alouettes made him the 5th overall pick of May’s CFL draft.
6. A couple weeks later, Foucault tried out for the Panthers. He signed a free agent deal two days later.
7. Alouettes general manager Jim Popp, a Mooresville resident and Panthers season ticket holder, estimated Foucault was 2-3 years away from being ready to play in the CFL.
8. The rookie had to sing ‘Oh Canada’ in front of the entire team during training camp. “I say like two words and everybody says, ‘USA! USA!'” Foucault recalled. “I may or may not have orchestrated that,” center Ryan Kalil said.
9. In August, the Panthers told him he’d be released and put on their practice squad, but they changed their minds because they didn’t want another team to pick him up off waivers.
10. He was the first player from the Université de Montréal to make an NFL roster.
11. One of his rookie jobs is to bring towels to the veteran offensive linemen’s lockers after every practice.
12. He played 11 snaps at the end of the Panthers blowout loss in Baltimore.
13. He played 29 snaps at the end of the Panthers blowout loss in Green Bay.
14. He played 30 snaps while mostly platooning with Chandler at right tackle against the Seahawks.
15. He’s making headlines back home.

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