Auburn in the CFL

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Still months away from the CFL season, but thought i'd share what players currently have roster spots:

Calgary - LBs Darrell Williams and Cassanova McKinzy

Edmonton - DB Jonathan Mincy (career stats of 114 tackles and 3 INTs)

Montreal - WR Cameron Artis-Payne, WR Quan Bray (58 catches, 818 yards, 6 TDs)

Saskatchewan - DB Nick Marshall (65 tackles, 8 INTs, 7 rushing TDs), WR Sammie Coates, LB Deshaun Davis, WR Ricardo Louis

Winnipeg - WR Darvin Adams (317 rec, 4487 yards, 36 TDs)

Edited June 26, 2021 by AUMicBK

[AUBwins 10,075]

DA has lit it up since going to CFL. Nick Marshall found a good spot last year being able to play a little QB in wildcat situations and DB full time.  Did Tre Mason already faze out of CFL too?  I know he joined Sask at some point last year. 

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yeah i think it's actually been a couple of years since Tre played...but he did do well up there.

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update - Andrew Williams was deleted from the BC roster, while WR Ryan Davis was picked up by Ottawa.  OP Updated

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Updated OP.  Quan Bray was released by Montreal, who has since signed RB Cameron Artis-Payne

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Quote

Quan Bray back in CFL after massive marijuana arrest

Updated 11:30 AM; Today 11:30 AM

By Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

Former Auburn wide receiver Quan Bray has rejoined the Montreal Alouettes, emerging after “a day you learn from and become more wise in your decision-making” with the opportunity to play football again.

Bray and former Auburn teammate Greg Robinson were arrested on Feb. 19, 2020, on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession of marijuana with the intent to sell, distribute or dispense.

According to the federal criminal complaint, a U.S. Border Patrol dog alerted to their rented Chevrolet Tahoe on Interstate 10 in western Texas, and the accompanying agent radioed the Sierra Blanca Checkpoint Station. U.S. Border Patrol agents there stopped the vehicle for inspection, which turned up 156.9 pounds of marijuana in duffel bags, the U.S. Justice Department said.

But the incident didn’t prevent the Alouettes from signing Bray last week. Bray played for Canadian Football League team in the 2019 season.

“We are happy to once more be able to count on a receiver of Quan’s caliber,” Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia said in announcing that the team had signed Bray to a one-year contract. “… We are aware of Quan’s recent entanglements with the law. One of the charges was dropped, and he pleaded guilty to the second, for which he received a fine. Quan fully realizes that he is getting a second chance and knows that he will have to walk a straight line if he wishes to continue making a living practicing the sport he loves.”

Bray told the Montreal Gazette that he didn’t know the amount of marijuana being carried as he, Robinson and a third man hired by Robinson as a driver traveled from Los Angeles on their way to Louisiana, but “because it’s kind of legal in certain states,” he didn’t consider the trip risky.

“I prefer not to go into too much detail, but what I can tell you is that I learned from my mistake,” Bray told La Presse in Montreal. “There were consequences, including a fine. I turned the page on this situation.

“People often judge a situation before knowing all the details. I had no criminal record and had never had a problem with the law before this story, and I think that was a big factor in the equation. I didn’t have a big role in this whole story.”

Montreal signed Bray after making sure a probationary sentence in the United States would not prevent him from working in Canada.

“Above his performance on the field, Quan’s a great teammate and is appreciated by everyone in the locker room,” Alouettes coach Khari Jones said. “We’re happy to have him back with us. He has showed great character, and we’re convinced he’ll make all the right decisions.”

On July 3, 2011, Bray’s father shot and killed Bray’s mother. The next day, Bray attended a summer workout as he prepared for his first season at Auburn.

“I’ve been through tough situations, way tougher than this,” Bray said last week. “This was another obstacle. It was definitely eye-opening. I’m more disappointed in myself. It was just a mistake.”

 

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Updates:

* removed Tray Matthews and Ryan Davis

* added Quan Bray to Montreal, Cassanova McKinzy to Calgary and Ricardo Louis to Saskatchewan

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Roughriders reunite Prayer at Jordan-Hare pair

Today 2:00 PM

By Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have reunited the players on each end of the Prayer at Jordan-Hare. But Ricardo Louis won’t be catching passes from Nick Marshall in the Canadian Football League.

Louis remains a wide receiver, although his most recent game came on Dec. 31, 2017. But Marshall is no longer a quarterback. He’s played cornerback in the Roughriders’ previous two seasons and made the CFL Players Association All-Star Team in 2018.

Louis told reporters on Monday that he hadn’t expected to play with Marshall in Saskatchewan.

“He’s been doing well, so I figured he’d be with an NFL team,” said Louis, who signed with the Roughriders in June.

On Nov. 16, 2013, Louis entered Auburn lore when he caught a deflected pass on a fourth-and-18 throw by Marshall for a 73-yard touchdown with 25 seconds to play against Georgia. The Tigers’ 43-38 victory over the Bulldogs kept Auburn on course for the SEC championship and a spot in the BCS national championship game.

“So much,” Louis said when asked what he remembered about Marshall, “but I’m just going to start off with what everybody knows, which is the famous Hail Mary against Georgia. That’s what we’re known for. Everywhere we go, people were talking about it. But as far as other than that, him just being my brother on and off the field, somebody I could talk to, just being a close friend of mine.”

That was one of the 98 passes for 1,338 yards and eight touchdowns that Louis caught at Auburn, and he left the Plains as a fourth-round selection of the Cleveland Browns in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Louis caught 18 passes for 205 yards, playing in every game, with three starts, as a rookie. He also returned nine kickoffs for 164 yards.

In his second NFL season, Louis started nine games, and he led the Browns’ wide receivers with 27 receptions for 357 yards in 2017.

But a neck injury sidelined Louis for the 2018 season. After being released by the Browns on April 1, 2019, Louis joined the Miami Dolphins. But on May 16, 2019, the Dolphins put Louis on injured reserve after he suffered a knee injury in Miami’s offseason program. Louis spent the entire season on the Dolphins’ injured reserve.

Louis tried another comeback with Miami in 2020. But the coronavirus pandemic caused the NFL to cancel its preseason games, and the Dolphins released Louis at the end of training camp.

“I want to say it was kind of like a freak accident,” Louis said of his neck injury. “One day I was training during OTAs, if I remember correctly, I was lifting, and it just happened. My neck just snapped. It was very painful. Come to find out it was a disc herniation. It was just a tough time. Had to get surgery and a year recovery, so throughout the process of me recovering, I was just working on myself as a person, slowly working my way back into football shape.

“And then I got an opportunity to play with the Dolphins, and I came back, I was making plays, then I got hurt again, so that set me back again. I didn’t get a chance to play that year. Out a year again. It’s a lot of adversity.

“I’m still here now in Saskatchewan, and I’m here to make plays. I’m here to show that I can still play at a high level even with the injuries I’ve dealt with in the past.”

Louis said it seemed as though the injuries had exhausted his opportunities in the NFL, leading him to accept the Roughriders’ offer to play in the CFL.

“It really arose from me not really having a chance to show that I could still play after all the injuries that I’ve dealt with in the past,” Louis said, “and not having any preseason games due to COVID, being able to show that I could still play in those situations. Me coming here now, I’m really here to prove that I can still be the guy, I can still make plays, I can still play at a high level on a pro team, so I’m here to take advantage of any opportunity I get.”

Despite the series of setbacks, Louis said he didn’t want to stop while he thought he still could play.

“I would really hate myself if I quit and gave up,” Louis said. “I still have a lot of football left in me, so I just want to keep going. I love the game, and I want to be here. …

“I could have said, ‘You know, I don’t want to play anymore. I’m tired of dealing with the injuries. I can’t do it.’ Like I said before, I don’t want to live my life with any regrets. I don’t want to live my life knowing that I could have came back and played, so I just took advantage of the opportunity and I just decided to keep going until I can’t anymore. I’m just glad and I’m grateful and I’m blessed to be here now with the opportunity to play.”

Louis said CFL-style football wasn’t completely foreign to him because watching former Auburn teammates Marshall, Tre Mason and Duke Williams play in Canada had given him some exposure.

“He’s very explosive,” Roughriders coach Craig Dickenson said. “He’s really quick. I think when he figures out the motions and figures out the waggle, how to time it up, he’s going to be a good football player. Such a big learning curve for these guys from the States. To expect too much … from a first-year player, I think, is a little bit unfair, but I think he’s got a chance.”

Saskatchewan is scheduled to kick off its season against the British Columbia Lions on Aug. 6. That will be the first game for the Roughriders since they lost to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 20-13 in the CFL’s Western Final on Nov. 17, 2019. The CFL did not play last season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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After NFL, XFL, Cameron Artis-Payne goes to CFL

 

By Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

Cameron Artis-Payne didn’t foresee the CFL in his football future two years ago. The former Auburn running back was preparing for his fifth NFL season after signing a one-year, $895,000 contract to stay with the Carolina Panthers.

Now Artis-Payne is preparing for his first season with the Montreal Alouettes.

The Panthers released Artis-Payne on Aug. 30, 2019.

“I was actually told I was fine, I was on the team,” Artis-Payne said. “I was watching film to get ready for the opening week, which was the Rams that year. I was shocked and blindsided, and it seemed like it was a move that came from one specific area because the coaching staff wasn’t notified either.”

When no new NFL opportunity appeared immediately, Artis-Payne made himself available for the XFL Draft as the new spring football league began preparing for its inaugural season.

With the Dallas Renegades in 2020, Artis-Payne ran for 241 yards and two touchdowns on 47 carries and caught 23 passes for 101 yards in five games before the XFL pulled the plug on its season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The XFL did not yield a return to the NFL, so Artis-Payne turned to the Canadian Football League in February.

“I got the opportunity here,” Artis-Payne said, “and I’m glad that we made the decision to come up here.”

Pro Football Focus graded Artis-Payne as the best running back in the XFL’s abbreviated 2020 season.

“I still feel like I can compete at a high level,” Artis-Payne said. “… I think I’m still good. I don’t have a lot of wear and tear on my body. I haven’t had any major injuries, no surgeries, anything like that, so all in all I feel like I’m good.”

The Alouettes are preparing to kick off their 2021 season against the Edmonton Elks on Aug. 14.

“I like him,” Montreal coach Khari Jones said of Artis-Payne. “I like what I see in practice. Just a solid running back. Smart. Knows the protection schemes really well. You can tell he’s played and had a career in the NFL. I like what I see. He’s one I wish we had preseason game to really see him in action, but from what I’ve seen so far, he’s pretty legit as a running back.”

The Alouettes return one of the most productive running backs in the CFL after William Stanback ran for 1,048 yards and five touchdowns on 170 carries and gained 329 yards on 33 receptions in 2019. (The league canceled its 2020 season because of the coronavirus pandemic.)

Stanback is preparing for his third season with Montreal after failing to stick with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers in 2017 or the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020.

“I think with (Artis-Payne’s) experience comes a little more patience,” Jones said, “and I feel like he might see things at this point maybe a little better or a little cleaner than Stanback. And that’s just because of his experience because he’s seen a lot of the looks that people can give him, and he’s prepared for it, and so either when we’re asking him to run or to block, he seems to be on top of things. And he’s taken to the CFL game pretty quickly.”

Artis-Payne entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft pick in 2015 after leading the SEC with 1,608 rushing yards in 2014. During his four seasons with Carolina, Artis-Payne played behind Jonathan Stewart and Christian McCaffrey.

In 32 regular-season games with Carolina, Artis-Payne ran for 491 yards and five touchdowns on 118 carries and caught 10 passes for 86 yards. He led the NFC in rushing yards in the 2017 preseason after finishing sixth in 2015 and 10th in 2016.

Artis-Payne got to go to the Super Bowl as a rookie. In the first 13 games of the 2015 season, he played in four and ran 12 times for 31 yards. When Stewart got hurt down the stretch, Artis-Payne had 33 carries for 152 yards and a touchdown in the final three games of the regular season.

Artis-Payne’s playing time in his second NFL season depended on Stewart again. When Stewart was available, he was the Panthers’ workhorse. When he was hurt, Carolina turned to Artis-Payne. That limited Artis-Payne to three games in 2016. He carried the ball 36 times for 144 yards and two touchdowns.

With Stewart playing in every game except the regular-season finale and McCaffrey joining the Carolina backfield as the eighth pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Artis-Payne was used less in 2017 than in his previous two years, carrying 18 times for 95 yards and a touchdown and catching a 2-yard pass. But Artis-Payne was on the field more in 2017 than he’d been in the first two. He had 14 special-teams plays in 2015 and 2016, but he played 227 in 2017.

McCaffrey hardly came off the field for the Panthers’ offense in 2018, which limited Artis-Payne to 19 carries for a career-low 69 rushing yards and one touchdown. He also caught three passes for 15 yards.

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Saskatchewan Roughriders add another Auburn alumnus

Updated: 9:22 p.m. | Published: 9:22 p.m.

By Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

The Saskatchewan Roughriders added another former Auburn standout to their roster on Thursday by signing defensive lineman Nick Coe, the Canadian Football League team announced on Thursday.

Coe will join two Auburn alumni already on Saskatchewan’s active roster – wide receiver Ricardo Louis and cornerback Nick Marshall.

Coe had been out of football since the Miami Dolphins waived him on July 23.

Undrafted after completing his Auburn career, Coe signed with the New England Patriots last year. The Patriots released Coe during training camp, but the Dolphins signed him for their practice squad on Sept. 6, and he spent the entire season there.

Coe was back with Miami during its offseason program, but the Dolphins released him before the start of training camp.

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Duke Williams joins Auburn reunion with Roughriders

Updated: 12:05 a.m. | Published: 12:05 a.m.

By Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

In the 2014 season, Nick Marshall threw passes to Ricardo Louis and Duke Williams at Auburn.

When Williams completes his COVID-19 quarantine, they’ll be teammates again on the Saskatchewan Roughriders, although Marshall won’t be throwing passes to the wide receivers – he’s a cornerback now.

“I don’t know what it is, man,” Louis said of the reunion in the Canadian Football League. “I guess it’s the place to be. I like it. Bringing in the family, getting that family vibe.”

The Roughriders signed Williams this week, and Saskatchewan coach Craig Dickenson said the team hoped to have the wide receiver on the field for its Oct. 23 game against the Calgary Stampeders. The Roughriders host the Stampeders on Saturday night, then have a bye week before going to Calgary.

“We felt like Duke would really improve our roster,” Dickenson said. “There’s a number of guys available that we’ve looked at and kicked the tires on, and Duke was Priority No. 1 for us. We felt like a big, strong receiver is always a good add.”

Williams is a former CFL all-star who spent the past two seasons with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.

In August, the Bills released Williams with an injury settlement after he landed on injured reserve during training camp.

Williams’ first NFL opportunity came as an undrafted rookie with the Los Angeles Rams in 2016, but Williams was released after the preseason.

In 2017, Williams caught 46 passes for 715 yards and four touchdowns for the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos. The next season, he had 88 receptions for a league-leading 1,579 yards and 11 touchdowns.

That earned Williams All-CFL recognition and an opportunity with the Bills.

Williams spent most of the 2019 season on Buffalo’s practice squad, but in four regular-season games, he caught 12 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown, with a 100-yard game in the regular-season finale. Williams then caught four passes for 49 yards in a 22-19 playoff loss to the Houston Texans.

In 2020, Williams played in one game as a practice-squad elevation, but he did not have any receptions.

“Obviously, we know what Duke can do,” Louis said. “He’s going to come in, he’s going to make plays, and we’ll see what happens. It’s just a matter of getting out there and helping the team win.”

[AUBwins 10,075]

Really surprised Duke couldn't get more play with the Bills, but alas the injury bug again. 

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On 10/17/2021 at 6:58 PM, Paladin said:

 

Still has the spin move haha.  Good for him.  Nice return. 

[LKEEL75 2,566]

On 10/17/2021 at 5:58 PM, Paladin said:

 

I don't pretend to know a lot about CFL, but how does he field a punt at the 10 and it goes 101 yards?

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3 minutes ago, LKEEL75 said:

I don't pretend to know a lot about CFL, but how does he field a punt at the 10 and it goes 101 yards?

The field in Canada is 110 yds

[LKEEL75 2,566]

1 hour ago, Paladin said:

The field in Canada is 110 yds

It's actually 120 yards from the back of 1 end zone to the back of the other end zone.  However it is just 100 yards between goal lines and if you field the ball at the 10 then it should have been a 90 yard return.

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21 minutes ago, LKEEL75 said:

It's actually 120 yards from the back of 1 end zone to the back of the other end zone.  However it is just 100 yards between goal lines and if you field the ball at the 10 then it should have been a 90 yard return.

The Canadian football field is 150 yards (137 m) long and 65 yards (59 m) wide, within which the goal areas are 20 yards (18 m) deep, and the goal lines are 110 yards (101 m) apart.

source

[AUBwins 10,075]

Yes because the C line is the 55 yardline per se.

[SLAG-91 1,483]

The random single point that can be scored independent of a touchdown is sometimes amusing. I did a double-take when channel flipping some time ago and saw a game that was 1-1. You expect that with hockey or baseball, but not football.