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20 former MAC players land on Canadian Football League rosters for upcoming 2021 season

Football season is almost ready to kick off in the Great White North, and a good handful of former MAC stars will be participating.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats v Winnipeg Blue Bombers Photo by John E. Sokolowski/Getty Images

The CFL returns to play on August 5, 2021 and twenty former MAC standouts cleared the July 30, 2021 final roster cuts, continuing their professional football careers.

Here is a list of MAC players by CFL team, with some career notes:

MAC players in the CFL in 2021

MAC TEAM PLAYER POSITION CFL TEAM NOTES
MAC TEAM PLAYER POSITION CFL TEAM NOTES
AKRON Jamal Davis II* DL Montreal Alouettes Akron: 29 games, 150 tackles, 31.5 TFLs, 7.5 sacks
Shawn Lemon* DL Calgary Stampeders CFL: 107 games played, 70 sacks 22 forced fumbles, 2x Grey Cup Champion
Almondo Sewell DL Montreal Alouettes CFL: 139 games played, 60 career sacks, CFL All-Star 6x
BALL STATE Josh Miller DB Winnipeg Blue Bombers Ball State: 131 tackles, 23 passes defensed, 4 ints
Walter Fletcher RB Edmonton Elks Ball State: transferred from Div II for one season, 1032 combined yds, 7 tds
Jordan Williams-Lambert WR Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL: 20 games played, 67 rec, 821 yds, 4 tds
BOWLING GREEN Kamar Jorden WR Calgary Stampeders CFL: 32 games played, 152 rec, 2,254 yds, 15 tds
BUFFALO Tomas Jack-Kurdyla OL Edmonton Elks CFL: 1st round selection, 2020 draft, 4th overall
CENTRAL MICHIGAN NONE
EASTERN MICHIGAN Steve Nielson OL Edmonton Elks EMU: 49 games played. CFL: 1st round selection, 2021 global draft, 2nd overall
KENT STATE Nick Holley* WR Calgary Stampeders Kent: 37 games at RB, WR, QB 1,776 yds rushing, 380 yds rec, 25 total tds
Najee Murray CB Montreal Alouettes CFL: 10 games played, 2 ints, 1 td
MIAMI NONE
NORTHERN ILLINOIS Juwan Brescacin WR Toronto Argonauts CFL: 44 games played, 69 rec, 1046 yds, 6 tds
OHIO AJ Ouellette RB Toronto Argonauts CFL: 3 games played, 123 yds rushing; Ohio 4345 yds from scrimmage, 38 tds
Maleek Irons RB Hamilton Tiger-Cats CFL: 2019 draft 22nd pick overall, 11 games played, 208 yds rushing, 1 td
Papi White* WR Hamilton Tiger-Cats Ohio: all-time rec yds leader (2620), 2nd most rec tds (19), 4th rec (161)
Nathan Rourke QB BC Lions CFL: 2020 draft, 15th pick overall; Ohio: 111 tds tied for 2nd most in MAC since 1962
Casey Sayles DL Winnipeg Blue Bombers NFL: LA Rams, Steelers (2x), XFL, AAF
TOLEDO NONE
WESTERN MICHIGAN Keion Adams DL Saskatchewan Roughriders Selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 2017 NFL draft, 7th round, 248th overall
Freddie Bishop III # DL Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL: 47 games played, 20 sacks, one forced fumble
Daniel Braverman WR Toronto Argonauts 2016 NFL Draft, 7th round, 230th overall; XFL, AAF
* indicates practice squad
# indicates six-week inj list player
Sources:
CFL.ca
CFL Team Websites
Sports-reference.com

You can watch your favorite MAC players in action in selected CFL games as part of ESPN’s coverage, with the monthly schedule listed here.

You can also track CFL player statistics and game logs by searching here.

Also see individual CFL team site rosters for more detailed player profiles, where available.