While football at Carleton is kicking off for the first time in nearly two years, the CFL is also back in action after an extended layoff. A number of Ravens alumni are playing across the league, from the Saskatchewan Roughriders to the Ottawa Redblacks.
Here’s the latest on how each Carleton alumni is performing in the CFL.
Tunde Adeleke | Defensive back, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Tunde Adeleke played four seasons for the Ravens, during two of which he was a first-team all-star in Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and received All-Canadian honours as a kick returner.
A highly-touted prospect, Adeleke was drafted 25th overall in the 2017 CFL draft by the Calgary Stampeders. He spent two years there helping Calgary to back-to-back Grey Cups before being traded to Hamilton ahead of the 2019 season when he again made it to the Grey Cup. Entering his second year with Hamilton and fourth in the CFL, Adeleke looks to become the first former Raven to play in four consecutive Grey Cups.
This season got off to a difficult start for Adeleke, as he was sidelined for the first two games with a hamstring injury. Nonetheless, he remains one of the best Canadian defensive backs in the league and is set up for another strong and potentially historic season in 2021.
Michael Domagala | Kicker, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Michael Domagala is currently playing in his rookie CFL season. He spent five years with Carleton, excelling as a reliable kicker throughout his tenure.
After spending the first two games in 2021 on the practice squad, Domagalla made his CFL debut during week four, going two-for-four and extending an early Hamilton lead with a 13-yard chip shot field goal. He also converted from 46 yards in the second quarter to put a pivotal three points on the board. He is currently three-for-five on field goals and has a total of 615 kickoff yards through two games.
Jacob Dearborn | Defensive back, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Jacob Dearborn was a solid player for the Ravens in his three-year tenure here. He had 50.5 tackles in 23 games, along with seven interceptions, eight pass breakups, 1.5 tackles for a loss and one fumble recovery.
Dearborn signed with the Roughriders in May 2019 and played 14 games that season. He has played two so far in 2021. Over his 16-game CFL career, Dearborn has five special teams tackles and one defensive tackle. He started off this season playing weeks one and two and putting up strong numbers but was placed on the disabled list on Aug. 20.
Jack Cassar | Linebacker, Toronto Argonauts
Jack Cassar’s success as a Raven led to him being selected 11th overall in the 2020 draft by the Argonauts. He made his CFL debut this year on Aug. 7 against the Stampeders and while he hasn’t seen any playing time since, Cassar has high potential to succeed in the future after a strong stint at Carleton.
Trevor Hoyte | Linebacker, Toronto Argonauts
Trevor Hoyte is the most recent Carleton alumni to make the CFL and was drafted 33rd overall earlier this year. Like Cassar, Hoyte made his CFL debut on Aug. 7 and in his four-game tenure, Hoyte has two special teams tackles and has been a strong presence on the defensive side of the ball. The rookie seems to have a solid spot in the lineup through the early portion of the season and is likely looking to further improve on an already promising first season with Toronto.
Mitch Raper | Running back, Ottawa Redblacks
Mitch Raper had six carries for 27 yards along with 12 receptions for 189 yards in his time with Carleton. Raper was drafted 68th overall by the Edmonton Elks in the 2020 CFL draft. The Elks released Raper prior to the start of the 2021 campaign, but Raper was able to secure a contract with Ottawa in July and has been on the Redblacks practice squad for the entirety of the CFL season so far.
Nate Behar | Wide receiver, Ottawa Redblacks
Nate Behar is one of the premier young receivers in the CFL today. During his freshman year at Carleton, Behar had 178 receptions, 2,577 yards and 21 touchdowns. To cap it all off, Behar caught the game-winning Hail Mary pass in the 2014 Panda Game to secure the victory against the Gee-Gees, marking the first Panda game win for the Ravens in 20 years.
Behar was drafted fifth overall in the 2017 CFL draft by Edmonton. So far this season with Ottawa, Behar has 14 receptions for 137 yards, resulting in an average of 9.8 yards per reception. He is a talented young receiver with a lot of potential to be a strong player in the Ottawa receiving core for many years to come.
Kene Onyeka | Defensive lineman, Ottawa Redblacks
Kene Onyeka won back-to-back Lineman of the Year awards in 2017 and 2018 with Carleton, leading a strong defensive front in the 2018 campaign with seven sacks and 27 tackles in six games.
This success led to Onyeka being drafted 29th overall in 2018 by Ottawa. Currently in his second season with the team, he has five defensive tackles in three games played. He suffered a hamstring injury in Ottawa’s week four game against the B.C. Lions and is expected to miss one game before returning for the Redblacks’ week six game against B.C.
Justin Howell | Defensive back, Ottawa Redblacks
Justin Howell was selected 55th overall in the 2018 draft and made his CFL debut that same year. Starting in two of the 13 games he suited up for, Howell had seven tackles in his rookie season. He followed that up with a much stronger 2019 campaign in which he recorded 14 tackles in 14 games. Howell has further improved his stat line in 2021, posting eight tackles in only three games so far this year.
* * *
This season will be exciting to watch, especially after last year’s cancellation. With plenty of former Ravens scattered throughout the CFL, Carleton fans have plenty to cheer for this season.
Featured image from file.
