Unlike last year, Canadian football fans don’t have a high-profile quarterback or wide receiver to watch in power conferences of the NCAA.
That doesn’t mean there is a lack of Canadian talent, though.
All 20 of the players in the CFL’s Scouting Bureau’s initial rankings for the 2026 Canadian draft are from the NCAA ranks, so it appears to be a down year for U Sports. Several of the players on the top of that list are sure to attract NFL interest, with offensive and defensive linemen leading the way.
“I think it’s going to be a deep Canadian class,” Montreal Alouettes assistant general manager Pier-Yves Lavergne said in an interview. “There’s a lot of guys who have played a lot snaps at the NCAA level and a pretty high level, too. I think it’s going to be along mostly the O-line and D-line. There’s some very good names there.”
“There’s no shiny QB or running back like Chuba Hubbard, but there’s a lot of good football players.”
Perhaps they don’t play glamour positions like QB Kurtis Rourke (Indiana, San Francisco 49ers draft pick) or wide receiver Elic Ayomanor (Stanford, Tennessee Titans draft pick), but Canadians are poised to make their mark on the NCAA season, which really gets going Thursday after a handful of games were played last weekend.
In addition to draft-eligible players, there are several Canadian underclassmen to keep an eye on.
We enlisted the help of Lavergne and Calgary Stampeders director of Canadian scouting Dwayne Cameron to go over some of the draft-eligible players.
Here’s a look at Canadians to watch in the NCAA this season (team, year and hometown in brackets).
DL Akheem Mesidor (Miami, sixth-year redshirt senior, Ottawa)
The top-ranked player for the CFL Draft is expected to return to defensive end this season for the 10th-ranked Hurricanes after playing defensive tackle last season. After an injury-plagued 2023 season, Mesidor tied for the team lead with 5.5 sacks last year.
“I would say Akheem is definitely the No. 1 (for next year’s draft) and then you’ve got four or five names in a hat right behind him,” Cameron said.
“… What kind of sets him apart outside of just the talent is that positional versatility and flexibility. You can put different personnel packages to put him in different places and kind of try to take advantage of matchups within a game.”
Miami plays one of the marquee games of the opening week, hosting No. 6 and reigning national runner-up Notre Dame on Sunday night.
OL Logan Taylor (Boston College, redshirt senior, Lunenburg, N.S.)
Named a team captain earlier this month, Taylor is ranked No. 2 in the CFL Draft rankings.
The six-foot-seven, 312-pounder was named an honourable mention all-ACC player for the second season in a row last year.
Cameron attended a spring practice at Boston College to get a closer look.
“He looks like a prototype NFL offensive lineman, 33-plus-inch arms, six-foot-six-and-a-half. He looks like what you’d expect an NFL lineman to look like.”
Boston College hosts Fordham in its season opener on Saturday.
OL Albert Reese IV (Mississippi State, redshirt senior, Edmonton)
Another big man (six-foot-seven, 330 pounds) with pro potential.
Reese won the Kent Hull Trophy, awarded the best offensive lineman in Mississippi, last year when he played every position on the O-line except centre.
He’s ranked fifth for next year’s CFL Draft and will get plenty of chances to play in front of NFL scouts in his SEC schedule.
Reese’s Bulldogs open their season Saturday at Southern Miss.
QB Christian Veilleux (Georgia State, redshirt senior, Ottawa)
A highly-regarded recruit out of high school, Veilleux started off at Penn State before transferring to Pittsburgh, where in 2023 he became the first Canadian QB to start a game in a power conference since 2000.
However, he didn’t solidify the job and then transferred to Georgia State, where he was the starter for much of last season for a 3-9 team.
Veilleux once again is atop the depth chart this season for a Sun Belt Conference team projected to finish near the bottom of the NCAA ranks.
“I felt like last year I did some good things, but I didn’t do everything I needed to do to be consistent every single week,” Veilleux told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think this year that’s been my biggest focus, to make sure I’m checking all the boxes each week, doing everything I could do.”
Veilleux faces a stiff test to open the season as Georgia State is at No. 21 Ole Miss on Saturday.
S Ty Benefield (Boise State, junior, Vancouver)
Benefield was one of the key players on defence for a College Football Playoff team last year, being named an honourable mention Mountain West all-star.
This year at spring practice, he even took some reps at wide receiver.
Boise State is expected to be a national contender again this year, starting the season ranked 25th.
Benefield is the son of former CFL star Daved Benefield.
The Broncos open their campaign Thursday at South Florida.
DL Wesley Bailey (Louisville, redshirt senior, Ottawa), DL Rene Konga (Louisville, redshirt senior, Ottawa)
Both of these Ottawa-born linemen moved to the Kentucky school from New Jersey’s Rutgers.
Bailey is third in the CFL Draft rankings, while Konga is seventh.
The Cardinals begin their season at home on Saturday against Eastern Kentucky.
DB Jett Elad (Rutgers, senior, Mississauga, Ont.), LB Dariel Djabome (Rutgers, senior, Longueuil, Que.), RB Antwan Raymond (Rutgers, sophomore, Montreal)
Rutgers has heavily recruited Canadians under head coach Greg Schiano.
Elad transfers from UNLV after being named third-team all-Mountain West last season. He had to win a court case to get a final year of NCAA eligibility. Elad is sixth in the CFL Draft rankings.
Djabome, 10th in the CFL Draft rankings, was an all-Big Ten honourable mention last season and is one of the only returning starters for the Rutgers defence.
Raymond had 100 carries for 457 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He could play a bigger role after star running back Kyle Monangai was drafted by the Chicago Bears this year.
Rutgers entertains Ohio to kick things off Thursday.
DB Devynn Cromwell (Michigan State, sixth year, Toronto), DB Malcolm Bell (Michigan State, redshirt senior, Montreal)
Both DBs transferred this off-season with Cromwell leaving Texas Tech and Bell departing UConn.
Cromwell started his college career at Guelph in U Sports.
Cromwell is eighth and Bell 12th in the CFL Draft rankings.
The Spartans host Western Michigan in Week 1 on Friday.
TE Rohan Jones (Arkansas, senior, Montreal)
Jones goes to the SEC spotlight after helping Montana State reach the FCS national championship game last season. He had 30 catches for 470 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
Jones, 16th in the CFL Draft rankings, impressed his new head coach at camp.
“A guy who’s not catching a lot of balls but is doing a lot of good things is Rohan Jones,” Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said, per Sports Illustrated. “He caught one the other day, but he’s in there blocking, he’s doing the dirty work. We’re excited about him.”
The Razorbacks start things off against visiting Alabama A&M on Saturday.
OL Will Black (Notre Dame, freshman, London, Ont.)
Black may not see much playing time for one of the best programs in college football this season, but he’s a name to watch in the future. The six-foot-seven, 307-pound Black was ranked a five-star recruit by two scouting services.
Others players in CFL Draft top-20 rankings
Hawaii WR Nick Cenacle (No. 4, Montreal)
Eastern Michigan WR Nolan Ulm (No. 9, Kelowna, B.C.)
Purdue OL Giordano Vaccaro (No. 11, Winnipeg )
East Carolina OL Darius Bell (No. 13, Hamilton)
Southern Miss OL Jez Janvier (No. 14, Montreal)
Alabama Birmingham DB Josh Baka (No. 15, Ottawa)
Alabama A&M OL Tyrell Lawrence (No. 17, Milton, Ont.)
South Alabama LB Darius McKenzie (No. 18, Ottawa)
Coastal Carolina DB Aamarii Notice (No. 19, Toronto)
Louisiana DB Trae Tomlinson (No. 20, Toronto)
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