As the Tiger-Cats work during their third week of training camp, they continue to take steps to add depth to their offensive and defensive line. Hamilton announced that they had signed American defensive Ellison Hubbard. In addition to adding another defensive lineman to their roster, the Tiger-Cats also announced that they had moved veteran National offensive lineman Chris Van Zeyl back to the active roster.

Ellison Hubbard is a 6’2″, 285-pound defensive lineman from Loganville, Georgia. Hubbard started his college football career at Colorado State University in 2017 and stayed with the Rams until 2020. During his four seasons with Colorado State, he played in 41 games and accumulated 93 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, and one pass breakup. In 2021, Hubbard finished his college football career at Sam Houston State; during his one season with the Bearkats and played in eight games. He had 15 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery.

Van Zeyl Returns 

Hamilton has re-activated veteran offensive lineman Chris Van Zeyl back to their active roster. Van Zeyl ended the 2022 season on the injured list, was re-activated just before the start of camp, but then sent back to the injured list. The 6’6″, 312-pound offensive lineman from Fonthill, Ontario, has played on the Tiger-Cats offensive line since 2019.

During an interview after practice, Van Zeyl said he was excited to return to the field. “It’s cool to be back on the field; at the end of last season, I wasn’t sure I would be back on the field.” Offensive coordinator Tommy Condell also seemed excited to have Van Zeyl back on the field as a leader within the offensive line unit. In a post-practice interview, Condell said, “Chris is a leader no matter if he is on or off the field.”

Offensive linemen are a valuable commodity in the CFL, especially a veteran with 13 years of experience. Van Zeyl has been with the Tiger-Cats since 2019 after playing for the Toronto Argonauts for ten seasons. In 2021 and 2022, he battled injury issues, playing seven games in 2021 and six in 2022.

Recent Additions To The 6-Game Injured List

While the Tiger-Cats added a new defensive lineman and re-activated a veteran offensive lineman, Hamilton also had to add a few players to the 6-Game Injured List. American wide receiver Anthony Johnson suffered an injury in practice last week, and now he has been added to the injured list. In addition, the Tiger-Cats have also added American defensive lineman Cedric Wilcots to the injured list.

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