The Montreal Alouettes announced on Friday the signing of 5 American players. The 5 players include running backs Mike Weber Jr. and Marcus Williams Jr., receivers Kameron Brown and Ramaud Chiokhiao-Bowman, and defensive lineman Kivon Bennett.
RB Mike Weber Jr. – Ohio State (26 y/o, 5’10, 211 lbs)
Mike Weber played in 37 games for Ohio State with 13 starts from 2016 to 2018 after redshirting in 2015. At OSU he rushed 455 times for 2,676 yards (5.88 yards per carry) and 24 touchdowns. He was Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2016 as well as Second-Team All-Big 10.
He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 7th round of the 2019 NFL draft where he spent 2019 and 2020 on the practice roster. He spent time time on different NFL practice squads including the Kansas Chiefs, the Green Bay Packers, and the New York Giants who released him in August of 2021. He was with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020 when they won the Super Bowl.
Weber Jr. was drafted by the New Jersey Generals in the 2022 USFL draft but was injured ahead of the season and was later released. He signed with the Orlando Guardians of the XFL in November but the team has now folded following the USFL and XFL merger.
RB Marcus Williams Jr. – Louisiana Tech (26 y/o, 5’10, 204 lbs)
Marcus Williams Jr. played his first 4 seasons for Appalachian State where he rushed for over 500 yards every season. He played in 42 games rushing 400 times for 2,216 yards with 14 touchdowns over his time at Appalachian State. He played his final year of collegiate football in 2021 at Louisianna Tech where he rushed 194 times for 787 yards and 8 touchdowns. He also had 20 receptions for 202 yards and a touchdown in 2021.
Williams is described by NFL Draft Buzz as having “Quick feet with good vision to pick through defenses. He has solid hands and body control and is a reliable receiver.”
Kameron Brown played at Charleston Southern from 2016 to 2018 appearing in 34 games with 27 starts. He was First Team All-Big South Conference twice. At Charleston Southern, he had 98 receptions for 1,656 yards and 18 touchdowns.
He played for Coastal Carolina in 2020 and 2021 appearing in 25 games with 14 starts. He had 45 receptions for 911 yards and 8 touchdowns at Coastal Carolina.
Brown signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022 as an undrafted free agent and was waived in August of that same year. He was signed to the Alouettes’ practice roster on September 7 of last year where he remained over 6 games before being released.
Chiokhiao-Bowman played his college ball for Northwestern appearing in 38 games with 22 starts. He would catch 82 passes for 968 yards and 6 touchdowns for Northwestern. In his senior year, he had 41 receptions for 508 yards and 5 touchdowns over 9 games and was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
He signed with the Northern Arizona Wranglers ahead of their first playoff game in 2022 and won the IFL Championship with them. Over the 3 playoff games, he had 12 receptions for 147 yards and 5 touchdowns.
In 2023 he played in 16 games for the Wranglers contributing 72 receptions for 1,017 yards and 27 touchdowns. He was tied for first in touchdowns and was 2nd in receiving yards last season. He also added 11 catches for 208 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2 playoff games last season.
Kivon Bennett spent his first 4 seasons with Tennessee where he appeared in 28 with 4 starts where he contributed 28 solo tackles, 24 assisted tackles, 13.5 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.
Bennett spent his last 2 seasons of collegiate ball at Arkansas State from 2021 to 2022. He played 23 games for Arkansas State contributing 51 solo tackles, 57 assisted tackles, 26 tackles for a loss, 13.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.
Bennett attended the Atlanta Falcons rookie minicamp in 2023 prior to signing with the Montreal Alouettes. Last season he was with Montreal through training camp and preseason and was on their practice roster for the first game of the regular season.
Jonathan Clink joined CFL News Hub in early April of 2023. His primary responsibilities are covering the BC Lions and Montreal Alouettes.
He self awarded himself the CFL Rookie Journalist of the Year in 2023 following the 2023 CFL season. He also proclaims himself to be a "really cool guy". He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and lived a large portion of his childhood in Northwest Ontario. He currently lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan and misses being being able to have 4 months of skating every winter.
Clink has written over 240 articles for CFL News Hub. He was the publication's boots on the ground at the 2023 Grey Cup in Hamilton.
Clink has always had an obsession for sport and has a background in other sports as well having played hockey all his life and soccer, basketball, and lacrosse in high school. As a young child he used to log his hockey statistics after every game which is either an indication that he was destined for the role or perhaps and indication that he is rather strange.
