At the beginning of training camp before the 2025 CFL season, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats had specific areas of their depth chart that they needed to improve. Many of those upgrades needed to happen on the defensive side of the ball. In 2024, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats experienced a problem that stood out from the last five seasons.
The Tiger-Cats were explosive and efficient on the offensive side of the ball, but Hamilton struggled to stop their opponents’ running game defensively. The weight of the Tiger-Cats’ 2024 failures on the defensive side of the ball resulted from a lack of playmakers on the defensive line and linebacker units. In addition to upgrading the defence, Hamilton needs more depth at the running back position.
During a time of year in which the Tiger-Cats are spending their time evaluating and releasing players, they are also continuing to add talent to build depth at key positions. According to the CFL Transactions list, the Tiger-Cats have signed American running back Khalan Griffin. The Tiger-Cats also announced the addition of Griffin with a tweet through the Hamilton Tiger-Cats account on X. Griffin joins the Tiger-Cats roster during a time in which the Tiger-Cats continue to filter through talent, and are also preparing to face the Toronto Argonauts in their first pre-season game of 2025 on Saturday, May 24th.
American running back Khalan Griffin comes to training camp with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in search of an opportunity. The Tiger-Cats are looking for more players to evaluate, especially at the running back position, during the Tiger-Cats’ first pre-season game. While it is unlikely Griffin will earn a full-time role on the Tiger-Cats roster, it is always hard to predict which players will be role or star players when they first come to the CFL.
The 5’10”, 215-pound Griffin is a native of Tyler, Texas. He started his college football career at Rice University, where he played in 17 games from 2020 until 2021 and ran the ball 186 times for 649 yards and two touchdowns. In 2022, Griffin transferred to Lamar University, and from 2022 until 2023, he played in 22 games. While playing for Lamar, Griffin carried the ball 120 times for 798 yards, scored 11 rushing touchdowns, and caught 12 passes for 119 yards.
Along with signing Griffin, the Tiger-Cats also released American defensive lineman Tyshun Render. The Tiger-Cats signed Render in March, but the coaching staff has decided to move on with other players on their defensive line.
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