The Saskatchewan Roughriders are pleased to announce three Roughriders have been named West Division CFL All-Stars: special teamer Mario Alford, middle linebacker Larry Dean and punter Adam Korsak.
MARIO ALFORD
“Super” Mario Alford rewrote the Roughrider record book every time he touched the ball this season, en route to his first Divisional All-Star award. Alford played all 18 games for the Green and White, returning 88 punts for 978 yards including one 107-yard touchdown return in Week 16 and two punt return touchdowns in a single game in Week 6. In total, Alford recorded three punts for a touchdown, ranking him second in the league and tying a Roughriders single-season record that had previously been set by Willis Jacox (1991) and Curtis Mayfield (1999). With 51 kickoff returns in 2023, Alford ranks second in Rider history behind Jacox (58) and his 2023 total of 1,181 kickoff return yards is the third-best in the Roughriders’ record books. A threat every time he touched the ball, by the end of the season Alford ranked third in the league with 2,266 all-purpose yards. The 31-year-old returner was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player in 2022.
LARRY DEAN
Middle linebacker Larry Dean is the model for consistency in a football player. For the second year in a row, he started and played in every game for the Green and White and recorded at least one defensive tackle in all of them. He logged a season-high 12 tackles in Week 16 against the Ottawa REDBLACKS and finished with nine or more tackles in four games. He finished with 104 defensive tackles to complete his second consecutive season with 100-plus defensive tackles, becoming just the second Rider to achieve this feat (first was George White in 2000-01). The captain of the defence, Dean added two sacks, two interceptions, four pass knockdowns, one forced fumble, and one tackle for a loss. His 114 total defensive plays ranks first on the Club and fifth in the CFL. Dean picked up several accolades during the season, such as being named to the Pro Football Focus (PFF) Team of the Week in Week 2 and being recognized as the back-to-back run defender of the week in Weeks 5 and 6. Dean was the Roughriders’ nominee for both Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player.
ADAM KORSAK
Taken with the third overall pick of the 2023 CFL Global Draft, punter Adam Korsak blew all expectations out of the water in his first professional season. Coming off a collegiate season in which he won the Ray Guy Award for the best punter in NCAA football, Korsak continued to build on that in Saskatchewan. In his first CFL season, Korsak led or finished near the top in the CFL in most punting categories. He recorded 117 punts (tied for 2nd) for 5,609 yards (1st) with a 47.9 average (1st). He added six singles (tied for 2nd) and had nine punts downed inside the 10 (tied for 2nd). Korsak earned PFF Team of the Week honours in Weeks 3 and 16 as the highest graded punter. Korsak was the Roughriders’ nominee for Most Outstanding Special Teams Player and Most Outstanding Rookie.
