Welcome to the inaugural Riderville.com U.S. college football rankings!
The objective of this exercise is to determine which American schools have sent the most players to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The University of Alabama leads the way with 33 players, including 15 who have suited up for at least one CFL game for the Green and White (hence the parenthetical 33/15 below).
Minnesota, Utah and Arizona are next in line, having each furnished 30 prospective Roughriders.
As for active-roster players, the Roughriders don’t have to look too far from home. The University of North Dakota has produced the most active-roster players (19). Tulsa (17), Alabama (15) and Washington State (15) are next in line.
The rankings, issued as the current U.S. college football season reaches its peak, include every school that has sent at least 20 prospects to Saskatchewan.
In each case, select alumni are mentioned below the school name.
ALABAMA (33/15)
OL-DL Mike Cassidy (1948-55), FB-DB Bobby Marlow (1953-59) and LB Eddie Lowe (1983-91) are in the SaskTel Plaza of Honour.
MINNESOTA (30/13)
LB Ron Goetz (1994-97) was an All-CFL selection and the Roughriders’ Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 1994.
UTAH (30/11)
REC Ray Elgaard (1983-96) caught 830 passes for 13,198 yards and 78 touchdowns en route to the Plaza (1999) and Canadian Football Hall of Fame (2002).
ARIZONA STATE (30/10)
REC Chris DeFrance (1981-85), whose 260 receiving yards are a Roughriders single-game record, entered the Plaza in 1994.
OREGON STATE (29/12)
RB-DB Ken Carpenter (1954-59, Plaza 1989) scored a team-record 18 TDs in 1955.
NORTH DAKOTA (28/19)
REC Steve Mazurak (1973-80), OL-TE Lawrie Skolrood (1974, 1979-87), DL Scott Schultz (2001-09) and REC Weston Dressler (2008-15) are in the Plaza. Dressler entered the Hall of Fame in 2024.
WASHINGTON STATE (28/15)
DL-LB Garner Ekstran (1961-67), FB George Reed (1963-75), REC Hugh Campbell (1963-67, 1969) and LB Wally Dempsey (1965-69, 1971-72) played on the Roughriders’ first Grey Cup championship team (1966). Reed (1987), Campbell (1988), Ekstran (1991) and Dempsey (1995) are in the Plaza. Reed entered the Hall of Fame in 1978. DB Tyron Brackenridge (2011-15) was a member of the 2013 Cup winners.
WASHINGTON (28/14)
OL Gary Brandt (1967-77) entered the Plaza in 2002. RB Herb Johnson (1953) owns the Roughriders’ record for longest punt return (109 yards vs. Edmonton, Aug. 31, 1953).
MISSISSIPPI STATE (28/8)
LB Billy Jackson (1984-87) and LB Barrin Simpson (2010-11) were both standouts on defence.
ARIZONA (27/13)
DB Larry Dumelie (1960-67), OL Ted Urness (1961-70), DB-REC Dale West (1962-68) and REC Jeff Fairholm (1988-93) are in the Plaza. Urness is also in the Hall of Fame (1989).
AUBURN (26/13)
QB Reggie Slack (1997-99) piloted the Roughriders to a Grey Cup berth in 1997.
FLORIDA (26/13)
DB Bruce Bennett (1966-72), a five-time divisional All-CFL selection, entered the Plaza in 1991.
KANSAS STATE (25/11)
C-G-QB Dean Griffing (1936-43), also a former Roughriders head coach, is in the Plaza (1987) and Hall of Fame (1965).
TULSA (25/17)
QB-P Glenn Dobbs (1951-53), RB-DB Henry Dorsch (1964-71) and DL-LB Ken Reed (1965-70) are in the Plaza.
HAWAII (24/11)
LB Solomon Elimimian (2019), a divisional All-CFL pick in his only season with the Roughriders, entered the Hall in 2023. Ken Moore (1985-90) was the starting left tackle on the 1989 Grey Cup champions.
USC (24/8)
REC Jack Nix (1951) caught 46 passes for 599 yards and seven TDs in his only season with the Roughriders. He also caught a TD pass in the 1951 Grey Cup Game.
FRESNO STATE (23/11)
REC KeeSean Johnson caught 56 passes for 746 yards and five TDs in 12 games last season.
MISSISSIPPI (23/11)
QB Kent Austin (1987-92) was a Grey Cup winner as a player (1989) and head coach (2007). He entered the Plaza in 1999. Jason Armstead (2006-07, 2009) was an all-purpose standout.
MICHIGAN STATE (23/11)
DL Luc Mullinder (2004-11), now a member of 620 CKRM’s broadcast crew, was a member of the 2007 championship team. DB-LB Venton Donelson (1991-2000) was a key member of the defence for a decade.
WEST VIRGINIA (23/8)
Mario Alford (2022-24) is the Roughriders’ career leader in return touchdowns (eight).
TEXAS (23/7)
QB Vince Young (2017), who starred for the Longhorns and in the NFL, didn’t advance past the Roughriders’ intra-squad game — but the attention he received upon signing with Saskatchewan has few precedents.
KANSAS (23/6)
RB Robert Mimbs (1995-97) rushed for a league-high 1,403 yards in 1996 and was named the West’s Most Outstanding Player.
BAYLOR (22/13)
REC-DB Stan Williams (1953-57), DB-REC-QB-P Larry Isbell (1954-58) and LB Roger Goree (1974-80) are in the Plaza.
OHIO STATE (22/12)
REC-RB Tom Campana (1972-77) and DB Ted Provost (1973-77) are in the Plaza. DL Jim Marshall (1959) is a Minnesota Vikings legend. REC-DB Duron Carter (2017-18) is the son of a Vikings legend (Cris Carter).
OKLAHOMA STATE (22/11)
LB Cleveland Vann (1976-80) and DL Gary Lewis (1985-94) are Plaza inductees. Also of note: REC Curtis Mayfield (1996-99), REC Adarius Bowman (2008) and LB Derrick Moncrief (2017-19, 2022-23).
MISSOURI (22/10)
QB Gary Lane (1970) started in place of an injured Ron Lancaster in Game 3 of the 1970 Western Final vs. Calgary.
TEXAS TECH (22/10)
QB Joe Barnes (1980-81) was part of an effective quarterbacking duo with John Hufnagel in 1981. LB Samuel Eguavoen (2016-18) scored on a 103-yard interception return in 2018. DB DaMarcus Fields (2024) is coming off an impressive rookie season.
LOUISIANA STATE (21/13)
DB Jim Elder (1973-75) had four interceptions for the 1975 Roughriders. He was also an effective return specialist.
INDIANA (21/12)
OL-DL-LB Mel Becket (1953-56) was among four Roughriders players killed in a Dec. 9, 1956 plane crash. His number (40) has been retired by the team. OL Andrew Greene (1997, 1999-2006) and DL Nate Davis (2001-06) are Plaza inductees.
PURDUE (21/10)
OL-LB Neil Habig (1958-64) entered the Plaza in 1992. RB Kory Sheets (2012-13) rushed for 1,598 yards in 2013, when he was also named the Grey Cup MVP.
ARKANSAS (21/9)
RB Paul Dudley (1966) was a member of the Roughriders’ first championship team.
MARYLAND (20/11)
REC Geroy Simon (2013), a Hall of Famer, caught two TD passes in the 2013 Grey Cup Game.
OKLAHOMA (22/8)
DL Ed McQuarters (1966-74) and RB Bobby Thompson (1969-74, 1977) are Plaza inductees. McQuarters is in the Hall of Fame (1988).
UCLA (21/10)
REC Shaq Evans (2018-22) was an All-CFL selection in 2019 after catching 72 passes for 1,334 yards.
PENN STATE (21/9)
QB John Hufnagel (1980-83, 1987) threw 21 TD passes in 1981 while splitting the quarterbacking with Joe Barnes.
TEXAS A&M (20/12)
OL-DL Martin Ruby (1951-57) was a two-way all-star three times. He is in the Hall of Fame (1974) and the Plaza (1988).
UNLV (20/10)
DB Charles Anthony (1992-93) registered five interceptions and six fumble recoveries in 1993.
IDAHO STATE (20/9)
LB Bill Manchuk (1971-80) is a 2001 Plaza inductee.
BRIGHAM YOUNG (20/8)
DB Omarr Morgan (2000-07, 2009-10) was a three-time All-CFL pick.
FLORIDA STATE (20/12)
REC Bob Renn (1959-61) caught eight passes for 203 yards and three TDs against Calgary on Sept. 26, 1960. REC Rhett Dawson (1974-76) is in the Plaza (2006).
