Last year’s seventh round pick ready to make jump to big league
On March 14, University of Ottawa football defensive back Ty Cranston signed a three-year contract with the Montreal Alouettes for the upcoming Canadian Football League (CFL) season.
The Winnipeg native just finished his fifth season with the team, having been a part of it since 2013. Following his fourth year with the Gee-Gees, he was selected in the seventh round, 56th overall by the Alouettes, the only Gee selected in the draft that year. He attended the team’s training camp last June, then came back to Ottawa to be part of his last season with the team.
“It’s very exciting for me, a lot of hard work put into it over the past few years. I am very fortunate that Montreal gives me this chance to play for them,” said Cranston.
The 6’3”, 205 lb player ended his season with 35 tackles and 10 assists for his team this year. It was his goal to get signed by a CFL team.
“I knew Montreal held my rights after they drafted me, and as long as I had a good year, there was this opportunity,” said Cranston “I’ve always had in mind to help my team succeed, to try to help it win a championship, but it was definitely a goal I had set to myself a few years ago, so when I was drafted, I knew it was coming.”
“During my university career, I’ve had to play a whole lot of different positions with the team, I wasn’t just limited to one. I’ve had to play several roles in terms of leadership, I got to see how the team worked in terms of organizational standpoint, at times,” he added.
Cranston, a communications student at the U of O, will be back in Montreal for this year’s training camp. “For now, I graduated and I finished my five years in Ottawa. I will attend a training camp with Montreal in May and try to make the team. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll be released and become a free agent, and then I’ll be eligible to re-sign with any other CFL team.”
Meanwhile, the Gee-Gees finished fourth in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA), but lost in the quarter-finals to the Guelph Gryphons. Their season will renew this September, with the schedule yet to be announced, playing home games at Gee-Gees field.
