RIDERS SIGN CANADIAN D - BACK

By Rob Vanstone 02-26-2009 COMMENTS(0) Rider Rumblings

Leader-Post staffThe Saskatchewan Roughriders have acquired non-import defensive back Donovan Alexander from the Montreal Alouettes for second-round picks in the 2009 and 2010 CFL drafts.

In 2008, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Alexander (dressed in four games as a defensive back with the Alouettes after spending time with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.The Winnipeg native played three seasons at the University of North Dakota with Rider receiver Weston Dressler. In his senior year with the Fighting Sioux, Alexander dressed in 12 games and tallied 47 defensive tackles, two tackles for a loss and nine knockdowns. He was also a member of the UND track and field team and ran 4.43 40-yard dash on his pro day workout for NFL teams. Alexander was selected in the third round (23rd overall) by the Alouettes in the 2007 CFL draft.

“Donovan is a very skilled athlete, who, along with Leron Mitchell and Konrad Wasiela, now gives us a very legitimate chance to alter our ratio and play with a Canadian cornerback, if we chose to do so,” Roughriders head coach Ken Miller said in a prepared statement.“The fact Donovan was selected in the third round needs to be viewed in the context of his desire to return to North Dakota for his senior season. Many times players who are being drafted as ‘futures’ go much later than they would if coming out that same year. Brent Johnson, of course, is one of many examples of this, when the Lions took him in the third round, back in 2000, knowing he was going back to Ohio State.

In speaking with Donovan, it’s obvious he's a first-class young man, and he’s very pleased to be coming here and playing so close to home.”

The Riders also announced that they have signed import receiver and returner Casey McGahee and non-import receiver David McKoy to contracts. Financial terms were not released. McGahee, who is 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds, spent last season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In his final game of the year, the Florida Atlantic product had seven punt returns for 93 yards, including a 57-yard return for a touchdown. McKoy dressed in nine regular season games for the Riders in 2007, but missed the last season and a half with a knee injury. He was originally drafted by the Riders in the second round (9th overall) in 2007.