Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca
HAMILTON — It’s been well-advertised that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will hold an open competition for their vacant kicker position this spring. On Sunday, as training camps open across the league, the Ticats have named three of the kickers who will be in camp.
The team announced it has signed international placekickers Sergio Castillo, Ryan Hawkins and Craig Peterson, in addition to quarterback Cody Keith and offensive lineman Palmer White.
It was also revealed that international offensive lineman Jake Olson has retired after three CFL seasons.
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Castillo, 26, has appeared in six CFL games over the last two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2015) and Ottawa REDBLACKS (2016), converting 10 of his 13 field goal attempts (76.9 per cent) and averaging 44.6 yards per punt on 21 attempts. He spent time on the Tiger-Cats practice roster in 2015 before joining the Blue Bombers. In 2014, Castillo attended training camp with the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons and kicked two field goals in a pre-season game.
The native of La Joya, Texas played four seasons at West Texas A&M where he connected on 78 per cent of his field goal attempts and set both a school and Lone Star Conference record with 62 career field goals. He also won the Fred Mitchell Award, given to the nation’s top kicker, in 2013, and set a single-season school record with 38 field goals in 2012.
Hawkins, 22, attended mini-camp with the NFL’s New York Jets and also spent time on the Toronto Argonauts practice roster in 2016. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound native of Peoria, Ariz. played four years at Northern Arizona University, making 24 of his 29 field goal attempts (82.8 per cent) and punting 73 times for an average of 47.7 yards.
Peterson, 31, spent the last two seasons in the Arena Football League with the Tampa Bay Storm. Overall, the 6-3, 220-pound native of Burnt Hills, N.Y. converted six-of-seven field goals and 100 of his 121 PAT attempts. He also attended training camp with the Ottawa REDBLACKS in 2014 after graduating from State University of New York at Courtland.
Keith, 25, played in 11 games at New Mexico Highlands University in 2016, completing 182 of his 369 pass attempts (49.3%) for 1,981 yards, nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The 6-4, 205-pound native of Charlotte, North Carolina, missed the entire 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery. Prior to that, he registered seven pass completions on 11 attempts for 57 yards in three games for the East Carolina Pirates in 2013.
White, 22, played in 31 games, starting 29 times mostly at left tackle, over four seasons (2013-16) at Chadron State College. The 6-5, 290-pound native of Denver, Colorado, was named to the Omaha World-Herald’s All-Nebraska Division II honourable mention list following his senior season. He also received a mini-camp invite with the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons in May.
Olson, a 28-year-old Central Michigan alum, leaves a hole on the Ticats’ O-line where there was a good chance he might have started at tackle. The 6-foot-8, 302-pound international missed the entire 2016 season due to injury.
The Tiger-Cats also announced that international running back Jeremy Stewart has retired along with national receiver Matt Uren, while national defensive back Tyler Storie has been released.
