June 14, 2018

Als sign former first overall pick Ekakitie

Johany Jutras/CFL.ca

MONTREAL — Less than a week after he was cut, former first overall pick Faith Ekakitie has been scooped up by the Montreal Alouettes on a one-year deal, the team announced Thursday.

The national defensive lineman was the first overall pick in 2017 by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before being let go on cutdown day on Sunday.

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A 6-foot-3, 290-pound Brampton, Ont. native, Ekakitie went on to play 14 games with Winnipeg that year, making five defensive tackles in his first professional season.

The 25-year-old played 34 games with the Hawkeyes, collecting 54 tackles, 10 tackles for losses and 0.5 sacks, while recovering one fumble. The former University of Iowa Hawkeye helped his team reach the Rose Bowl during his senior year, when his team faced the Stanford University Cardinal on New Year’s Day 2016.