Riders sign American DB Taylor, American RB Hickson

CFL.ca Staff

REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed American defensive back Levonta Taylor and American running back Frankie Hickson, the team announced on Wednesday.

Taylor (5’10-190) was signed by the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent following the 2020 NFL Draft, attending training camp with the Club. In 2021, he played for the Sea Lions in The Spring League.

Taylor spent four collegiate seasons at Florida State (2016-19) playing in 35 games with the Seminoles. The Virginia native showed great versatility lining up at both cornerback and safety over his tenure at FSU. He went on to make 90 career tackles, including five-and-a-half for loss, one sack, four interceptions – two of which he returned for a touchdown, 10 passes defended and one forced fumble. His two career interception return touchdowns ranks fourth all-time in FSU history.

Hickson (5’8-200) spent five collegiate seasons at Liberty University (2015-19), playing in 47 games for the Flames. Over that time, the Virginia native earned 610 carries for 2,898 yards and 30 touchdowns. Hickson became the first Liberty running back to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons in more than a decade. He finished his collegiate career as the program’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards with 4,494 and having earned Phil Steele’s Independent All-Conference First-Team honours as a senior. Prior to his breakout junior season, Hickson contributed as a returner, where in his first season on the field he earned 707 total kickoff return yards (the second most in program history) and averaged 25.2 yards per kickoff return (ranking second in the Big South). His strength as a returner saw him named Big South second-team all-conference in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.

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