David Beard



Golden Bears Football
6/9/2025 2:16:00 PM

Connor Hood



Bears rank second in Canada West with 11 alumni on a CFL roster



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EDMONTON – Familiar faces were found on sidelines across the country over the weekend, as 11 Golden Bears Football alumni were on CFL rosters for the start of the 2025 season. 

Of those 11, 9 were on active rosters for Week 1, including two starters on the hometown Edmonton Elks. Teammates in 2014 as Golden Bears, Mark Korte and David Beard now lineup beside each other on the Elks offensive line. Beard, a 2024 CFL All-Star, is starting his 10th CFL season, while Korte is entering year seven. 

Leading the Elks is another Bears alumn in Mark Kilam, who was named the franchise’s 25th head coach in December. 

Other Golden Bears on CFL rosters include 2024 U SPORTS All-Canadian Mack Bannatyne, former CW All-Star Tyshon Blackburn, All-Canadian safety Jayden Dalke, Grey Cup Champion Justin Lawrence, 2023 CW MVP Matthew Peterson, former U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Year Elk Josiah Schakel, and fullback Morgen Runge.

Ty Anderson (Practice Squad), and Rodeem Brown (Injured List) didn’t see the field in Week 1. 

“The CFL taking notice of our players is no accident. With Coach Smith’s strength program and our dome at Foote Field, our players are built to compete,” said Bears head coach Stevenson Bone. “Our alumni continue to prove they belong at the next level, as CFL General Manager’s and scouts continue to ask about who is next in our pipeline.”

The group of 11 have combined to earn 14 Canada West All-Star selections, 10 U SPORTS All-Canadian selections, one Canada West MVP (Matthew Peterson), one Canada West and U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Year Award (Josiah Schakel), one CW Lineman of the Year (Korte), and one Canada West Student-Athlete Community Service Award (Schakel). 

The 11 alumni on CFL rosters is second only to the Calgary Dinos (12) among Canada West schools. Each of the 11 Bears alumni were CFL Draft picks, with the Bears having 23 selections over the last eight years. The five Bears selected in the 2025 CFL draft marked their largest since 1985. 

Golden Bears Alumni on 2025 CFL Rosters (as of June 10, 2025)

 

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