By Michael Murillo,
CFL.ca
NCAA football fans don’t have to lose track of their favourite players when they leave their competitive teams and conferences. Each week, College Connection looks at a pair of former college stars who are making waves today in the CFL. Their teams will meet in an upcoming match-up, televised in the U.S.
This week: Edmonton Eskimos at Hamilton Tiger-Cats, November 3, available on TSN.
Edmonton Eskimos: Stefan LeFors, QB, Louisville Cardinals. Lefors only spent two years as a starter for Louisville (2003-04) but he made the most of his time behind center. As a junior he threw for more than 3,000 yards and 17 touchdowns, earning 1st team All-Conference USA and leading the team to a 9-4 record and a berth in the GMAC Bowl, where they fell to Miami of Ohio. The following year, LeFors helped lead the team to an 11-1 record (including a perfect 8-0 in Conference USA), a Liberty Bowl victory over Boise State and a #6 finish in the AP poll. LeFors completed an amazing 73.5 percent of his passes that year, was again named 1st team All-Conference USA as well as Conference Player of the Year. In the East West Shrine game, he was also named Offensive Player of the Game. LeFors finished his career at Louisville as the school’s fourth all-time leading passer and #1 all-time in pass completion percentage.
After being drafted by the Carolina Panthers of the NFL, LeFors signed on with Edmonton last November. He has 1,011 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2007, and he’s finishing the year strong: LeFors threw for more than 400 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s loss to Saskatchewan.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Terry Caulley, RB, University of Connecticut Huskies. Caulley compiled great numbers at UConn, but his tenure as a Huskie was marred by a serious injury. In his first year, Caulley led all I-A freshmen in rushing yards and total yards, earning several freshman All-America honours as well as the UConn’s Co-Offensive Player of the Year. In addition to his freshman accolades, he finished in the top 10 in rushing and scoring overall.
Caulley was at the top of the rushing lists in 2003 when a knee injury sidelined him for the rest of the season and all of 2004 as well. He came back as a heavy contributor in 2005 and 2006 and finished his collegiate career with a 5.6 yards-per-carry average, 31 touchdowns and a school-record 13 100-yard rushing games.
In the NFL, Caulley was signed by Washington as a free-agent this year before being released. He then signed with Hamilton and, despite a difficult season for the Ticats, has an impressive 6.1 yards-per-carry average, one rushing touchdown and two receiving scores this year.
If you’d like to see a specific school or player featured in College Connection, contact Michael Murillo at vivamurillo@hotmail.com.
(The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of the Canadian Football League)
