A pair of Montana Grizzlies were identified as top draft prospects north of the border on Wednesday.
Montana receiver
Keelan White and defensive end
Hayden Harris have each been named to the Canadian Football League Scouting Bureau’s
top 20 Canadians eligible for the 2025 CFL Draft.
White, a native of North Vancouver, B.C., and Harris, who holds Canadian citizenship through his mother, were the only two FCS players on the list and two of just 11 players from NCAA member institutions. Montana was also the only American program to feature two players on the list.
White rises to No. 5 on the Scouting Bureau’s winter top 20 after slotting in at No. 10 on the same list in August. Harris joins the list for the first time at No. 9.
It’s another in a list of accolades from his home country for White this postseason having also received an honorable mention for the 2024 Jon Cornish Trophy in December, given annually to the most outstanding Canadian student-athlete in NCAA football.
The former Grizzly walk-on went on to make 41 starts and 57 appearances at UM. In his senior season he led UM in receptions (57), reception yards (628) and touchdown receptions (four). He averaged just over 11 yards per catch and 48 yards per game, placing him among the Big Sky’s 15 best receivers in 2024.
He capped his career with 161 catches (No. 11 in program history) for 1,862 yards (No. 21 in program history). His 14 touchdown catches are a Grizzly top 25 as well. He also holds the school record for the longest play from scrimmage, hauling in a 97-yard touchdown catch against Sacramento State as a junior.
He was Montana’s offensive MVP in 2023 and capped his senior year at UM with another team-high performance at just over 11 yards per catch and 48 yards per game – landing him among the Big Sky’s 15 best receivers in 2024.
Harris, who was born in Seattle but whose mother hails from Regina, Saskatchewan, was one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in the Big Sky his senior season.
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound end earned second-team all-conference honors and was named both the team’s Defensive MVP and the recipient of the Sims-Miller Award for outstanding D-lineman following a stellar senior season.
In 2024 he led the Big Sky in forced fumbles with three, finished second in the league with two fumble recoveries, and third in the league in sacks and tackles for loss. In just two seasons of action at UM he logged 21.5 TFLs to tie him at No. 28 all-time in program history in that category. His 21.5 TFLs were responsible for 126 lost yards for opposing offenses, and his total of 84 tackles made one in every 4 of his stops a TFL.
Harris is currently in Annapolis, Maryland, training at the U. S. Naval Academy in preparation for Montana’s Pro Day in April. White is in Orlando training for Pro Day at Delacruz Sports Performance.
The 2024 CFL Combine is set to be held in Regina, Saskatchewan, in March of 2025, with the Draft held on April 29. The CFL Scouting Bureau, comprising CFL scouts, as well as player personnel directors and general managers from the league’s nine clubs, releases its rankings three times each year: in the fall, winter and spring.
Montana built heavily on its rich history with the CFL in 2024, with three other Grizzlies now signed to play north of the border next season. Offensive lineman Chris Walker signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and linebacker Braxton Hill signed with the Saskatchewan Rough Riders in the fall. 2023’s Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Alex Gubner also signed with Saskatchewan.
Grizzly great Dave Dickenson is currently the head coach and G.M. of the Calgary Stampeders. His brother, and former UM player and coach Craig Dickenson is the special teams coordinator at Calgary as well.
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who led Indiana to its best season in program history, is ranked first on the list with standouts from LSU, Stanford, and BYU slotting in ahead of White. Six of the nine first-round pics in the 2024 CFL Draft were ranked in last year’s Scouting Bureau winter top 20.
CFL SCOUTING BUREAU: WINTER EDITION
Rank (Previous) | Name | POS | School | Hometown
• 1 (1) | Kurtis Rourke | QB | Indiana | Oakville, Ont.
• 2 (3) | Paris Shand | DL | Louisiana State | Toronto
• 3 (–) | Elic Ayomanor | WR | Stanford | Medicine Hat, Alta.
• 4 (8) | Isaiah Bagnah | DL | BYU | Lethbridge, Alta.
• 5 (10) | Keelan White | WR | Montana | North Vancouver, B.C.
• 6 (20) | Jaylen Smith | DB | North Texas | Hamilton, Ont.
• 7 (14) | Jeremiah Ojo | DL | Montreal | Montreal
• 8 (5) | Jackson Findlay | DB | Western | North Vancouver, B.C.
• 9 (–) | Hayden Harris | DL | Montana | Mill Creek, Wash.
• 10 (17) | Erik Andersen | OL | Western | London, Ont.
• 11 (–) | Christopher Fortin | OL | Connecticut | Saint-René, Que.
• 12 (–) | Ali Saad | DL | Bowling Green | Windsor, Ont.
• 13 (19) | Darien Newell | DL | Queen’s | Brampton, Ont.
• 14 (16) | Nate Martey | DL | Arkansas State | Ottawa
• 15 (15) | Devin Veresuk | LB | Windsor | Windsor, Ont.
• 16 (–) | Ethan Jordan | WR | Wilfrid Laurier | Chatham, Ont.
• 17 (–) | Samuel Carson | OL | Louisiana at Monroe | Calgary
• 18 (–) | Isaiah Knight | RB | UBC | Ottawa
• 19 (–) | Nate Beauchemin | DB | Calgary | Kelowna, B.C.
• 20 (–) | Taylor Elgersma | QB | Wilfrid Laurier | London, Ont.