Always nice to see some I-AAers continuing their career. We may need Ralph to find an I-AA fan "north of the border" so we can keep a better tab on all of the CFLers with I-AA ties...

Bowling Green, Ky. — Four former Western Kentucky University football players are in camps with Canadian Football League teams as they began preparation for the upcoming season.

Both Deion Holts and Brandon Smith — last year’s starting outside linebackers — are with the Montreal Alouettes, while inside linebacker Deonté Smith signed with the Toronto Argonauts and cornerback Antonio Thomas is in camp with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Holts was a second-team all-Gateway Football Conference selection last fall after posting 37 tackles in just seven contests — that included eight stops for loss and two sacks. He also forced two fumbles, recovered a pair of fumbles and broke up four passes. Holts was selected the Gateway’s Defensive Player of the Week following the Toppers’ double-overtime contest against 14th-ranked Northern Iowa after recording career highs with 10 tackles and 2.5 stops for loss as he helped WKU hold the eventual NCAA Division I-AA playoff runners-up to just 57 yards rushing and 292 yards of total offense.

Brandon Smith was limited to appearing in just seven contests due to injury in 2005, finishing with 24 total stops including 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage. He was an honorable mention all-league choice after posting 68 tackles and five sacks in 2004, while he was named to the conference’s All-Newcomer Team the previous season after recording 83 tackles — 17 were for loss including nine sacks — and recovering three fumbles. Smith ended his three-year career on the Hill with 175 total stops, 31 tackles for loss, 14 sacks and a pair of interceptions.

Deonté Smith was a two-year letterwinner who concluded his career in 2004 by being selected first-team all-conference after leading the Hilltoppers with 112 total stops, which included 10.5 behind the line and 2.5 sacks. As a senior, he was twice selected the league’s Defensive Player of the Week as he posted seven contests with 10 or more tackles. He paced WKU in stops six times that year, including games against nationally ranked UNI and Sam Houston State.

A two-time third-team All-American, Thomas earned first-team all-GFC accolades each of the last two seasons. He was tied for second on the team with a career-high 84 tackles a year ago — 4.5 were for loss — while adding three passes defended, two forced fumbles, a pair of fumble recoveries and an interception. Thomas, who was twice named the conference Defensive Player of the Week, recorded a career-best 15 tackles in WKU’s victory at Illinois State. He collected 245 total tackles, 12 interceptions and 17 passes broken up during his four-year career.

http://www.wkusports.com/news.cgi?article=4531