GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Cornerback Alex Tillman transferred to the University of North Dakota for his final collegiate season in 2014 hoping to find more playing time. He got exactly what he bargained for at UND starting all 12 games and earning All-Big Sky Conference honors.
He turned his success in the Big Sky into a professional contract on Wednesday, agreeing to a two-year deal with the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League. Tillman will join other first-year Lions at a three-day, mini-camp beginning on Thursday, May 28 before the full team reports to camp on June 1.
Tillman, who spent his first four collegiate seasons in his hometown at the University of Houston, quickly made an impression in his lone season at the Football Championship Subdivision, earning first team all-league honors as a punt returner and honorable mention accolades as a cornerback.
He finished the campaign with 43 total tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, eight pass break-ups and he returned his only interception 92 yards for a touchdown in the win over Stony Brook (Sept. 20). Tillman also averaged 16.9 yards per punt return, including a Division I record 95-yard return in the win over Portland State (Oct. 11).
Tillman joins former UND wide receivers Weston Dressler and Greg Hardin (Saskatchewan Roughriders) in the CFL. Former UND linebacker Curtis Dublanko, who played for the Edmonton Eskimos during the 2014 season, is a free agent, while defensive back Donovan Alexander retired in 2014 after a seven-year career in the league.
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