Ali Saad (Canadian football)
 Saad with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2025 | |
| No. 96 – Saskatchewan Roughriders | |
|---|---|
| Position | Defensive lineman |
| Roster status | Active |
| CFL status | National |
| Personal information | |
| Born | September 22, 2002 Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 280 lb (127 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Dearborn High |
| College | Bowling Green |
| CFL draft | 2025: 1st round, 4th overall pick |
| Awards and highlights | |
| Stats at CFL.ca | |
Ali Saad (born September 22, 2002) is a Canadian professional football defensive lineman for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
College career
[edit]Saad enrolled at the University of Minnesota in 2020 to play for the Golden Gophers, but he used a redshirt season and did not appear in any games.[1] He then transferred to Bowling Green State University where he played for the Bowling Green Falcons from 2021 to 2024.[1][2] He played in 44 games where he had 78 tackles, including 14 tackles for a loss, six sacks, four forced fumbles, and one blocked kick.[1][2]
Statistics
[edit]| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Int | Yds | TD | PD | ||
| 2020 | Minnesota |  Redshirt
| |||||||||||||
| 2021 | Bowling Green | 10 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Bowling Green | 8 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Bowling Green | 13 | 13 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 1.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Bowling Green | 13 | 13 | 40 | 19 | 21 | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 44 | 26 | 78 | 40 | 38 | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Professional career
[edit]In the final Canadian Football League's Amateur Scouting Bureau rankings for players eligible for the 2025 CFL draft, Saad was listed as the 11th-best player available.[3] He was then selected in the first round, fourth overall, in the draft by the Saskatchewan Roughriders and signed with the team on May 12, 2025.[4] He made the team's opening day roster in 2025 and played in his first professional game on June 6, 2025, against the Ottawa Redblacks, where he had one defensive tackle.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Ali Saad". Bowling Green Falcons. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Ali Saad". Saskatchewan Roughriders. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
- ^ "Elic Ayomanor Vaults to Top Spot in Spring Edition of CFL Scouting Bureau". Canadian Football League. April 28, 2025.
- ^ "Riders 1st round selection Ali Saad arrives in Riderville". Saskatchewan Roughriders. May 12, 2025.