The Edmonton Elks have signed for American players, including quarterback Khalil Tate, receiver Raphael Leonard, defensive back Christian Angulo, and defensive back Jhavonte Dean.
Tate played four years at the University of Arizona (2016-19), amassing 6,318 passing yards, 57 touchdowns, and 31 interceptions. The Inglewood, Calif. product also added 2,285 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns over 40 career games.
A four-star recruit out of Junípero Serra High School, Tate burst onto the national scene in 2017, passing for 1,591 yards and rushing for another 1,411. In October of that season he became the first player in Pac-12 Conference history to win the offensive player of the week award for four consecutive weeks.
Tate was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles after going unselected in the 2020 NFL Draft, where he spent time as a wide receiver through parts of both 2020 and 2021.
Leonard was signed by the B.C. Lions following the 2019 season but was released prior to the start of the 2021 campaign.
The six-foot-two, 190-pound target played 22 games at Southern Illinois over the 2017 and 2018 seasons, making 91 receptions for 1,377 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Starkville, Miss. native attended training camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019 but was cut prior to the start of the season.
Angulo was inked last February by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and was a late July cut. The native of Tampa, Fla. spent four seasons at the University of Cincinnati (2015-18) and appeared in 11 games before transferring to Hampton (2019).
In his lone season at Hampton, Angulo recorded 18 tackles, three interceptions, and 14 pass breakups. He went on to sign with the New York Giants in 2020, but was released after training camp. He then had stints on the practice rosters of the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts during the 2020 NFL season.
Dean was signed last season by the Blue Bombers but was cut in training camp. He finished the 2019 CFL season on the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ practice roster after seeing action in four NFL preseason games earlier that season (three with Cleveland and one with Pittsburgh).
At the collegiate level, Dean played the 2017 and 2018 seasons at the University of Miami, appearing in 25 games where he had 28 tackles, three interceptions and five pass deflections.
