The Edmonton Elks have signed a trio of American prospects for the 2024 season, including receiver Tony Tate.
The 25-year-old speedster spent the 2023 season playing for the Wroclaw Panthers in the European League of Football, recording 39 receptions for 895 yards and 16 touchdowns in just 10 games as well as 136 rushing yards and two majors on the ground. He was named a finalist for the league’s Offensive Player of the Year in his first season.
Prior to his time in Europe, the five-foot-nine, 180-pound receiver played four seasons at Western Illinois University. In 37 career games for the Leathernecks, Tate totalled 157 receptions for 1,755 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning an All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honourable mention in 2021.
Also joining the team are linebacker Reynard Ellis and running back Justin Rankin.
Ellis finished his collegiate career at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2022, notching 53 total tackles and 1.5 sacks in 13 games. He initially attended Furman University, recording 92 tackles, two sacks, and an interception as a freshman. He later transferred to Georgia Southern for two seasons, notching 145 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and an interception in 22 games.
Rankin won an Indoor Football League championship with the Bay Area Panthers in 2023, rushing for 923 yards and 45 touchdowns. The five-foot-10, 215-pound back previously spent time with the Frisco Fighters in 2022 and the Bismarck Bucks in 2021 after wrapping up his college career at Northwest Missouri State in 2019, where he ran for 1,050 yards and 13 touchdowns in 14 games.
