The Edmonton Elks have added another intriguing quarterback prospect, signing former James Madison University product Todd Centeio.
The six-foot, 221-pound pivot played his final collegiate season for the Dukes in 2022, winning Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year after posting an 8-2 record as a starter. He completed 181-of-284 pass attempts for 2,697 yards, 25 touchdowns and just five interceptions, while rushing for 366 yards and seven majors.
A two-time transfer, the native of West Palm Beach, Fla. spent his first three seasons at Temple University before a two-year stint at Colorado State. He dressed for 47 games and started 23 between all three programs, completing 61.2 percent of his passes for 6,475 yards, 48 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,132 yards and 10 scores.
Centeio did not land a contract with an NFL team after going unselected in the 2023 Draft, settling for a rookie mini-camp tryout with the Kansas City Chiefs. He later signed with the XFL’s Orlando Guardians but saw his opportunity disappear when that team folded in the midst of a merger with the USFL.
Also joining the Elks are American defensive linemen Eric Black and Chauncey Manac, as well as running back Brian Herrien.
Black finished his college career at Stony Brook University in 2022, collecting 19 total tackles, five sacks, four pass deflections and one forced fumble in 10 games. The six-foot-four, 247-pound pass rusher previously played 29 games over four seasons for the University at Buffalo, notching 36 total tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He later received a mini-camp tryout with the New York Giants.
Manac began his collegiate career at the University of Georgia before moving on to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette by way of a stop at Garden City Community College, The six-foot-three, 246-pound edge defender was a second-team All-Sun Belt selection as a senior and racked up 166 total tackles, 19.5 sacks, one interception and three forced fumbles in 47 games for the Ragin’ Cajuns. He spent time with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2022 before being drafted by the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks, though he never played for the organization.
Herrien spent four seasons at the University of Georgia as part of a backfield rotation that included future NFL Draft picks Nick Chubb, D’Andre Swift, James Cook, Sony Michel, and Zamir White. He was a contributor each year, carrying 277 times for 1,413 yards and 13 touchdowns in 52 games while adding 28 receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
The six-foot, 210-pound back had a brief training camp stint with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2020, before resurfacing in the XFL in 2023. In three games for the eventual champion Arlington Renegades, Herrien carried seven times for 31 yards and added five catches for 47 yards.
The Elks will open the team’s 75th anniversary season on Saturday, June 8 by hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
