Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca
Another year, another season dawning with great hope in Hamilton.
Hope that a Grey Cup drought that has stretched on for nearly 25 years will finally end. There is hope that good health will bless returning Tiger-Cats who suffered through frustrating injury spates in 2023. Hope that young players who emerged last season will make leaps forward in 2024. And there is hope that the winds of change that blew through the defensive roster this off-season will springboard that unit to a return to dominance.
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Let’s take a swing at what Hamilton’s opening roster of starters could look like when they hit the field against the Stampeders, in Calgary, on June 7.
OFFENCE
| Receiver | Running back | Quarterback | Fullback | Offensive line |
| Tim White | James Butler | Bo Levi Mitchell | Felix Garand-Gauthier* | Joel Figueroa (LT) |
| Terry Godwin II | Ante Litre* | Taylor Powell | James Tuck* | Brandon Revenberg* (LG) |
| Kiondré Smith* | David Beard* (C) | |||
| Luther Hakunavanhu* | Coulter Woodmansey* (RG) | |||
| Omar Bayless | Jordan Murray (RT) |
* denotes National
** denotes Global
QUARTERBACK
After a forgettable first year with the Ticats, veteran quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell gets a chance to lead Hamilton to the promised land as the presumed starter. Can he stay healthy? Will the 34-year-old find rejuvenation within a system captained by head coach Scott Milanovich? Hot on Mitchell’s heels will be sophomore pivot Taylor Powell, the presumed ‘next one’ in Hamilton.
RUNNING BACK
James Butler all day, every day. As good as he was previously in BC, Butler was even better in his first year as a Ticat, rushing for 1,116 yards in 2023, and adding 527 more in receptions. Just how high can he soar in ‘24?
FULLBACK
Felix Garand-Gauthier tops the chart, while veteran James Tuck returns to provide positional depth.
RECEIVER
White was Hamilton’s team nominee for Most Outstanding Player in 2023 after gaining a league-high 1,269 yards (Arthur Ward/CFL.ca)
Game breaker Tim White, who led the CFL in receiving yards (1,269) and was named Hamilton’s team nominee for Most Outstanding Player in 2023, is back to lead an experienced group, with Kiondre Smith (701 yards in 2023) and Terry Godwin II (864) returning as well after impressing last season.
A big prize in free agency is the addition of former Stampeder Luther Hakunavanhu, with another big, tall National, Brendan O’Leary-Orange, leaving Winnipeg for the Hammer, providing depth behind Hakunavanhu and Smith. Omayr Baless looked good once he cracked the line-up last fall, so we’ll give him the nod at one of the slot positions when the Ticats go five-pack, which, like all CFL teams, is more often than not.
OFFENSIVE LINE
The National core of this line returns to provide solid interior protection. David Beard is penned in at centre, with guards Brandon Revenberg (the team’s Most Outstanding Lineman in 2023) and Coulter Woodmansey flanking him. Left tackle Joel Figueroa will hope to have a much healthier season in 2024, after hitting the injured list for extended periods twice last year. Jordan Murray, who filled in for Figueroa after returning from the NFL in 2023, looks like a pretty good candidate to lock down the right tackle spot in 2024.
DEFENCE
| Defensive line | Linebacker | Defensive back |
| Jamal Davis II (DE) | Kyle Wilson (WLB) | Jamal Peters (CB) |
| Brandon Barlow (DE) | Jordan Williams* (MLB) | Will Sunderland (CB) |
| Casey Sayles (DT) | Carthell Flowers-Lloyd (SLB) | Richard Leonard (HB) |
| Dewayne Hendrix (DT) | Kenneth George Jr. (HB) | |
| Stavros Katsantonis* (S) |
* denotes National
** denotes Global
DEFENSIVE LINE
It’s an overhaul, here, as the Ticats said ‘so long’ to veteran tackles Dylan Wynn and Ted Laurent, raiding the Argos in free agency to nab interior rabble-rouser Dewayne Hendrix. He’ll draw in alongside Casey Sayles, who returns after being named a CFL All-Star in 2023. The ‘Cats also signed former Toronto defensive end Brandon Barlow – who had nine sacks with the Argos in 2023 – filling the spot vacated by Malik Carney, who is now in Saskatchewan. Jamal Davis II has been re-signed after joining the Ticats midway through 2023.
LINEBACKER
The biggest change here is that for the first time in a decade, the Ticats won’t have veteran weak side linebacker Simoni Lawrence in the line-up, after he announced his retirement in February. Hamilton has a very capable replacement available, though, in Kyle Wilson, who’s filled in at both WILL and in the middle, previously. That’s if he’s all the way back from an Achilles injury.
Wilson has posted some workout videos on socials and he looks good. Another change comes at middle linebacker, with Jameer Thurman leaving after a single season with Hamilton. The ‘Cats solved the dilemma through a trade with the Argonauts, acquiring Canadian Jordan Williams to take over. A new SAM is necessary, too, so how about giving special teams tackler extraordinaire (31 STT in 2023) Carthell Flowers-Lloyd the nod? But let’s keep National Nic Cross in mind, too. He’s been another good special teamer and has previously been listed as a back-up SAM with the Ticats, now entering his fourth year.
DEFENSIVE BACK
Jamal Peters locks in at boundary corner after three sensational seasons in Toronto. Third-year man Will Sunderland might get the benefit of the doubt – at least for the start of training camp – at the other corner spot. The position, though, is likely up for grabs. Dexter Lawson Jr. – who pulled down one of the most incredible interceptions of last season in a Week 19 loss to the BC Lions – is a strong candidate.
All Richard Leonard does is play fabulous football, whether on the corner or at half. But he seems to be particularly effective inside, so start him in one of those spots and let his abilities and his veteran leadership shine. With Javien Elliott announcing his retirement last month, the Ticats need someone else to step up at halfback, and since Kenneth George Jr. did just that after Elliott was injured last year, he gets slotted in here.
Stavros Katsantonis is the safety after winning the job during the 2023 season and quickly becoming known as one of the CFL’s hardest backfield hitters as well as a pretty good thief of opposing passes, with five interceptions.
SPECIAL TEAMS
| Kicker/Punter | Long snapper | Returner |
| Marc Liegghio*/Kaare Vedvik** | Gordon Whyte* | Cameron Batson |
* denotes National
** denotes Global
KICKER
Marc Liegghio settled in nicely after heading over from Winnipeg last season, going 40-47 on field goal tries, and was extended in the off-season.
PUNTER
The Ticats made a deal with Saskatchewan midway through last season, picking up Kaare Vedvik, who averaged 44.2 yards over fifty punts in ten games with Hamilton.
LONG SNAPPER
It’s Gordon Whyte, who returns for a fourth season of firing back tight, spinning missiles.
RETURNER
Both Tyreik McAllister (NFL) and Lawrence Woods III (BC) are gone and so the Ticats need to find return yards somewhere else in 2024. Looks like Cameron Batson, a five-foot-eight, 185-pound receiver/returner signed by Hamilton in January, will get a shot.
