Photo courtesy of University of Toronto
WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced on Wednesday the team has signed three Americans – defensive backs Isaiah Norman, Patrick Rogers and Demetries Ford and National kicker Dante Mastrogiuseppe.
Norman (six-foot, 206, Marshall University; born: July 14, 1998, in Memphis, TN) joins the Blue Bombers after attending training camp last year with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent and appearing in three preseason games.
Norman began his collegiate days at Austin Peay State University (2017-21), appearing in 46 games for the Governors and registering 148 tackles (98 solo, 50 assists), six tackles for loss, three interceptions – including one for a touchdown – 15 pass knockdowns, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He transferred to Marshall University in 2022 and had 23 tackles (11 solo, 12 assists) and one fumble recovery in nine games.
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Rogers (five-foot-11, 190 pounds, Central Washington University; born: June 30, 1999, in Tacoma, WA) was a First Team Defence American Football Coaches Association All-American in 2022 and an Honorable Mention Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-American. He appeared in 46 games for the Wildcats during his career (2018-23) registering 110 defensive tackles, 65 assists, 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three forced fumbles, two fumble recovers, two blocks and seven interceptions – including two for touchdowns.
Ford (five-foot-eight, 170 pounds, Arizona State; born: January 27, 2001 in South Miami, FL) appeared in 12 games for the Sun Devils in 2023 and finished with 25 defensive tackles, six assists, five pass knockdowns and one forced fumble. Ford began his collegiate career at Youngstown State in 2019, appearing in 18 games over two seasons, before transferring to Austin Peay in 2021 where he appeared in 22 games over two years with the Governors and had 61 total tackles (38 solo, 23 assists), one tackle for loss, one sack, fumble recovery and forced fumble along with three interceptions. He was a 2022 Associated Press Third Team FCS All-American and 2022 All-ASUN Conference All-Star.
Mastrogiuseppe (six-foot-one, 197 pounds, University of Toronto; born: June 1, 1997, in London, Ont.) was signed by the Blue Bombers after attending the CFL Kicking Showcase in San Diego in January and played in the 2023 College Gridiron Showcase in Fort Worth, Texas.
Mastrogiuseppe spent the 2022 season with the Varsity Blues, punting 55 times for a 42.6-yard average in eight games, and placing 11 punts inside the 20-yard line. He was named a Second Team OUA All-Star.
He began his college career at York University (2017-19), punting 213 times for a 39.5-yard average. He also did some field-goal kicking, connecting on 50 percent of his attempts, with a long of 44 yards.
