Three players announce retirement, including offensive linemen Olson
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced Sunday that the football club has signed five international free agents, including placekickers Sergio Castillo, Ryan Hawkins and Craig Peterson, quarterback Cody Keith and offensive lineman Palmer White.
Castillo, 26, has appeared in six CFL games over the last two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2015) and Ottawa Redblacks (2016), converting 10 of his 13 field goal attempts (76.9%) and averaging 44.6 yards per punt on 21 attempts. He spent time on the Tiger-Cats practice roster in 2015 before joining the Blue Bombers. In 2014, Castillo attended training camp with the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons and kicked two field goals in a preseason game.
The 5-11, 184-pound native of La Joya, Texas, played four seasons at West Texas A&M where he connected on 78% of his field goal attempts and set both a school and Lone Star Conference record with 62-career field goals. He also won the Fred Mitchell Award, given to the nation’s top kicker, in 2013, and set a single-season school record with 38 field goals in 2012.
Hawkins, 22, attended mini-camp with the NFL’s New York Jets and also spent time on the Toronto Argonauts practice roster in 2016. The 5-11, 185-pound native of Peoria, Arizona, played four years at Northern Arizona University, making 24 of his 29 field goal attempts (82.8%) and punting 73 times for an average of 47.7 yards.
Peterson, 31, spent the last two seasons in the Arena Football League with the Tampa Bay Storm. Overall, the 6-3, 220-pound native of Burnt Hills, New York, converted six-of-seven field goals and 100 of his 121 PAT attempts. He also attended training camp with the Ottawa Redblacks in 2014 after graduating from State University of New York at Courtland.
Keith, 25, played in 11 games at New Mexico Highlands University in 2016, completing 182 of his 369 pass attempts (49.3%) for 1,981 yards, nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The 6-4, 205-pound native of Charlotte, North Carolina, missed the entire 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery. Prior to that, he registered seven pass completions on 11 attempts for 57 yards in three games for the East Carolina Pirates in 2013.
White, 22, played in 31 games, starting 29 times mostly at left tackle, over four seasons (2013-16) at Chadron State College. The 6-5, 290-pound native of Denver, Colorado, was named to the Omaha World-Herald’s All-Nebraska Division II honourable mention list following his senior season. He also received a mini-camp invite with the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons in May.
The Tiger-Cats also announced a series of other transactions on Sunday.
The following players have retired:
INT – OL – Jake Olson
INT – RB – Jeremy Stewart
NAT – WR – Matt Uren
The following player has been released:
NAT – DB – Tyler Storie