Former WVU WR Mario Alford Returns Missed FG for 112-Yard TD in CFL

Former WVU WR Mario Alford (2013-14) made national headlines in Canada Sunday night after returning a missed field goal for a 112-yard touchdown in the CFL.

The return came when a 61-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right at the end of the first half. Alford gave his current team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, a 15-11 lead over the Toronto Argonauts. The Argonauts would end up winning the game 31-21 to start 1-0 on the season.

This just happened 🤯 @mario_alfordpic.twitter.com/TFnvy8oS6M

— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) July 25, 2022

Alford’s spectacular missed field goal return is nothing new for him in the CFL, where he has thrived as a return man, we’ve actually covered one such long return three years ago.

For kick return yards he’s averaging 20.5 yards per return in his four-year CFL career while he has three punt return touchdowns and an a 14.5 yards per return average on punts.

Alford played for WVU for two seasons spanning from 2013-14. As a wide receiver, he snatched 92 catches for 1,497 yards and 13 touchdowns in his collegiate career.

He was also used as a kick returner at WVU and had 972 return yards and two touchdowns on 37 kick returns, which puts him at a 26.3 yards per return average. He wasn’t used as a punt returner at WVU, only getting three such returns in his two-year career and lost a combined 13 yards on those returns.

He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round with the 238th overall pick. He had a three-year NFL career prior to the CFL splitting time with four different teams in the Bengals, New York Jets (practice squad) Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears (practice squad).

He originally came to the CFL with the Argonauts in 2018, but only spent one year with the team. He then spent two seasons with the Montreal Alouettes before being traded to the Roughriders earlier this month for a sixth round pick in the 2023 CFL Draft.