WVU Safety Alonzo Addae Selected 13th Overall in CFL Draft, Retains College Eligibility

West Virginia safety Alonzo Addae was selected with the 13th overall pick by the Ottawa Redblacks in the 2021 Canadian Football League Draft Tuesday night. Addae, a native of Pickering, Ontario, Canada, was the fourth pick in the second round of the nine-team, six-round snake draft.

With the 13th pick in the 2021 #CFLDraft, the @REDBLACKS select DB Alonzo Addae pic.twitter.com/XRzgAlooCz

— CFL (@CFL) May 5, 2021

Due to a special rule implemented for this year’s CFL Draft, Addae retains his college eligibility and will be able to play for West Virginia during the 2021 college football season. NCAA players are typically only eligible for the CFL Draft after completion of their senior years of college. However, because the NCAA granted all players an extra year of eligibility due to COVID, the CFL made a special rule that allows NCAA players selected in the 2021 draft to play another year of college. The CFL did not want to defer all the players who chose to use the extra year of eligibility, which would have created a log jam for the 2022 draft class.

Addae completed his senior season at WVU in 2020 but chose to use his extra year of eligibility to return for the 2021 season. It still appears that Addae plans to play for the Mountaineers in 2021 despite being drafted into the CFL, as he participated in spring practices with the team.

Addae transferred to WVU before the 2019 season from New Hampshire. After sitting out the 2019 season to fulfill transfer requirements, Addae had a breakout season with the Mountaineers in 2020. As the team’s starting safety Addae finished third on the team with 61 total tackles to go along with two interceptions and five pass deflections. Addae originally signed with New Hampshire out of Canada in 2016. After redshirting as a true freshman, Addae played in 24 games for the Rams over the next two seasons with 61 total tackles and 12 pass breakups.