MONTREAL – The Montreal Alouettes are giving Canadian quarterback Kyle Quinlan a shot to crack their roster.
The CFL club announced Tuesday it had signed the McMaster quarterback to a two-year contract.
The six-foot-three, 215-pound Quinlan, who led the Marauders to their first-ever Vanier Cup title last year, was bypassed in Thursday’s CFL draft.
The 23-year-old from South Woodslee, Ont., becomes the league’s second Canadian quarterback behind Brad Sinopoli. The Peterborough, Ont., native is entering his second season with the Calgary Stampeders.
Sinopoli captured the 2010 Hec Crighton Trophy as Canadian university football’s top player while at the University of Ottawa.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats invited Quinlan to their training camp last summer.
Quinlan will compete for the No. 3 job in Montreal behind veteran starter Anthony Calvillo and backup Adrian McPherson.
If Quinlan doesn’t make Montreal’s roster, he could return to McMaster this fall.
That would be a real boost for the Marauders based on the outstanding 2011 campaign Quinlan enjoyed.
Quinlan completed almost 65 per cent of his passes in the regular season with 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions. In the playoffs, he was named MVP in the Yates Cup, Uteck Bowl and Vanier Cup.
Quinlan was especially brilliant in the Canadian university football championship, leading McMaster to a thrilling 41-38 double overtime victory over the Laval Rouge et Or at B.C. Place Stadium in November. He finished 36-of-55 passing for 482 yards and two touchdowns while also running for a team-high 106 yards.
Quinlan also turned heads in the game when he hurdled over a Laval defender during a bootleg play.
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