When Mario Alford isn’t returning kicks for the Saskatchewan Roughriders , he spends his off-seasons on the family farm back home in West Virginia. Article content

The youngest in a family of 14 children (which now include 45 nieces and nephews), the 34-year-old has become one of the CFL’s most electrifying kick returners since breaking into the league in 2018 with the Toronto Argonauts before joining the Montreal Alouettes the following season. Article content Article content

In 2022, he was traded to the Roughriders and has gone on to become the franchise’s leader in many special teams categories.

But there was a time Alford wasn’t even going to consider coming to the CFL. After playing college football for Georgia Military (2011-12) and West Virginia (2013-14), Alford was draft

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