The NFL Draft may have drawn to a close, but some former Kansas football players are still receiving additional opportunities to play professional football.
Alex Raich will have the opportunity to do so in the third country of his young career, while Dre Doiron will return up north to his home country, albeit farther west than his native Ontario.
Raich, who is originally from Chur, Switzerland, and spent three seasons at KU as a linebacker and special teamer, was selected by the Edmonton Elks with the third pick in the second and final round of Tuesday morning’s Canadian Football League Global Draft.
Raich tallied five tackles and played 236 snaps, 203 of which were on special teams, when he saw his most extensive action as a sixth-year senior for the Jayhawks in 2024. His lengthy college career begin at the junior-college level at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California, as a safety.
Before that, Raich had been introduced to American football by a friend at the age of 12. By the time he arrived in the United States, he had already spent time playing for the Calanda Broncos football team in his home country, not to mention, according to his LinkedIn, working as a truck driver and auto mechanic.
Following the conclusion of his college football career, Raich was one of the 29 Jayhawks slated to take part in some way in the Big 12 Pro Day event in late March. He ran a 40-yard dash in 4.72 seconds, which was middle of the pack among participating linebackers, and had a vertical jump of 31.5 inches and a broad jump of 9-foot-11, among other results.
The ALL22 Global Scouting Network placed Raich ninth among position players in its rankings ahead of Tuesday morning’s draft, writing, “He is a smooth mover with great range, good burst coming downhill, and reliable tackling ability. His speed and pursuit offer special teams value and could drive him up boards in a draft short on those body types.”
The CFL’s roster rules encourage the acquisition of international players. Each roster is allowed to have 45 total players, one of which must be a global player (i.e., not from the U.S. or Canada).
In Edmonton, Raich joins former teammate Kenny Logan Jr., the longtime KU safety who signed with the Elks in the offseason.
By the end of Tuesday, another Jayhawk had gone off the board.
Doiron, a former KU offensive lineman who is originally from London, Ontario, and can thus serve as a Canadian player (teams are required to have 21, including eight starters), was selected in the fifth round at No. 41 overall by the BC Lions.
He took part in the CFL Combine in Regina, Saskatchewan, in late March, where he impressed coaches with his broad jump of 8-foot-11.25. Doiron, a projected fourth-round pick prior to the draft, could technically have played one more year of college football but forewent it to declare for the CFL and NFL drafts.
Doiron only played 98 snaps across his final three seasons of college football. A former recruit of Lance Leipold’s at Buffalo, he started at right tackle for the Bulls in 2021 before making the move to KU the following year.
CFL.ca’s Marshall Ferguson wrote of Doiron after the combine, comparing him to former Calgary Stampeders guard Dimitri Tsoumpas, “Arguably the most difficult match made in combine heaven thanks to Doiron’s uniquely stout frame with extremely long arms. Tsoumpas was the second overall pick to Calgary in 2008 and won the Grey Cup that year but retired quickly in 2013 due to health concerns. Doiron hasn’t played a lot over the last couple years, but his energy and base were noticeable in Regina.”
Kansas redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Deondre Doiron throws a football during a training camp practice on Aug. 12, 2022. Doiron, who joined the Jayhawks over the summer, played right tackle at Buffalo but has been playing center as he settles in with the Jayhawks.
AP Photo/Jessica Tobias
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