Ali Saad (born September 22, 2002) is a Canadian professional football defensive lineman for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
College career Saad enrolled at the University of Minnesota in 2020 to play for the Golden Gophers, but he used a redshirt season and did not appear in any games. He then transferred to Bowling Green State University where he played for the Bowling Green Falcons from 2021 to 2024. He played in 44 games where he had 78 tackles, including 14 tackles for a loss, six sacks, four forced fumbles, and one blocked kick.
Statistics Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles Interceptions GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck FF FR Yds TD Int Yds TD PD 2020 Minnesota Redshirt 2021 Bowling Green 10 0 9 7 2 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2022 Bowling Green 8 0 5 1 4 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2023 Bowling Green 13 13 24 13 11 1.5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2024 Bowling Green 13 13 40 19 21 6.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 44 26 78 40 38 6.0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Professional career
In the final Canadian Football League's Amateur Scouting Bureau rankings for players eligible for the 2025 CFL draft, Saad was listed as the 11th-best player available. He was then selected in the first round, fourth overall, in the draft by the Saskatchewan Roughriders and signed with the team on May 12, 2025. He made the team's opening day roster in 2025 and played in his first professional game on June 6, 2025, against the Ottawa Redblacks, where he had one defensive tackle.
References
External links Saskatchewan Roughriders bio