Dec. 25, 2006

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University defensive lineman Ryan Lucas has signed a free agent contract with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

Lucas, 22, was a three-year letter winner for Western after playing one season with Simon Fraser University. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound tackle had 15 tackles, 11 of them unassisted, this season, including 3.5 tackles for loss. He had one sack, and also recovered a fumble.

"I'm really excited, I'm walking around with a smile on my face," Lucas said. "This is something I've worked toward for the last couple years. I'm getting an opportunity and I'm going to prepare as hard as I can. I want go to into training camp and make an impact."

Lucas, a Canadian citizen who graduated from North Delta Senior Secondary School near Vancouver, is designated as a non-import by CFL rules. Roughly half of all CFL roster spots are reserved for non-imports.

"Having the contract signed now allows me to focus, to know what I need to do and how I need to train," said Lucas. "They want me to play defensive tackle. I can get the playbook, I can learn everything inside and out, so when I go to training camp I'll be ready ... I'm going to have to get used to the speed of the game."

Montreal finished with a 10-8 record last season, finishing first in the East Division and reaching the Grey Cup championship game before losing to the British Columbia Lions.

Lucas will be the second Western player currently in the CFL. Orlondo Steinauer has been in the league since 1996 as a defensive back, first with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and currently the Toronto Argonauts. He is the CFL's active leader in interception return yards with 1,022.

Another former Viking, defensive end Chad Rohrbaugh, played three games with the Edmonton Eskimos in 1998.