It's the last day of 2021, but before cracking open the champagne, the Argos front office was hard at work. The Double Blue have added 26-year-old American DL Alani Pututau to their roster.
As with a lot of CFL players, Pututau's path to professional football was an interesting one. After high school, the California native played two seasons at Snow College in Utah where he racked up 65 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and an interception.
His journey then took him to Colorado's Adams State where he stood out with the third most tackles for a loss (24.5) and third most sacks (13.5) among Division II players. Pututau was unable to compete in his final season at Adams State because his conference did not play football in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Pututau went undrafted in the NFL, but spent time with the Atlanta Falcons. Viewed as undersized for his position in the NFL, he has the potential to excel in the CFL.
He is an explosive, physical athlete who plays bigger and stronger than his measurables and always finds a way to get to the quarterback. He needs to continue to refine his passrush technique instead of relying simply on his athleticism. He's much more suited to rushing the quarterback than defending the run, but he's in the right league for that.