Vad Lee Signs CFL Contract with Saskatchewan Roughriders

REGINA, Saskatchewan - Former James Madison All-American Vad Lee has landed his first professional football contract, signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

Lee signed with the Roughriders last week and participated in his first week of practice with the team this week. He will be elevated to the active roster and is expected to make his debut tonight, July 22, when Saskatchewan hosts Ottawa at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. Kickoff is set for a 7 p.m. local start time (9 p.m. Eastern) and the game can be seen online at ESPN3 or the WatchESPN app, as well as on TSN and RDS in Canada. Lee will sport the No. 24 for the Roughriders.

"It's really exciting, because all year since my injury in October and my last operation in February, I've been training for the opportunity to play professionally," Lee said by phone Thursday evening. "Obviously the NFL is still the ultimate goal, but I was blessed by this opportunity after being home all summer working out and training. It was an opportunity I jumped on as soon as I got the call from Head Coach Chris Jones."

Lee was one of the nation's top offensive weapons last fall for JMU on his way to being named the Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year and a STATS FCS Third Team All-American. He was the state's first-ever back-to-back winner of the Bill Dudley Award, which honors the top Division I football player in the Commonwealth of Virginia at both the FBS and FCS levels.

The Durham, N.C., native ranked first nationally in total offense (375.5) and completion percentage (68.3%), third in point responsibility (21.8) and fifth in rushing yards per carry (7.5). Lee also led the CAA in passing touchdowns (21) and yards per play (8.6). Though his season was cut short due to a foot injury, Lee still managed to pass for 2,190 yards and 21 touchdowns while rushing for 814 yards and eight scores, finishing with 3,004 total yards of offense and 29 touchdowns in only eight games.

In 21 career starts at JMU, Lee tied the program record for passing touchdowns (51) while ranking second in total offense (7,292), third in passing yards (5,652) and completions (446) and fifth in pass attempts (705). On Sept. 26 of last season, Lee led the Dukes to a thrilling 48-45 win at FBS-foe SMU. In that victory, he became the first Division I player, FBS or FCS, to rush and pass for more than 275 yards in the same game, rushing for a program-record 289 yards and passing for 276 more.

Appreciate the love #RiderNation What an unbelievable opportunity. I give all the glory to God #CFL ?? pic.twitter.com/OjhONkBJs8
— Vad Lee (@_VL2) July 19, 2016

Lee touched on a relatively smooth transition and the fans of Regina as he attended his first Roughriders game last week.

"It's an easy transition for me because I'm here to play football. One of the exciting things is the fans in Regina love the Roughriders, so I'm in a great place to play Canadian football. The stadium was full, it was loud and there was a lot of green. So myself coming from purple at JMU, now I'm starting to fall in love with green. You can tell the people really love this team and they're really excited for Roughriders football, so it's cool to have the fans behind us. Now we just have to get some wins."

Unlike American football, the CFL operates on three downs instead of four, 12 players are on the field for each play and wide receivers are allowed running starts before the ball is snapped.

"It's very different and something I'm not accustomed to but I've been watching them play the last three weeks. Now I'm here and am able to study film 24/7 and have a playbook to learn. Now I understand why they do some of the things they do but it's definitely been an adjustment."

Lee is the second former JMU player to be affiliated with Saskatchewan, as Sage Harold (2011-14) participated in offseason workouts with the franchise prior to the season. He is also the first JMU player to be on an active CFL roster since Evan McCollough (2005-08), who was with Toronto in 2014.

"I'm going to embrace the moment because I could still be at home training and hoping for an opportunity when I have this opportunity right in front of me. It's a great step for me and for my career, especially coming off my injury. The fact that someone believed in me to come play professional football with that injury is exciting. I'm not going to take it lightly but embrace the moment because you never know when you'll get the opportunity again."

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