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EDMONTON – The 2025 CFL season is finally upon us.
Saturday, June 7 will officially be Elks fans first glimpse of the new look squad. Not only will the team’s jerseys be refreshed with a new, timeless appearance that harkens back to the best years of the franchise, the changes on the field will also be evident. The roster overhaul under VP of Football Operations & General Manager Ed Hervey and Head Coach Mark Kilam is almost as striking as the uniforms, with an expected 19 new starters in BC when compared Week 1 of last season.
The changes are believed to be for the better, as the new brass looks to improve upon a team which has not made the postseason in each of the last four seasons. However, the talent in the building is already beginning to turn heads. The Elks enter the season with a CFL high seven top-50 players according to TSN list, with Canadian defensive back Tyrell Ford leading the way at the number nine spot.
With so much excitement surrounding the revitalized Double E squad, here are a few things to keep an eye on in the Elks season opener against the BC Lions.
With all the talk over the last few month around buying Canadian, Saturday’s matchup features two teams willing to put their money where their mouth is at the quarterback position.
With Tre Ford and Nathan Rourke all but guaranteed to take the first snaps from centre in the season opener, it will mark the first time two Canadian QBs have gone head-to-head on opening day in modern CFL history. It will have been almost 60 years since two National pivots have faced off. You’d have to go all the way back to Aug. 20, 1968 when Pete Ohler with BC and Frank Cosentino with Edmonton accomplished the very same feat.
“I think it’s big for U SPORTS and Canada in general,” Ford said about the occasion. “To have two Canadian quarterbacks going at it. Rourke’s had a great career so far. He went to the NFL and came back, so it’s definitely going to be awesome for Canadian fans watching the game.”
For the rest of the Elks, slowing down the former Most Outstanding Canadian in Rourke is absolutely front of mind.
“He’s a good football player,” Coach Kilam said. “He knows where to go with the ball, he’s athletic, and he’ll take off and run with it. We’re going have to be very detail oriented and play our best to slow him down.”
Prior to heading into BC, the Elks locked up one of their cornerstone defenders in second-year linebacker Nick Anderson.
The tackling machine was a revelation for the Elks defence last season, leading all of Canadian Football in takedowns last season with 116 total tackles – en route to being named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie. He hasn’t shown a sign of slowing down in his sophomore season with an incredible 10 tackles in one half of football last week in Edmonton’s preseason finale against the Lions.
Edmonton’s top brass believes Anderson is both the type of player and person you make sure sticks around in your colours, and safe to say the player feels the same.
“This is where I started. This is the team that gave me an opportunity when a lot of other doors were closed,” Anderson said. “I’m a loyal guy, wanting to stay here, wanting to bring greatness here. Being able to get here and look at this stadium each and every day and see the legacy that’s been established here, I want to be a part of it. I want to be able to help create a legacy while I’m here. And so that was one of the deciding factors, just staying here and being here.”
With commitment, Anderson has set a foundation towards becoming one of the best defenders to ever don the iconic Green and Gold. His 111 tackles last season already place him as the sixth most productive season in team history.
His new Head Coach in Mark Kilam seems to know exactly the type of player he’s got on his hands.
“I think he’s a killer,” Kilam said. “Personally, I think he’s one of the best football players on this football team. It’s great to have a guy like that, that has an ultra high level of detail in all his assignments.”