DeAundre "Dee" Alford (born November 5, 1997) is an American football cornerback &

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He won the

2021 Grey Cup The 108th Grey Cup decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2021 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was cancelled and the start of the 2021 season was delayed, pushing the game to December 12, 2021. The ...

with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as a starter in his first season, defeating the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

33-25. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Tusculum.

College career

Alford played

for the

Tusculum Pioneers Tusculum University is a private Presbyterian university with its main campus in Tusculum, Tennessee. It is Tennessee's first university and the 28th-oldest operating college in the United States. In addition to its main campus, the institutio ...

from 2016 to 2019 where he played in 40 games and recorded 140 tackles and 10 interceptions. He also had 40 passes defended as a Pioneer, which is a school record.

Professional career

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

left, 225px, Alford during a Blue Bombers game in 2021. Following his collegiate career, Alford signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL) on February 10, 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he did not play in 2020 and several of his pro day workouts were canceled. After completing training camp with the Blue Bombers in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, Alford won a starting job at cornerback and played in his first professional game on August 5, 2021, against the

where he recorded six defensive tackles. On September 18, 2021, he recorded his first career interception and first career touchdown as he picked off Edmonton Elks quarterback

Taylor Cornelius Taylor Cornelius (born September 16, 1995) is a professional gridiron football quarterback for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Oklahoma State. Cornelius started as a 5th year senior for the ...

and returned it 20 yards for the score. He finished the game with two tackles, two interceptions, and a forced fumble and was named the CFL's top performer of the week. Alford had a strong season with the Bombers, finishing as a CFL All-Star in his first season. He would help the Bombers' league-leading defense to their second consecutive

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

title as they defeated the Tiger-Cats 33–25.

Atlanta Falcons

On January 10, 2022, Alford signed a reserve/future contract with the

. On October 2, 2022, during a Falcons game against the Cleveland Browns, he would make a game-sealing interception on a pass thrown by

Jacoby Brissett Jacoby Jajuan Brissett (born December 11, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). Following a college football stint with Florida, he played at NC State and was selected in the t ...

to win the game 23–20.

Personal life

Alford was born in Hernando, Mississippi and grew up in

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

, Georgia.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bioTusculum Pioneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alford, Dee 1997 births Living people American football defensive backs Atlanta Falcons players Canadian football defensive backs Sportspeople from Griffin, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Tusculum Pioneers football players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Players of Canadian football from Georgia (U.S. state)