Canuck U: 5 Canadians in CFP national championship game

Five Canadians are on teams playing in Monday's College Football Playoff national championship game.

Notre Dame has the bigger slice, having three defensive linemen from Canada: Sean Sevillano Jr. (Winnipeg, Manitoba), Armel Mukam (La Prairie, Quebec) and Devan Houstan (Mississauga, Ontario). Ohio State has the other two: tight end Maxence LeBlanc (St-Bruno, Quebec) and punter Anthony Venneri (Hamilton, Ontario).

None are regular starters like other Canadians who made it to the CFP like Indiana quarterback and Oakville, Ontario native Kurtis Rourke, and Boise State safety Ty Benefiled, a Vancouver, British Columbia product.

Though playing a limited role on the Fighting Irish defense and special teams, Mukam has seen the most action this season. He’s played in eight games, including on special teams in the Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia and the Orange Bowl win against Penn State.

The last Canadian to win the CFP title was Michigan DL Alessandro Lorenzetti, who hails from Montreal, Quebec. In 2021, John Metchie III became the first Canadian to win the national championship in 17 years — former LSU offensive lineman Peter Dyakowski, from Vancouver, British Columbia, won in 2003-04 — when the former Alabama wide receiver’s Crimson Tide beat LSU.

Rohan Jones transfers to Arkansas

Rohan Jones, a former Montana State TE and fullback, has transferred to Arkansas, the Montreal native announced Sunday on social media. He joins a Razorbacks TE room with another veteran playmaker born outside the U.S.: Andreas Paaske, from Copenhagen, Denmark.

With just the FBS title remaining on the college football schedule, Jones, whose season ended with Montana State’s FCS championship loss, is currently tied for second in receiving touchdowns (nine) among all NCAA tight ends. He’s first in NFL passer rating (157.7) when targeted among NCAA TEs with at least 30 targets.

Jones has primarily played tight end at Montana State and Maine — where he began his college career in 2022, playing two seasons before transferring to the Bobcats. But in his H-back role, he’s also played fullback and was named a First-Team All-Big Sky fullback in 2024.

Less than 48 hours after his final game with Montana State — the FCS title on Jan. 6 — On3’s Pete Nakos reported Jones had entered the transfer portal.

Brothers Tyclean, Tycoolhill Luman transfer to FAU

FAU gained a pair of twin brothers from Montreal, Quebec last week.

Defensive linemen Tyclean and Tycoolhill Luman announced on Instagram last Friday that they’re transferring to play for the Owls in 2025. The freshmen who spent this season redshirting at Rutgers join fellow Canadians Mauricio Hinds, an OL from Porters Lake, Nova Scotia, and Damien Alford, a Utah transfer wide receiver from Montreal, Quebec.

Tyclean and Tycoolhill played high school football at Miami Norland, a 38-mile drive from FAU.

4 NCAA Canadians compete at College Gridiron Showcase

The annual College Gridiron Showcase in Fort Worth, Tex. saw four Canadian NCAA student-athletes compete before NFL and CFL scouts. There were 12 other Canadians from U Sports — Canada's college football league — also at the showcase.

North Texas linebacker Jaylen Smith (Hamilton, Ontario), Kansas OL Dre Doiron (London, Ontario), ULM OL Sam Carson (Calgary, Alberta) and Montana DL Hayden Harris (Mill Creek, Wash.), who’s a dual-citizen.

Smith was the biggest standout of the four this season, making 106 tackles on an NCAA LB-leading 944 defensive snaps.