SASKATCHEWAN – Eastern Kentucky University's Payton Collins has signed a free agent deal with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League on Thursday, May 1.
 
An anchor on the Colonels' offensive line for the past five seasons, Collins set a new program record in 2024, starting 56 consecutive games beginning in 2020.
 
Collins now becomes the third active Colonel in the CFL ranks, joining former teammate and 2024 Grey Cup Champion, Jeremy Edwards of the Toronto Argonauts, and fellow offensive lineman Vincent Munlin Jr., who also signed today with the Montreal Alouettes.
 
In his time in Richmond, Collins was an All-American in two seasons (2022, 2024), and was a first team all-conference selection from 2021-2024, including being named the ASUN's Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2022 and the UAC's in 2024 by Phil Steele.
 
In 2024 alone, the Columbus, Ohio native earned All-American honors from Stats Perform FCS, Phil Steele, and FCS Football Central, earning an invite to the Hula Bowl All-Star game at the end of the season.
 
The offensive tackle was instrumental in both of the Colonels' most recent runs to the FCS Playoffs in 2022 and 2024.
 
In 2022, he was part of offensive line that helped EKU rank third nationally in passing offense per game (329.7), fifth in third-down conversion percentage (.519), 10th in total offense per game (451.3), 11th in scoring offense (36.2), and 18th in red zone offense (.879) helping EKU tally its highest point total in program history.
 
That season, the Colonels claimed an ASUN Conference Championship and returned to the FCS Playoffs for the first time since 2014.
 
This past season, Collins helped pave the way for EKU's rushing attack that posted 2,422 rushing yards, the third most in the conference and 4,522 yards of total offense and 36 total touchdowns as EKU made it back to the FCS Playoffs with an 8-4 regular season going undefeated at home, the first time the feat had been accomplished since 2010.
 
The Roughriders are four-time Grey Cup Champions, most recently in 2013. In 2024, they went 9-8-1, finishing second in the league's Western Division before falling to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Western Final.