Former Maverick QB signs with CFL team

Jake Rinehart
Staff Writer

A former Minnesota State quarterback has signed a contract with a team in the Canadian Football League.

Ricky Lloyd agreed to a deal with the British Columbia Lions Sunday. The signing was first reported by Barstool Mankato Sunday and confirmed Thursday by the BC Lions.

Lloyd was a standout quarterback at Southern Mississippi State before transferring to MSU in 2014.

The Concord, California, product threw for 3,379 yards with 36 touchdowns in his Maverick career. Lloyd also led MSU to the NCAA Division II National Championship Game in 2014 against Colorado State – Pueblo.

Lloyd will soon link up with former CSU – Pueblo opponent Kieren Duncan at training camp.

Duncan played for CSU – Pueblo in the National Championship against the Mavericks in 2014. Duncan has also played for the Chicago Bears and Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL since then.

“Ricky definitely stood out at our camp in Los Angeles,” Lions GM Ed Hervey said in an interview with Brian Helberg of BCLions.com. “He has a strong, accurate arm and possesses plenty of athleticism making him well suited to our game.”

Lloyd’s new head coach is very interesting as well. Wally Buono, the team’s head coach and vice president of football operations, is a 68-year-old Italian-Canadian who has been coaching the Lions franchise since 2003.

Buono has been awarded the CFL’s Coach of the Year Award four times.

The Lions, also called the Leos, were established in 1954, making them Vancouver’s and British Columbia’s oldest sports franchise.

The Leos have appeared in the CFL championship, called the Grey Cup, 10 times, winning six of those games.

The BC Lions missed the playoffs in 2017 for the first time since 1997. Prior to 2017, The Leos had made the playoffs every year from 1997-2016, which is the second longest playoff streak in Canadian Football League history.

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