Alonzo Addae (born July 11, 1997) is a Canadian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL).

College career

After using a redshirt season in 2016, Addae first played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

New Hampshire Wildcats The New Hampshire Wildcats, or 'Cats, are the College athletics in the United States, American intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of New Hampshire (UNH), located in Durham, New Hampshire, Durham. The Bobcat, wildcat is the ...

from 2017 to 2018. Addae then transferred to the

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

in 2019 to play for the

Mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

, but sat out for the season due to transfer eligibility requirements. He played in the next two seasons for the team where he started in 23 games and recorded 139 total tackles, two interceptions, one sack, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

Professional career

Addae was drafted in the second round, 13th overall, by the

in the 2021 CFL Draft. However, he did not play for the team in 2021 as he returned to school to complete his college eligibility. He then signed with the Redblacks on May 25, 2022. Following training camp in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, he made the team's active roster and played in his first game on June 10, 2022, against the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. In the following week, also against the Blue Bombers, he made his first career start, replacing an injured Justin Howell, where he recorded two defensive tackles. He played in all 18 regular season games, starting in 12, where he had 28 defensive tackles, and one special teams tackle. In

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, he again played in 18 games and recorded 24 defensive tackles, eight special teams tackles, four interceptions, and two forced fumbles. In January 2025, Addae was signed to a two-year deal with the Redblacks.

Personal life

Addae was born to parents Les Addae and Renée Bethea and he has two brothers. His grandfather, Willie Bethea, played at

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for 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 (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

and won three

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () 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 between the winners ...

championships. Addae's cousin,

Jahleel Addae Jahleel Javon Kweku Addae (born January 24, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Central Michigan Chippewas, serving as a captain and thri ...

, played

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

and his other cousin, Jahmile Addae, also played defensive back and coached him while at West Virginia.

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Addae, Alonzo 1997 births Living people Canadian football defensive backs New Hampshire Wildcats football players Ottawa Redblacks players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Sportspeople from Pickering, Ontario West Virginia Mountaineers football players American football defensive backs Players of American football from Ontario