Former Griz Wide Receiver Keelan White's First CFL Season

Meet the Griz is a series that tells the stories of Montana Grizzlies athletes, coaches, and contributors. Here are some past "Meet the Griz" features:

Meet the Griz: Former WR Keelan White Excels in the CFL

We've had Griz great Keelan White on The Daily Drive with Ace Sauerwein before, but it was before we started our "Meet the Griz" series. So let's re-meet Griz great Keelan White. Keelan wrapped up his first season in the Canadian Football League recently with the Ottawa Redblacks.

"It was a blast," White said on his inaugural run in the CFL. "Getting paid to play football, it's a blessing for sure, but I didn't have the best record, but I mean, for me personally, as my rookie year in playing professional football, I had a really good year."

Ottawa finished with the worst record in the CFL (4-14), but White was named Ottawa's Most Outstanding Rookie. White put together a strong season, racking up 46 receptions, 482 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

"It's much different for sure, from just going college to pro in general," White said on the transition to the CFL. "There was a maturity transformation that had to happen, which I feel like I did very well... Everything's faster, like, everybody is good."

Grizzlies Collide in the CFL

Former Griz Braxton Hill plays for the Hamilton Tigercats. The two former Griz matched up earlier this year, and let's just say, Hill got the best of the Redblacks.

"I played against Braxton in the last game of our season in October. He had two picks against us," White laughed. "It was a blast being out there, being on the other side of the ball [from Hill]."

Brawl of the Wild memories

"Any day is a good day when you put a beating on the Cats," White said on the 2023 beatdown of Montana State.

Postgame celebration in 2023. Credit: University of Montana Athletics

It's fun to beat the rivals at home, but there's an energy to playing the villain role in enemy territory.

"So that was my first Brawl of the Wild - going down there to Bozeman as a little 18-year-old. That was just crazy. I had no idea what I was walking into. We're coming in the bus into the stadium, all the fans are flipping us off. It's just crazy energy."

Listen to the full conversation with White above. Keelan discusses what Griz-Cat week is like and memories of the Brawl of the Wild rivalry.