HAMILTON — They’ll be the enemy Saturday, but Reggie Stubblefield still has much fondness for his time with the Montreal Alouettes.
The veteran linebacker began his CFL career in 2023 helping Montreal win the Grey Cup. But on Saturday, he’ll be donning Hamilton Tiger-Cats colours against his former team in the East Division final at Hamilton Stadium.
The winner will advance to the Grey Cup, which will be held Nov. 16 at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.
“I was just with those guys the last two years so we have a special relationship,” Stubblefield told reporters this week. “We won (a) championship together and that’s something you can never take from what we built.”
The five-foot-11, 192-pound Stubblefield spent two seasons with Montreal, registering 42 tackles, four special-teams tackles, three sacks, two interceptions and one forced fumble in 14 games. But after starting 13 contests in 2023 — and earning the Alouettes’ nomination as their top rookie — Stubblefield suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the Alouettes first game of the ’24 campaign after recording four tackles and one special-teams tackle.
He signed a three-year deal with Hamilton in the off-season as a free agent but didn’t make his Ticats debut until their 23-20 home win over Ottawa on July 12 — a span of 400 days. And Stubblefield returned with a bang, making a team-high seven tackles (one for loss).
Stubblefield appeared in 14 regular-season games with Hamilton, recording 56 tackles, three sacks, an interception and forced fumble.
He began his college career at Prairie View A&M (2016-2020) before transferring to Kansas State (2021). The native Texan started six of the 12 games he played there in his final year of eligibility.
Stubblefield was selected by the DC Defenders in the ’23 XFL draft but was released by the club. Stubblefield signed with Montreal in March 2023 and was among the Alouettes final cuts but was re-signed to the practice roster following injuries to the Als’ secondary.
“I just have a lot of respect for everybody in that organization,” Stubblefield said. “From GM Danny Maciocia down to coach (Jason) Maas and (defensive co-ordinator) Noel Thorpe.
“What an amazing thing they’ve built there, the culture they’ve built, the connection they talk about, the compete level they talk about. It’s just what makes this league great. It makes everybody else around the league better.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025.
The Canadian Press
