Chilliwack native Maleek Irons has been drafted by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The former W.J. Mouat Hawks football star was selected by the Ontario club at the Canadian Football League draft on Thursday.
Irons was taken 22nd overall at the event.
2️⃣2️⃣ – Welcome to #TigerTown, Maleek Irons (RB)!@ohiou ➡️ #Ticats | #CFLDraft pic.twitter.com/oxZRuoawIT
— Hamilton Tiger-Cats (@Ticats) May 3, 2019
Irons, a 2014 Mouat grad, is coming off an impressive 2018 season with the NCAA’s Ohio University Bobcats. He scored eight touchdowns and 831 yards rushing at the Athens, Ohio based school. The Bobcats finished last season with a record of 9-4, and won the DXL Frisco Bowl with a 27-0 win over San Diego State on Dec. 19.
For his career at Ohio, Irons saw action in 29 games and amassed 1,447 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns on 252 attempts.
He was dominant during his high school career, and left Mouat as B.C.’s all-time leading high school rusher with 6,175 yards and 76 touchdowns. He also established a single-season record in 2012 with 3,204 yards rushing. He earned Provincial Most Valuable Player honours following the 2012 and 2013 campaigns.
But his journey didn’t come without some controversy, as back on Jan. 15, 2017 Irons was arrested and charged with resisting arrest, obstructing official business and driving under the influence after the Athens Police Department found him driving his car into other vehicles.
Irons lost one year of his eligibility due to the incident, and could only play football with the Bobcats practice squad.
He told The Athens Post back in October that it was the lowest point in his life, but that he has matured and grown in the time following.
Hamilton is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which it went 8-10 overall, placed second in the CFL East Division and clinched a playoff berth. The Tiger-Cats rolled to a 48-8 win over the BC Lions in the Division Semi-Finals before falling to the Ottawa Redblacks, 46-27, in the Division Finals.
The Tiger-Cats will open up the regular season on June 13 with a home game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.