Former Pitt running back Qadree Ollison is back playing professional football after spending the last year off the field.
Ollison — a 6-foot-1, 230-pound running back from Niagara Falls, N.Y. — signed with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) on Tuesday, the team announced on social media.
It’s the first time Ollison has went up north to continue his professional football career, after spending five seasons in the NFL. But he will have a greater opportunity to compete for playing time with the Lions.
Ollison reunites with former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nathan Rourke, who threw his first NFL preseason touchdown to Ollison in the 2023 season.
Ollison was selected in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and spent three seasons in Atlanta. He spent time with the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, bouncing between the practice squad and the active roster.
The Jaguars signed Ollison to a reserve/future contract before the 2023 season but waived him at the end of preseason. He finished the 2023 season with the Steelers’ practice squad.
In five NFL seasons, Ollison has recorded 44 carries for 158 yards (3.6 yards per carry) an five touchdowns and five catches for 19 yards. But he didn’t play during the 2024 season.
Ollison arrived at Pitt as the top-rated running back in New York out of Canisius High School and after redshirting in 2014, he emerged as a key member on of the Panthers’ offense. He earned All-ACC honors in 2015 and 2018, racking up 2,859 yards and 29 touchdowns on 529 carries between 2015-18.
As a senior in 2018, Ollison led Pitt with 1,213 yards and 11 touchdowns (at a robust 6.3 yards per carry), and he added 66 more yards on 11 receptions out of the backfield.
Pitt has had just one 1,000-yard rusher since Ollison and Darrin hall, who formed an elite duo, left in 2018.
