The Saskatchewan Roughriders continue to add young athleticism to the defensive side of the ball, announcing the signings of American defensive back Garnett Hollis Jr. and American defensive lineman Jaylen Pate. The move reunites the former Northwestern teammates, who suited up together in 2022 and 2023 before taking different paths to professional football.
Hollis Jr. arrives in Saskatchewan with NFL eyes already having taken a look. The 6-foot-1, 199-pound defensive back earned invitations with the Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills after showcasing his skills at the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl. He capped off his collegiate career at West Virginia in 2024, appearing in all 13 games and posting 46 tackles, six pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Athleticism has never been a question for the Tennessee-born defender. At the Big 12 Pro Day in March of 2025, Hollis Jr. clocked a 4.51-second 40-yard dash, leaped 36-and-a-half inches vertically and stretched out to 10 feet, five inches in the broad jump — numbers that jump off the page for a CFL defensive back.
Before his stop in Morgantown, Hollis Jr. spent four seasons at Northwestern. He saw the bulk of his action over his final two years with the Wildcats, playing 21 games and compiling 73 tackles, two interceptions, eight pass deflections and a pair of forced turnovers. It was there he crossed paths with Pate, forming a defensive connection that now carries north of the border.
Pate brings size and versatility to the Roughriders’ defensive line room. The 6-foot-3, 272-pound Chicago native spent three seasons at Northwestern from 2022 through 2024, suiting up for 33 games. Over that stretch, he registered 55 tackles, nine tackles for loss and three sacks, while showing a knack for getting into passing lanes and creating disruption up front.
His best production came in back-to-back seasons, with three sacks in 2023 and five tackles for loss in 2024. At Northwestern’s Pro Day in March of 2025, Pate backed up his on-field work with strong testing numbers, including a 36-inch vertical, a 10-foot-3-inch broad jump and an unofficial 4.8-second 40-yard dash.
Pate’s college journey began at Wyoming in 2020, where he made his debut after redshirting the previous season. In six games with the Cowboys, he recorded seven tackles, including one for a loss, and added a sack — early signs of the growth that followed at Northwestern.
With Hollis Jr. and Pate now in green and white, the Roughriders add two former Big Ten defenders who already know how to work together. It’s another step in building depth, competition and upside on defence — and another chapter in a shared football story that now continues in Saskatchewan.
