UND's Mason Bennett selected No. 8 overall in CFL draft

UND wide receiver Noah Wanzek beats Idaho State defender Caleb Brown to score a touchdown late in the first half of their game Saturday in Grand Forks. Eric Hylden / Forum News Service — UND's Mason Bennett and Tank Harris sack ISU quarterback Tanner Gueller as Jacob Molenaar looks on in the first half. photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald

By Tom Miller

April 30, 2020 at 7:00 PM

UND's Mason Bennett was projected as the No. 8 prospect in the latest Canadian Football League rankings.

And that's just where Bennett ended up.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats selected Bennett with the No. 8 overall pick in the CFL Draft on Thursday night.

With the eighth overall pick, the @Ticats select DL Mason Bennett from @UNDfootball #CFLDraft pic.twitter.com/E6d18YlcAb
— CFL (@CFL) May 1, 2020

Bennett, native of Winnipeg, was named an Associated Press FCS All-American following his senior season with the Fighting Hawks.

Bennett played in 10 games in 2019, registering 5.5 sacks. The 6-foot-4, 258-pound Bennett is UND's Division I career sack leader with 20.0.

Last year, former UND running back Brady Oliveira was the first running back selected in the CFL draft as he was picked 14th overall (second round) by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Oliveira was injured most of last season, which saw the Blue Bombers win the Grey Cup.

Bennett becomes the first UND player to be picked in the first round of the CFL draft since defensive lineman Scott Schultz was picked No. 1 overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2001.

By Tom Miller

Miller has covered sports at the Grand Forks Herald since 2004 and was the state sportswriter of the year in 2019 and 2022.

His primary beat is UND football but also reports on a variety of UND sports and local preps.

He can be reached at (701) 780-1121, tmiller@gfherald.com or on Twitter at @tommillergf.