Ayers Scores First Pro TD In Blue Bombers’ Third Straight Win

In June, former Ashland University All-American and current Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker Michael Ayers became the first Eagle to play in a Canadian Football League regular-season game.
 
Late Friday (Aug. 23) night, Ayers became the first Eagle to score a touchdown in a CFL regular-season game, picking up a second-quarter Hamilton Tiger-Cats fumble on a punt return and racing 27 yards in Winnipeg's third straight victory, 26-23, at home.

Tony Jones unleashes the truck stick!

Michael Ayers scoops up the fumble for the score for @Wpg_BlueBombers!#CFLGameDay
??: @TSN_Sports, @RDSca & @CBSSportsNet
??: CFL+ pic.twitter.com/P0tQ4S6TSp

— CFL (@CFL) August 24, 2024

In addition to the TD, Ayers also recorded his first three defensive tackles and his first forced fumble in the CFL on Friday night. Ayers, 25, has racked up 11 special-teams tackles in 2024, one of the top numbers in the league.
 
Winnipeg (5-6), having won five of its last seven games, will play on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. East at the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
 
Ayers signed with Winnipeg on Feb. 2 after being drafted by the then-XFL Houston Roughnecks in June of 2023, and spending time with the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent. All of that came after an impressive senior season in 2022 at Ashland in which he amassed 81 total tackles (48 solo), 10½ tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception, eight pass breakups, 11 quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
 
His 28½ career tackles for loss are tied for sixth-most in program history.
 
The long list of Ayers senior-season honors included:

• First-team American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America selection, Ashland's first first-team All-American in five years and Ashland's first first-team All-American linebacker in 31 years.
• First-team linebacker on the 2022 D2Football.com Elite 100 Team.
• First-team All-Super Region 1 from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA).
• Great Midwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
• First-team All-Great Midwest.
• Finalist for the Cliff Harris Award. 

Ayers twice led the Eagles in both total tackles and tackles for loss, and was the 2021 Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Year.