Bombers sign 4 imports

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This article was published 28/03/2014 (4220 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have added four more players they hope can be part of their rebuild in 2014.

The club announced Friday the signing of four imports: wide receivers/kick returners Austin Coleman and Michael Ray Garvin, linebacker Gerald McRath and defensive end Damario Jeffery.

McRath (6-3, 230, Southern Mississippi) might be the most intriguing of the new additions. He played in 40 games for the Tennessee Titans through 2010-11 and spent last year on their injured list. In three years with the Titans McRath made 79 tackles while registering with 1.5 sacks and one interception.

He started 12 NFL games in 2009 and 2010 before moving to special team duties in 2011 after being selected by Tennessee in the 4th round (130th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. He was twice named to the All-Conference USA First Team (2007-2008) while at Southern Miss.

Coleman (5-8, 180, St. Francis University) played four seasons at St. Francis from 2009 to 2012 and over the course of a 45-game career he pulled in 117 passes for 1,875 yards and 21 TDs while adding eight kickoff return scores — an all-time NAIA record. He averaged 32.1 yards per return, which also is a Division record, and twice returned kicks for 100-plus yards.

Undrafted, Coleman signed with the Seattle Seahawks in 2013 but was released and signed with the Saginaw Sting of the Continental Indoor Football League. With Saginaw, he has had 12 receptions for 108 yards and four TDs.

Garvin (5-8, 185 Flordia State) suited up for 47 games over four seasons for the Seminoles, where he also saw action as a cornerback. He led Florida State in kick retturns in 2006 and in 2008 became the only player in school history to average more than 30 yards per return. He was second in the nation in kickoff returns and was named to the All-Conference Second Team, and an All-American by Sporting News and SI.com and his 1,721 career kickoff return yards remains a school record.

Garvin went undrafted in 2009 but signed with the Arizona Cardinals where he was converted to wide receiver. After his release from the Cards and a stint on the Detroit Lions practice squad in 2010, Garvin played for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the UFL and Texas Revolution of the Indoor Football League.

Jeffery (6-3, 240, South Carolina) played four seasons at South Carolina, making five starts for his hometown Gamecocks. He was a key contributor on special teams throughout his college career with South Carolina, went undrafted in 2013 and was signed by the Carolina Panthers in April 2013 before his release.