Former University of San Diego star running back Jonah Hodges works best in space, and he’ll have more to work with while playing professional football in Canada.

Hodges, a Santa Cruz native, signed a two-year contract with the seven-time Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League on Saturday night.

Hodges couldn’t be reached for comment.

“It has been quite the whirlwind,” said his father Mark Hodges. “He’s just settling in.”

Hodges, invited to Detroit Lions rookie mini camp as an undrafted free agent in mid-May, was unable to secure a contract from the NFL team, but he landed on his feet. Summit Athletes in Southern California, which represents Hodges, sent highlights of its client to several CFL teams. The Alouettes contacted Hodges on Saturday afternoon. He signed a contract later that evening and boarded a plane headed for Montreal at 9 a.m. Sunday.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

“It was enough to get him on a plane to Montreal at 9 a.m.,” his father said.

Montreal opened training camp Sunday and conducted its first practice Monday.

Hodges should take advantage of the CFL’s larger fields, said Tyler Sutton, the running backs coach at USD.

“A larger field highlights Jonah’s strength,” Sutton said. “He’s so good in space. He was great in space on a smaller field in the U.S.”

CFL fields are 110 yards long and 65 yards wide — 10 yards longer and 15 yards wider than those in the NFL. Also, end zones are 20 yards deep compared to 10 in the NFL.

Santa Cruz native Brendon Ayanbadejo, a Cabrillo College and UCLA alum, played 10 seasons in the NFL after shining in a pair of stints in the CFL. He played for Winnipeg in 2000 and British Columbia in 2002 before catching on with the Miami Dolphins in 2003.

“It’s a huge stepping stone, especially for a guy like him,” Ayanbadejo said. “For defensive backs, wide receivers, linebackers and running backs, the game totally translates over. The NFL is the CFL. It’s a great place to be.”

Ayanbadejo said he misjudged the opportunity the CFL presented when he first signed on.

“I thought I was too good to be there and play,” Ayanbadejo said. “It was the CFL that got me to the NFL. I totally had the wrong attitude. He’s in a better situation than a lot of guys on NFL rosters who are going to get cut and can’t go to the CFL because their teams are full.”

The Alouettes closed the 2016 season with a three-game win streak to finish 7-11 under Jacques Chapdelaine, who serves as head coach and offensive coordinator. They tied for second place in the East Division with Hamilton but failed to advance to postseason play while the Tiger-Cats did.

Montreal opens its two-game preseason on June 8 at Toronto at 1:30 p.m. It opens its 18-game regular season schedule at home against Saskatchewan on June 22.

“An opportunity, that’s all he needed,” Sutton said of Hodges, who transferred from NCAA Division-I Cal to USD, a D-I Football Championship Subdivision program that doesn’t provide scholarships. “I’m sure they’ll be very happy with what they get from him. I can’t wait to see him flourish at the next level. Nobody trains harder.”

While Hodges is a smaller running back by NFL standards — he checks in at 5-foot-9, 190 pounds — Sutton isn’t concerned about his back’s durability in a 20-game season.

“We played 13 games this season and he was an absolute workhorse,” Sutton said. “He had about five to seven catches a game and several games with 30-plus caries. He’s prepared for this.”

Hodges ran for 25 touchdowns and 2,809 yards in his USD career — essentially two seasons. As a junior, he suffered a season-ending injury against San Diego State in the 2015 opener.

Last season, Hodges ran for 1,454 yards and 18 TDs and had 53 catches for 518 yards and a pair of scores. Among his many postseason accolades, Hodges was named the 2016 Pioneer Football League Offensive Player of the Year,

“He’s been working hard for a long time,” Mark Hodges said. “After that San Diego State game, he said he was going to have to pack two seasons into one his senior year. He did just that.”

Hodges, who helped the Toreros (10-2) upset No. 20 Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo 35-21 in the FCS playoffs on Nov. 26, ranked in the top 10 in the FCS in multiple categories: rushing yards (1,454), rushing TDs (18), all-purpose yards (175.3 average), receptions per game (seven) and total TDs (20).

Mark Hodges and his wife, Jennifer, attended every home game while their son played for San Diego. They plan to take in the Alouettes’ season-opener and hope to gather a group of Jonah fans from Santa Cruz to see Montreal play the BC Lions in Vancouver on Sept. 8.

“My wife and I always wanted to travel to that part of Canada,” Hodges said of Montreal. “Now we have more incentive.”

Contact Jim Seimas at 831-706-3256.