Former Illinois State star Tre Roberson leads the Canadian Football League with three interceptions. (photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

As one former Illinois State standout quarterback (Kevin Glenn) announced his retirement from Canadian football, another ex-Redbird has burst onto the CFL scene.

“Today, I’m going to introduce myself. I’m Tre Roberson. We’ve already got a Grey Cup so quit leaving me out,” the Indianapolis native said during his halftime interview on TSN, the Canadian network that carries CFL games.

Roberson won that Grey Cup with Calgary last season as a rookie. The 26-year-old started this year with a flourish, bagging three interceptions in an opening-game victory.

As Illinois State fans know, Roberson played quarterback in college--first at Indiana University and then as a transfer in Normal as the signal-caller for head coach Brock Spack's Redbirds.

He played quarterback at Illinois State (2014-15) and set school records for career rushing yards (1,806) and rushing touchdowns (22) by a QB. Over his two seasons, he threw for 5,446 yards and 48 touchdowns for the Redbirds. As a senior, Roberson led ISU to the national championship game against perennial power North Dakota State.

Roberson is the grandson of Canadian Football Hall of Fame member Larry Highbaugh, who played 13 seasons in the CFL including 12 for the Edmonton Eskimos. Ironically, when Calgary won the Grey Cup last year the title game was played in Edmonton.

Despite his impressive rookie season and his stellar performance in Calgary's season-opening win last month, Roberson didn't receive any top performer awards. Moreover, he wasn't on TSN's top 50 players list that came out right before this season kicked off.

“I’ve always got to have a chip on my shoulder,” Roberson told Kristina Costabile of cfl.ca. “I’ve been given the short end of the stick up here. I’m a Grey Cup champion, played a lot of games last year. I have a pretty good resume covering guys last year also. It is what it is, I’m here to help the team out as much as possible and hopefully get another Grey Cup.”

Undrafted by the NFL, Roberson signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings in 2016. It was there that the collegiate quarterback made the transition to defensive back.

Released by the Vikings in the fall of 2017, he signed with the Stampeders the following spring. Roberson won the starting boundary corner job and went on to start 16 games for Calgary (while missing two games with injury).

“It’s more preparation,” Roberson told Costabile when asked if being a quarterback had helped in his ability to figure out opposing pivots. “I had a pretty good idea of what teams were doing during the week. Football doesn’t really change a lot.”

Two games into the CFL season, Roberson's three interceptions lead the league. The 6-foot, 190-pounder ranks 24th with 10 defensive tackles.

Acklin, Thompson shine

Two other former Illinois FCS players have also made impacts on the young CFL season.

Hamilton rookie Jaelon Acklin ranks 23rd among CFL receivers with six catches for 76 yards in two games. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Acklin played at Western Illinois, setting the Leathernecks' single-season receiving record with 84 receptions and 1,369 yards in 2017.

The Mountain View, Mo., native capped his WIU career 10th all-time in school history in receiving touchdowns (12) and eighth in receiving yards (1,733).

Meanwhile, Anthony Thompson, who played at Southern Illinois, has nine defensive tackles for the BC Lions. That total puts him 28th on the CFL leaders board.

Looking ahead

Roberson and Acklin have the potential to go head-to-head on July 13 when the former ISU Redbird's Calgary Stampeders play at the former WIU Leatherneck's Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. CDT.