Randy Colling might have been born in Buffalo but he knows his Oskee Wee Wee. And now, courtesy of a rule change and an Arena League coach with keen eye, he's set to play in the CFL as a Canadian.

Five years after graduating from Gannon University and following a stint in the NFL with Buffalo Bills, the 26-year-old defensive lineman has obtained Canadian citizenship and been added to the 2017 CFL draft class.

Colling is latest beneficiary of a 2014 CFL rule change that allows players with Canadian citizenship to qualify for national status, regardless of where they were born. With a Canadian-born father, Colling has applied for and been granted dual-citizenship.

It was Ron Selesky, Colling's coach with Cleveland in the Arena League and a former U.S. scout with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who realized the big defender should be looking north of the border.

"I remembered seeing the article about how (Garrett) Waggoner got his Canadian citizenship and they had contacted the Minister of Sport up there and got their process expedited," Selesky says. "If I would've known earlier that his dad had been born in Canada we could've jumped on it a lot earlier."

Colling's father and grandfather were born in Hamilton and grew up Ticats fans. Kirby Colling taught his son the "Oskee Wee Wee" chant, still wears a Ticats winter coat and owns a Darren Flutie jersey, even though he moved to Buffalo as a teenager.

"I remember visiting Hamilton when I was 12 years old because my dad wanted to show me where he grew up. He told me about the Tiger-Cats and we went to the team shop where I got some gear," Colling recalls.

That Ticat connection didn't help Colling's citizenship process: it still took over a year for the final paperwork to be completed, which came three days after the deadline to qualify for the 2016 CFL supplemental draft.

"My Cleveland teammate Brian Brikowski, who played for the Montreal Alouettes, he was telling me how much of a difference it would make in me getting my Canadian citizenship," Colling says. "You can make more money and have a lot longer career."

Back in 2011, the defensive lineman finished his senior season at Gannon University with 88 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 11 games. He was a Gene Upshaw NCAA Division II Lineman of the Year award finalist.

Colling went unselected in the NFL draft and Giants and Jets mini-camps didn't yield a contract offer so he signed with the Gladiators in the Arena League and played there for the 2012 and 2013 season. He signed a futures contract with the Bills in January of 2014 but was released in May after Buffalo tried to turn him into an offensive lineman.

So it was back to Cleveland where Colling continued to develop into an elite Arena League defensive lineman. Last year for the Gladiators he registered 19.5 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 16 games, which earned him All-Arena defensive first team accolades. And he was an emergency offensive lineman too.

"He's got the ability to go up there and dominate — incredible first step," Selesky says. "The biggest adjustment for him initially is just going to be getting over the shock of when he walks out onto the field. He's going from playing on the smallest football field to the biggest one."

Three CFL teams have called Selesky to get information on the intriguing defensive lineman. Meanwhile, Colling has spoken with every team across the three-down league.

"Big, active, and can play all positions along the defensive line," one CFL scout says. "He needs to lose weight for our game, but his size, rush ability, toughness and versatility will be an asset to any team."

Often the CFL takes shots for the minimum salary checking in at $52,000 for an 18-game season, but it's a substantial jump for a player like Colling who would make around $15,600 in an AFL season ($975 per game).

Colling's looking forward to the pay bump and challenge the CFL presents, but he's got a jump in terms of knowing what it's like to take down a quarterback in the three-down game.

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"I played against Trevor Harris (Edinboro University) in college," Colling says. "Trevor was a few years older than me, but I remember getting him a few times."