Recruited hard by quarterback Cody Fajardo, receiver Austin Mack delivers for Elks

CALGARY — When the Montreal Alouettes released Austin Mack, Cody Fajardo relentlessly recruited him.

“I called him; I don’t know what the call log was, but somewhere around 300 times in the off-season,” the Edmonton Elks quarterback confessed.

Every single day, said Mack.

“The funny thing is Cody never talks to anybody in the off-season,” Mack said. “He’s this pure family guy. You know when Cody’s calling you off-season, it’s important.”

The Elks signed the 29-year-old wide receiver to a two-year contract in January. Mack was a standout in his first year with a career-high and team-leading 1,254 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches.

Like his quarterback, Mack faces his former club in Sunday’s Grey Cup game in Calgary.

The six-foot-one, 208-pound wideout from Fort Wayne, Ind., will appear in a third CFL championship game in four years after winning it with Fajardo and the Alouettes in 2023. Mack contributed 103 receiving yards on six catches to that victory.

Montreal lost last year’s Grey Cup game to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina, where just two balls were thrown Mack’s way.

Like Fajardo, Mack’s been asked multiple times during Grey Cup week if he sees Sunday as a chance to stick it to the club that cut him after three seasons.

“About the hundredth time we got that question,” Mack said Friday at McMahon Stadium.

“One year removed, is there a little bit more motivation to be able to beat that person or that team? I mean, of course, you wouldn’t want to beat any other team in my stance, but more than anything, I don’t care. You’re in the Grey Cup. Maximize this week, have no regrets and try to come out on top.”

Fajardo lobbied Mack hard because the quarterback thought Edmonton’s receivers would benefit from a veteran steeped in big-game experience.

“I put my recruiting hat on, and I knew in order to get to where we are today, we needed an Austin Mack in our receiving crew, because we had a lot of good receivers, but we had a lot of young guys,” Fajardo explained.

“He brings not only a championship pedigree, but also a professional in the way that he goes about his business on the field, off the field. Great locker room guy. When he told me he was signing, it was like Christmas for me.”

Mack brought big-play ability, trust with Fajardo and leadership to the dressing room, head coach Mark Kilam said.

“He’s just been a consummate professional. He really came in with the attitude of ‘what do you need from me?'” Kilam said. “He’s delivered on all those fronts.”

Mack’s been particularly useful to the Elks during Grey Cup week. Some of his teammates will play in the championship game for the first time in their careers. Edmonton last played in it, and won it, in 2015

“A lot of my message has been, it’s a lot of media, it’s pulling guys around, it’s being out of routine,” said the Alabama alumnus. “How can you take everything that we’ve done already for a course of the season and be able to still get that work in throughout the week?

“Don’t get outside of your comfort zone. Don’t do anything different. That’s been the priority. Don’t eat McDonald’s all week, you know what I mean? Try and eat good food, try and stay in routine, get good sleep, and just stay on top of things.”

The Elks closed their practice Friday at McMahon a day after the Alouettes did the same.

“I’d close them all if I could. That’s just me,” said Kilam. “In the regular season, we rarely close practice. Maybe Labour Day is the only time we do.”

Kilam served on the Calgary Stampeders coaching staff for 20 years before taking over as Elks head coach in 2025, so he’s familiar with McMahon’s nooks and crannies.

“You can actually get in this apartment building over here and look down into the field, so I know all the secrets of this place,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2026.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press