Two U Sports All-Canadians sign with Alpine Rams in Switzerland

Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography

A pair of former U Sports All-Canadians are headed to Switzerland to play for the Alpine Rams.

Defensive back Maliek Cote-Azore and defensive lineman Yoann Miangué both signed with the team this week. They join All-Canadian linebacker and Presidents’ Trophy winner Harold Miessan, who is already in Switzerland.

The two men faced each other in the 2025 Vanier Cup, with Miangué’s Université Laval defeating Cote-Azore’s Wilfrid Laurier University in the Canadian national championship game.

Cote-Azore played five seasons at Laurier, appearing in 43 career games. The native of Ajax, Ont., amassed 195 total tackles, two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, 23 pass breakups, an interception, and a blocked kick in his time with the Golden Hawks.

The five-foot-11, 187-pound halfback won the vertical jump at the 2025 CFL Combine with a leap of 41 inches, after earning elevation to the event following an outstanding performance at the Invitational Combine in Waterloo. However, he ultimately went unselected in the 2025 CFL Draft and returned to school for his final year of eligibility, earning OUA all-star and first-team U Sports All-Canadian recognition. He also suited up for Team Canada in international tackle football competition, recording an interception in a loss to Mexico.

Miangué was an RSEQ all-star and a first-team U Sports All-Canadian in 2025 at Université Laval, registering 12.5 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks. In 22 games over three seasons with the Rouge et Or, he amassed 26.5 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and 7.5 quarterback sacks.

The six-foot-five, 310-pound defensive tackle was in training camp with the Ottawa Redblacks, but was released on May 13 ahead of a mandatory cutdown deadline.

The native of Toulouse competed for the French national taekwondo team growing up, winning a Junior Olympic gold medal in 2014 and a French national title in 2017. He began playing football in 2019 with the La Courneuve Flash in Paris and caught the attention of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program, which invited him into their training cohort in 2020.

Miangué was not offered an NFL practice roster spot at the end of the program and went unselected in the subsequent CFL Global Draft. The 27-year-old would play one season with the Dresden Monarchs of the German Football League, before committing to Laval.

The Alpine Rams are based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. The city lies on the border between the French and German-speaking regions of the country, hence its official dual names, and is located roughly 30 minutes northwest of the national capital of Bern.

The team plays in the American Football League of Europe (AFLE), one of two startup leagues beginning play in Europe this year following the financial collapse of the European League of Football. The Rams lost their inaugural game to the Berlin Thunder last week and will next face the London Warriors on Sunday, June 7.

J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league’s Global initiative.