May 31st Depth Chart

I am posting this here to review at various times during the year. It is easy to lose track of just how many moves a team makes during the course of a season and how the final roster (meaning the one for the last game in October or November) is nothing like the starting roster. I will keep the week one chart as well and compare the two at the end of the year.

Here we go, typo and all.

Click the image above to see the full-sized version.

Of course we need to take into account those that the team is being "cautious" with.

Sorry about the wonky positions, the file lost a little integrity when I blew it up.

A few notes and reminders, again for future review.

• WR Dominique Rhymes gets the start after contributing in 11 games last year (15 receptions, 219 yards). He has been talked up in interviews, particularly by QB Trevor Harris so let's check in November and see how that worked out.
• DT Daryl Waud has a history of injuries over the last two years so while I understand the reasoning behind being cautious, seeing him on the "not dressed" list is a little worrisome. We'll see.
• DE Connor Williams doesn't make either list. It's sounding more and more like injuries will force him into retirement, or at best a comeback attempt next season, which is too bad. He only played in one game last year.
• DT George Uko was said to be among the starters at the start of camp but is now listed with the 2nd team behind Harold Brantley. 
• The plan to start two Canadian receivers appears to be proceeding along with Austen Hartley and Julian Feoli-Gudino both showing as first-team.
• Honoured as the country's best university player, Ed Ilnicki is behind the far-less celebrated Wayne Moore, who was quietly signed in July of last year.

What does all of this mean? Not a damn thing, they're just some points to review a few months from now to see how they played out. Enjoy the game!

Orleans Bengals Midget Squad To Be Named The Orleans Raftsmen

Today, the storied Orléans Bengals Midget Team is pleased to announce that as part of joining the Quebec Midget Football League for the 2018 season, the team will be named the Orléans Raftsmen. 

 

The Raftsmen bilingual heritage of Orléans and Ottawa is rich in tradition and our Midget football club will echo the spirits of the land, the rivers and the people of the Ottawa Valley. 

“This will be an exciting and rewarding opportunity for our players to play in one of the best football leagues in the country,” said George Zigoumis, president of the Orléans Bengals. “Our football club is committed to developing these student athletes by enhancing higher education possibilities for them.” 

For athletes 16 and 17 years of age looking to play for an Ontario-Quebec inter-provincial championship and gain exposure to CEGEPs and universities, message the Head Coach-Ron Raymond at ronraymond@rogers.com

Raftsmen was one of the names being floated around for the new CFL franchise though I don't recall (or care, at this point) if it was an option teased by the team or one suggested by fans.

This is just personal opinion, but I detest when teams name/brand themselves after existing franchises. I think the Orleans organization went in the right direction here and while it's doubtful I'll get to attend too many of their games, I'd love to load up on merchandise bearing that logo.

MIDGET FOOTBALL BIG 10

Montreal/Ottawa, May 4th, 2018 – The Quebec Midget Football League and the National Capital Amateur Football Association announce the official launch of the Midget Football Big 10 Canada. This is a game-changing football experience for players and coaches in Eastern Canada. The Midget Football Big 10 Canada will be made up of 10 teams among the 16 clubs of the QMFL and NCAFA. 

Teams in the Midget Football Big 10 Canada will play 2 cross divisional games which will count in each team’s respective league standings. The QMFL and NCAFA champions will participate in the Midget Big 10 Championship Game held each November. Teams not scheduled to play in the regular season cross over games can still qualify for the Midget Football Big 10 Championship Game by winning the QMFL’s Wilbert Scott Division and entering the QMFL play-off structure as the 4th rank team.

As part of the revamp, we are pleased to announce the addition of the Orleans Bengals to the QMFL Wilbert Scott Division, as well as the return of the Gatineau Vikings to QMFL play in 2018.

The Midget Football Big 10 Canada is now the premier place to get prepared and scouted for the next level. Stay tuned for more exciting news as we announce the 2018 schedule and establish regular podcasts and power rankings.  

Midget Football Big 10 Line up for 2018 

Bel-Air Norsemen (NCAFA)  
Greenfield Park Packers (QMFL)
Kanata Knights (NCAFA)
Lasalle Warriors (QMFL)
Myers Riders (NCAFA)
Nepean Eagles  (NCAFA)
North Gloucester Giants (NCAFA)
North Shore Lions (QMFL)
St Leonard Cougars  (QMFL)
Sun Youth Hornets  (QMFL)


Wilbert Scott Division

St Laurent Spartan
Chateauguay Raiders
Gatineau Vikings
Sherbrooke Bulldogs
Orleans Bengals
St-Lazare Stallions 

The QMFL was formed in 1978 and has 11 teams. The NCAFA was formed in 1955 and has five midget teams participating in the Big Ten conference. Stay tuned for more exciting news as we announce the 2018 schedule and establish regular podcasts and power rankings.

2018 Draft Results

I'm going to try something here. It might suck, it might not, I may never do it again, but I'll try live blogging this draft for Ottawa. Besides adding the name of player chosen, I'll add whatever comments and quotes I come across and edit the post frequently throughout the night.

1-04 - OL Mark Korte, U. of Alberta, 6'02" / 293

Korte was Canada West’s top lineman last year and a division all-star after anchoring an offensive line that paved the way for Hec Crighton Trophy winner Ed Ilnicki to rush for a conference-record 1,468 yards.

The scouting report on Korte says he’s a “tenacious run blocker who plays with good physicality.” It adds he’s a good athlete with “the ability to operate in space,” and dominated his level of competition. Article.

Korte played for the West Team in the U SPORTS East-West Bowl and started eight regular season games at left tackle in 2017. The 6-foot-2, 293-pound offensive lineman was named a Canada West All-Star, Canada West’s Most Outstanding Lineman and a U SPORTS First-Team All-Canadian.

Over his four-year career at the University of Alberta, Korte played in and started every regular season game at left tackle.  Article.

@TSN1200Bunda  #Redblacks GM Marcel Desjardins on if OL Mark Korte can come in and play relatively quickly - "Yes, absolutely" 

2-13 -WR Marco Dubois, Laval, 6'03" / 217

Arguably the most sound special teams player in the draft, Marco Dubois’ game is all about length. Length of arms to lock out blockers on a punt coverage unit, length of stride to outrun teammates on kickoff coverage, and length of speed to outrun many larger players. Dubois will make whatever team picks him better on special teams immediately.  CFL.ca Mock Draft

It was mentioned during the draft broadcast that Dubois was not a starter at the wide receiver position. No kidding; He had one reception for 12 yards in 2017. But he tested well and obviously has good size.

3-22 - OL Andrew Pickett, Guelph, 6'03" / 313

Suited up for 24 games for the Gryphons. OUA All-Star in both 2016 (second team) and 2017 (first team).

4-29 - DE Kene Onyeka, Carleton, 6'02" / 244
(Aquired from BC for Odell Willis or, in effect, Jake Ceresna)

Co-sack leader in University sports in 2017, said to be planning to return to school in 2018.

Onyeka recently finished one of his best seasons to date with the Ravens, turning out 10.5 sacks, 32 solo tackles, 14 assisted tackles, four forced fumbles and two pass break-ups. He was also named an OUA First-Team All-Star, U SPORTS All-Canadian, and was awarded with the OUA J.P Metras trophy as the conference’s Lineman of the Year. Article.

4-30 - LB Mickael Coté, Concordia, 6'03" / 225

Côté, from Mont-St-Hilaire, recorded a conference-leading 40 tackles last season in only seven games along with three quarterback sacks. He was a conference all-star and second-team all-Canadian. He was named the Stingers’ most valuable player.

The 6-foot-3, 225 pounder ran a 4.88-second 40 on Saturday and has been interviewed by seven of the league’s nine teams. He likes to play fast, be physical and run to the ball. Article.

7-55 - DB Justin Howell, Carleton, 5'11 / 198

Howell maintains leverage and positioning on special teams better than almost any other defensive back on film in the 2018 CFL Draft. He has the size of a weak side linebacker but plays with the burst of a halfback. CFL Mock Draft 3.0

8-64 - OL Jacob Czaja, St. Francis Xavier, 6'03" / 289

AUS First-team all-star at guard in 2017.

Hey, How About Those Negotiation List Players?

Remember the ten guys from the team's negotiation list that the REDBLACKS announced this past February?

Yeah, me neither. So here they are.

Tyler Ferguson, QB, Western Kentucky 

Bug Howard, WR, North Carolina 

Joey Ivie, DL, Florida 

Kaleb Johnson, OL, Rutgers 

J.T. Jones, DL, Miami (Ohio) 

Greg Little, WR, North Carolina 

JoJo Natson, WR, Akron 

Ejuan Price, LB, Pittsburgh 

Phillip Walker, QB, Temple 

Andrew Wylie, OL, Eastern Michigan

You know what they all have in common? Not a single one has signed with the team in the months since these names were revealed.

That isn't to say that the negotiation list is useless. Hardly. I recall seeing some of the list prior to the team's first season. I began to follow Jamill Smith on Twitter as a result and he signed with Ottawa about a year later. For that matter, I remember Darian Durant was on the Renegades negotiation list at some point. Some of these guys are long-term projects. And for all we know, several of the rookie players who have signed on for 2018 were on the neg list at some point.

I just find it overrated by some. Some people argue that the list should be public because it will "generate discussion" by fans. Really? How much conversation did finding out that Joey Ivie and Jojo Natson are Redblack property generate?

The only name up there that is remotely interesting is Philip Walker, former QB at Temple University (during which time he went by the name PJ Walker) and presently on a futures contract with the Indianapolis Colts. Let's pull his collegiate records from Wikipedia.

 

As of July 2017, Walker is the Owls all-time leader in wins by a starting quarterback (28), passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions, attempts, total yards and total touchdowns. Phillip lead the Owls to their first conference title in 49 years (2016) and their first ever back-to-back bowl appearances in school history (2015 and 2016).

A hell of a resume in and off itself, but made more interesting when reminded that Henry Burris played his college ball at Temple in the 1960s (all right, it was 1993 to 1996).

It's ultimately irrelevant; I doubt that Burris' play in Ottawa impacts Walker's career path a whole lot. But we've seen stranger coincidences come to pass than two successful QBs from the same program lead the same pro team.

Maybe Walker will be lobbing passes to former Colts teammate Bug Howard, who was released in the middle of April. We all knew that, right?  ;-)

Jamill Smith photo: Greg Kolz/Freestyle Photography
Phillip Walker photo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images North America

"Jackson Bennett has monster game as Bengals upset Redskins for midget title"

The CFL draft takes place on Thursday night and after raising his stock over the past few months, University of Ottawa defensive back Jackson Bennett is expected to be taken within the first two rounds.

Bennett made the Ontario University Athletics all-star team twice; first team as a defensive back and second team as a return man. He was again honoured as a DB with a second-team All-Canadian selection.

Photo credit to Greg Mason for thefulcrum.ca

His exploits predate The U. of O, however. While looking for information about him, I came across an article by Fred Sherwin for Orleans Online.

The Bengals' offence raked up 56 points against a Redskins team that had only allowed 68 points all season long, while the defence managed to hold Nepean's offence to just 39 points. 

Jackson Bennett had a monster game for the Bengals, slicing and dicing his way through the Redskins' defence like a hot knife through butter. The fleet-footed running back gained over 500 yards against the top defence in the league and scored seven times to earn MVP honours.

The Orleans Bengals are the 2013 NCAFA midget champions after laying an good old-fashioned beat down on the previously undefeated Nepean Redskins.  

The REDBLACKS have reportedly tossed around the idea of starting two Canadian receivers but currently only have three on the roster. Receiver isn't the deepest position of any draft so it wouldn't be a shock to see them choose one fourth overall as a result but hopefully a versatile, athletic, local product like Bennett is too tempting to pass up if he's available.

Edit: I completely overlooked that Jackson Bennett was a member of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier high school team which won the NCSSAA senior title in 2013.

**Bengals photo credit to Carol Williamson