2024 College Draft Results

Frankensteining reports and commentary on last night's draft results. The Chad Hudson quotes are from this Ottawa Citizen article. 

Round 1, pick 2: Nick Mardner, WR

The 6-foot-6, 208-pound playmaker from Oakville was ranked seventh overall, and the top-ranked receiver, by the CFL Scouting Bureau this spring after suiting up for four games with the Auburn Tigers in 2023. Before transferring to Auburn, Mardner had 19 receptions for 218 yards and three touchdowns in 2022 with Cincinnati. He previously suited up for Hawaii from 2018-2021 where he made 62 catches for 1,270 yards and nine touchdowns. In total, Mardner caught 81 passes for 1,488 yards and 11 majors during his collegiate career. 

"We are excited to add Nick Mardner to our organization with our first pick in this year’s draft. Nick is an athletic receiver with a big body, who has played at very high level in the NCAA,” said REDBLACKS General Manager Shawn Burke. “His size, speed and tenacity have the potential to be a big addition to our football club.”

Mardner ran a 4.60-second forty-yard dash, 4.62-second short shuttle, and 7.43-second three-cone drill at his pro day in March, while recording 11 225lbs bench press reps, a 35-inch vertical and a 129-inch broad jump.

Ottawa Sun: “There were injury concerns at Auburn and he never hit his stride,” said Burke, who said Mardner was dealing with a foot issue and a new system. “In the NCAA right now, it’s a bit of a different journey because of the transfer portal. When you look at his stops at Cincinnati and Hawaii and the big plays he made, it just made sense for us (to pick him) with how we had him ranked on our (draft) board.

“You always balance your board with your needs. When they match up together, it’s a great opportunity. We’re giving some young guys an opportunity at receiver this year; this isn’t a slight to Keaton (Bruggeling), Daniel (Oladejo) or Daniel Perry, but when you can get this type of playmaker with a draft pick, that’s what you ultimately want to do.

“He could be special in this league. It starts with getting him here first, we realize he’s going to (an NFL) mini camp. There’s a risk-reward factor, but we felt it was something we couldn’t pass on.”

Far too often last season the Redblacks had to settle for a field goal when their offence stalled inside the 20-yard-line. Mardner has the potential to help them fix that.

“He’s a big target,” said Burke. “We want to be better in the red zone. It’s tough for guys to guard 6-foot-6 in that small space.

“The CFL is obviously unique. I’m not going to say he was at the top of our board; a couple of the guys at the top of our board went Saturday (in the NFL draft). But the need matched where we had him ranked on our board.”

Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce said “there’s lots of things to like about Nick” beyond his size and the fact he runs and jumps well.

“Probably the biggest thing for me, as a former receiver coach, I always talking about having violent hands,” said Dyce. “When the ball is up there, he’s a huge red zone target, and he goes up and plays with the mentality that the ball is his. He has the opportunity to be a real difference maker in this league …  plus he gives you the flexibility that he can play into the boundary and, as he progresses and plays the game more, he’s going to be able to move into the slot. So I think as he continues to grow in our game, when he gets here, he’s got a really, really high ceiling.”

Round 2, pick 11: Daniel Okpoko

Ottawa Sun: The 6-foot-4, 275-pounder was born in Lagos, Nigeria but grew up in Saskatoon. From there, he headed to California, where he played 37 games over five seasons with the San Diego Aztecs.

“You guys know I have a pretty serious face most of the time and I’m out here smiling,” Burke said to media members in the hallway at TD Place. “We liked Daniel Okpoko a lot and we did not think we were going to get the opportunity to select him at this spot. We have an excited war room in there.”

The Redblacks expect Okpoko will benefit from the guidance of respected veteran defensive lineman Cleyon Laing.

“Obviously I can’t say enough about Cleyon,  and for him to learn under a guy like Cleyon and have that opportunity … (and to) add some depth to our rotation,” said Burke. “We see him as a potential CFL starter one day, not today, but one day. He was very productive last year at San Diego State. Athletic traits, big, physical has played some end as well but we probably see him more as an inside guy.  But we’re ust excited to get him in the building.”

Round 3, pick 22: LB Dawson Pierre

HEIGHT: 6'2 | WEIGHT: 219lbs | BIRTH DATE: 2000-05-29

HOMETOWN: Longueuil, QC | SCHOOL: Concordia

Hudson: “He was playing a lot of different positions, halfback and safety, in university. We see him more as a linebacker, we’ll try him out there first. He’s another big kid. He’s fast, he’s strong and he loves to hit.”

Round 4, pick 35: Jahquan Bloomfield

HEIGHT: 6'0 | WEIGHT: 188lbs | BIRTH DATE: 1999-12-03

HOMETOWN: Ottawa, ON | SCHOOL: Prairie View A&M

Hudson: “He was brought to our attention by (former Ottawa Gee-Gees coach) Nate Taylor, our running back coach who tried to recruit him. He did great (in the NCAA) on special teams and was a deep threat. It gives us a little more depth at the receiver position. He’s another guy who can play special teams and receiver for us.”

Round 6, pick 49: Yani Gouadfel

HEIGHT: 6'3 | WEIGHT: 200lbs | BIRTH DATE: 1999-11-24

HOMETOWN: Mitry-Mory, France | SCHOOL: Bishop's

Hudson: “He was a punter, but he was also the starting free safety. He’s from France, but (he qualifies as) Canadian through going to school and getting his degree; he’s one of the first kids to get his degree and become a national that way. He’s another big, strong kid. He likes to hit and he’s a good tackler. He gives us more depth at the position.”

Round 7, pick 58: Zachary Philion

HEIGHT: 6'1 | WEIGHT: 221lbs | BIRTH DATE: 1999-03-19

HOMETOWN: Buffalo, NY | SCHOOL: Concordia

Hudson: “He’s a tenacious kid, great on special teams. The kid loves to be in the gym – he’s really fit, he’s an absolute specimen that way. I worked with his dad in Saskatchewan and Montreal and I got to know Zach a bit. He loves football. Some of these kids love to eat, breathe and sleep football and he’s a guy that does that.”

Round 8, pick: Russell Dixon

HEIGHT: 6'3 | WEIGHT: 230lbs | BIRTH DATE: 2001-03-10

HOMETOWN: Edmonton, AB | SCHOOL: UConn

Hudson: “He’s got an injury (shoulder/neck). He’s committed to Carleton so we’re going to see him whenever he gets (to Ottawa) for fall ball because he missed spring ball. He’s a future player for us. He played at Connecticut and was a great (special) teamer and also a tight end. The kid can block. He’s a strong, hard-nosed kid who plays very hard and has a great attitude even though he’s injured.”

2023 CFL College Draft Results

Updating through the evening. 


01-01 - OL Dontae Bull - Fresno State

Bull, 24, has spent the last five seasons with Fresno State, appearing in 37 games, altogether. The Victoria, British Columbia native started at right tackle for all seven games he suited up in during the 2022 campaign, before his season was cut short due to injury. He entered the year with no shortage of accolades, however; earning All-Mountain West offensive lineman honours, and participating in the 2022 Senior Bowl.

At Fresno State's Pro Day, Bull put up 20 reps on the 225lbs bench press, as well as a 25.5in vertical jump, and eight-foot three-inch broad jump, despite still rehabbing his injured leg.

GM Sean Burke via the Ottawa Sun: "We’re excited to get him. I truly believe he can be a tackle in this league. I believe he has the size, I believe he has the feet to do it. He can be very successful; when he gets his hands on people, he can take them out of the play. We went back and watched every game he’s played, but we focused on some games against some high-level NFL defensive ends where he competed hard and held his own against those guys."

Chad Hudson, via the Ottawa Sun: “We like his size, he’s got some tenacity – he’s feisty. He can play left tackle, right tackle. I went down to the Pro Day and watched him jump. He still wasn’t running at that point, with his broken leg last year. But he looked great. He has a fantastic demeanour and work ethic which was totally vouched for by the staff (at Fresno State).”

02-10 - DB Lucas Cormier - Mount Allison

Phot credit unavailable

Chad Hudson, via the Ottawa Sun: “He’s a strong kid with a great personality. He has an aggressive mindset and plays hard all the time. We see him maybe sliding into a linebacker position for us; we’ll try him out there. He’s got great speed, he’s a great tackler, he’s a tough kid.”


02-12 - LB James Peter - uOttawa

Photo by Dylan Benoit, Sharpshooter Media

Chad Hudson, via the Ottawa Sun: "He really impressed me early. I saw him at the (College Gridiron Showcase) game in Texas up close against good competition and he really looked good. He was taking snaps with the first team all week and I was really impressed with his overall effort and ability. He’s highly intelligent and has that dog mentality."

02-17 (T) - WR Daniel Oladejo - uOttawa

Photography by Emir Atli 

Chad Hudson, via the Ottawa Sun: "He’s a great receiver, a nice route runner with great hands. He’s another personality that fits. He’s aggressive, tough, he’s smooth and he wants to play hard. He’s a wants-to-win type of guy. He looked great at the (CFL Combine)."

03-19 - DT Aiden John - Saint Mary's

Chad Hudson, via the Ottawa Sun: "He’s tall; he’s got a great defensive line body type, he’s got a lot of room to grow into his body. He’s got a very athletic frame, very muscle bound. He has a high ceiling and came with a great recommendation from (former Carleton coach) Coach Sumarah out there at SMU."

03-25 - LB Josh White - Regina

Chad Hudson, via the Ottawa Sun: "I think it was one of his coaches who said, ‘He’s a blunt instrument out there.’ He just wants to hit guys as hard as he can and make tackles. He plays fierce and he’s super smart."

05-37 - WR Daniel Perry - Saskatchewan

Chad Hudson, via the Ottawa Sun: "He’s a great receiver with a great work ethic. He’s a pretty smooth route runner with good hands and lots of length. He was a top receiver on one of the top teams in the country. Some of these guys we’re talking about I’m really surprised we got them where we did, especially Daniel."

06-46 - DL Quintin Seguin - Charleston Southern

Photo credit unavailable

Chad Hudson, via the Ottawa Sun: "He’s a big boy who’s tough. I saw him when he was a freshman at North Dakota and I’ve followed him ever since. It’s a steal (to get him this late), it’s kind of lucky."

07-55 - DL Alexander Fedchun - St. Francis Xavier

Chad Hudson, via the Ottawa Sun: "He’s going back to school, we knew that. He’s going to set the sack record at St. FX this year. That tells me he loves football and wants to play. He’s a big-bodied, tall kid and he’s also very aggressive."

07-58 - RB Amlicar Polk - uOttawa

Chad Hudson, via the Ottawa Sun: "He didn’t get first-team reps at tailback (last season, playing behind J-P Cimankinda). We want to see how he fits in for us. Because he didn’t get all the reps on offence, he had some fantastic reps on special teams. He didn’t shy away from anything. We love that."

REDBLACKS add two players in 2023 CFL Global Draft

OTTAWA - The Ottawa REDBLACKS selected Samoan defensive lineman Blessman Ta'ala with the first overall selection in the 2023 CFL Global Draft on Tuesday. 

With their second selection, 10th overall, the REDBLACKS chose Swedish offensive lineman Lucas Lavin.

"We’re excited to add two quality players we had identified as being good fits for our club,” said REDBLACKS General Manager Shawn Burke. “We're looking forward to seeing them in camp, and welcoming them to Ottawa.”

Ta'ala, 24, is a 6-2, 305-pound defensive tackle from Pago Pago, American Samoa. He appeared in 64 games over five seasons with the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, racking up a total of 142 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and four sacks. 

Lavin, 27, most recently played for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, after transferring from Northern Colorado in the summer of 2022. A native of Nykoping, Sweden, Lavin helped the Mocs to a 7-4 finish, last season.

Ta'ala raised some eyebrows at the Edmonton combine earlier this year when he tied for the most bench-press reps of 225 pound with 29. The Redblacks announced later in the day that Ta'ala had signed with the team. 

2022 Drafts

This post will be updated frequently as information is made available.

1 (02) - OL Zack Pelehos - uOttawa

Graphic from Gee-Gees Football Twitter account 

cfl.ca: "The six-foot-six, 296-pound lineman was a 2021 OUA first-team selection...Pelehos played in all 370 of the GeeGees offensive plays in 2021 and was named the team’s MVP. He made his way to the CFL Draft via the Ontario Regional Combine.

As a freshman in 2018, Pelehos was an OUA second-team all-star, a member of the OUA all-rookie team and the team’s o-lineman of the year."

Ottawa Sports Pages article from December 2021.

Redblacks GM Shawn Burke: “Zack’s progression was evident through the combine, and what he brought to his program. He’s nasty, he’s going to be physical, and he brings the type of football we want to play.”

Redblacks Press Release: Pelehos starred at the 2022 Regional Combine. The 6’6 300lbs tackle finished first among offensive linemen in the 40-yard dash (5.34), three-cone drill (7.92), short shuttle (4.69), vertical jump (29.50in), and broad jump (8’ 9 ¾“), as well as tying for first place in the bench press (16 reps).

2 (11) - OL Cyrille Hogan-Saindon - Laval

Graphic from Laval Football Twitter account

Redblacks GM Shawn Burke (to the Ottawa Sun): “Talking about our DNA, our physicality, there’s a big arrow up on (Hogan-Saindon). He’s a one-year starter. A lot of guys that come out of Laval and Montreal are a bit older because of the CGEP program, but he’s a little younger in age. He’ll take some time to develop, but he’s got huge upside. He’s extremely intelligent, an academic all-Canadian. He’ll come in and bring an edge to that position. To get him with that pick, we’re extremely excited.”

2 (20, Terr.) - LB Jesse Luketa - Penn State

Redblacks GM Shawn Burke (to the Ottawa Sun): “You look at it and when you can get a player of that calibre with what you would maybe call an additional pick – we hope not to have that pick anymore in the future – but let’s take advantage of it. We looked at a couple other local kids. I think it’s important to acknowledge what Jesse’s doing for this community and football and to have him associated with the Redblacks brand and give hope and inspiration to our football community means a lot. I called Jesse right after and congratulated him. I said, ‘There aren’t too many guys that can say they were drafted twice in one week.’ He was jacked to be drafted by his hometown team. We talked about, ‘Hey, we don’t expect you here. We want you to make it as far as you can. But we want you to be an ambassador for not only the City of Ottawa, but our country and the sport we all love.’ ”

3 (22) - WR Keaton Bruggeling - Carleton 

Graphic from the Carleton Football Twitter account

Redblacks GM Shawn Burke (to the Ottawa Sun): “You look at him and he’s 6-foot 3, 220 pounds. He’s got the body for this. You see the speed on the field when you watch his film. It’s still coming together for him. He took a big jump this season where he became more of your go-to guy. He’s still got some teaching to come along. Coach LaPolice and (receivers) coach (Alex) Suber, they’ll get him there. He’s guy who’s passionate about football. And he’s excited to get in our building as well.”

4 (31) - DB Daniel Valente - Western Ontario

Redblacks GM Shawn Burke (to the Ottawa Sun): “He’s a guy that just kept rising and rising as we got through the draft process. It was always, ‘What about that Valente kid, what about that Valente kid?’ He was just a guy we kept talking about and we knew there was a certain point in the draft where it was like, ‘We’ve got to take this guy.’ ”

5 (40) - LB Woodly Appolon - Tuskegee

Redblacks GM Shawn Burke (to the Ottawa Sun): “He started at Northern Illinois, and then made his way down (to Tuskegee) with his (twin) brother (Wesly). He’s something different. You don’t see 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 225-pound guys, that type of size. You’re always looking for size and athleticism. And he brings it. It’s something we don’t have in that group right now. He’s not going to be here this year, he’s going back to school. But he seems genuinely excited for the opportunity and we’ll track him for the year.”

6 (49) - LB Subomi Oyesoro - Calgary

Redblacks GM Shawn Burke (to the Ottawa Sun): “He’s definitely a special teams guy, but he has some potential which I don’t think he’s reached yet. (University of) Calgary went through a bit of a difficult season; usually they’ve been a powerhouse and they fell back a little. It’ll be exciting to see how he reacts to the pro camp and what he learns from that. But in terms of athleticism, he’s a body type we’re looking for. We thought we were a little lacking in that.”

7 (58) - SB Connor Ross - St. Francis Xavier

Redblacks GM Shawn Burke (to the Ottawa Sun): “Connor is a fullback but he’s also got some long-snapping skills. When we looked at our roster, we obviously have L.P. (Louis-Philippe Bourassa) who is great at what he does, but Maxime (Latour) got picked up by Toronto late last year and we thought we were a little light there. He’ll likely get a chance to go back to school. (Special teams co-ordinator) Jim Daley’s (at St. FX) and he’s a great special teams coach.”

8 (67) - RB Luca Perrier - Laval

Redblacks GM Shawn Burke (to the Ottawa Sun): “When we looked at special teams rankings, he just kept rising. He plays big — 210, 5-foot 11, and comes from a winning program. We do have two great special teamers as Canadians at running back – Gilly (Brendan Gillanders) and Jackson Bennett. Over the course of a season, you’re always going to have some ups and downs injury-wise and I believe (Perrier) gives us a chance that if he was sitting there available and ready to play, we wouldn’t see a huge fall off.”

Earlier in the day, Ottawa selected the following players in the global draft. 

OTTAWA - The Ottawa REDBLACKS made three picks during today’s 2022 CFL Global Draft, selecting offensive lineman Hector Zepeda (Round 1), defensive back Edris Jean-Alphonse (Round 2), and kicker Gabriel Ballinas (Round 3).

Zepada, 24, hails from Ensenada, Baja California, and was the only Mexican of the 13 international prospects to be selected into the 2022 NFL International Player Pathway program. The 6’4 290lbs offensive lineman spent his college career with Tecnólogico de Monterrey.

Graphic from mexfba IG account

Jean-Alphonse, 25, is a product of the Laval Rouge et Or. Born in Bobigny, France, the defensive back impressed at the CFL Global Combine, where he recorded the fastest 40-yard dash time (4.55), fastest short shuttle time (4.18), and placed fifth in the broad jump (9’ 11/12”).

Ballinas, 23, played his college football at Albany State, where he earned All-Conference First Team kicker/punter honours, and was also named HBCU All American, as well as HBCU Special Teams Player of the Year. Ballinas is a native of Guadalupe, Mexico.

The Redblacks did well in this draft last year with the selection of linebacker Tyron Vrede from the Netherlands. He was third on the team with 10 special teams tackles and added another five defensively. 

2021 College Draft Results

May I admit that I'm not really into this one?

Between the likelihood that there will be a ridiculously short season and the fact that many of the players to be chosen tonight will have a year of eligibility left and therefore return to their respective schools, I find it hard to get excited for this player selection process. It's no one's fault, but tonight's event takes "drafting for the future" to an extreme. 

Be that as it may, I'll record the selections and whatever scouting and/or background info I happen to come across for each guy "live", as usual. There are a couple of local guys, most notably Liam Dobson (Maine) and Patrice Rene (North Carolina / Rutgers) so hopefully we get a pleasant surprise on that level. 


1. (06) - Deshawn Stevens, Linebacker, Maine, 6'2" / 255
Scouting Bureau Ranking: January - 14th, April - 20th

Deshawn Stevens of the University of Maine is pictured warming up for a game earlier this spring at Alfond Stadium in Orono. Credit: Ronnie Gillis

Career defensive stats at Maine

Ottawa Sun: “He’s a physical player who moves very well for his size; he may have to slim down a bit for purposes of the CFL,” said Redblacks general manager Marcel Desjardins. “He’s got a great personality. We really like everything he brings to the table. He’ll become a defensive stalwart for us at some point in the future.

At 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, Stevens is capable of playing middle linebacker, maybe weakside linebacker, in the CFL. He could come off the edge in certain defensive schemes.

“We really felt he was one of the top defensive players in the draft and somebody who could play a number of spots for us,” said Redblacks head coach Paul LaPolice. “We’re ecstatic to get him.”


2. (13) - DB Alonzo Addae, West Virginia, 5'10" / 190

 Scouting Bureau Rankings: January - 12th, April - 14th

(Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

“He’s a very versatile DB; he offers so much versatility and flexibility and he’s such an intelligent football player,” said Desjardins.


3. (24) - OL Connor Berglof, Saskatchewan. 6'03" / 305

Was named a USports All-Canadian in 2019.

Desjardins: “He’s big and physical, one of those typical Saskatchewan guys. We actually had him as an earlier pick. The back issue may have scared off some people. But we felt it was worth the risk. He played with a back issue in 2019. It’s flared up again a bit. If we had to go to camp tomorrow, he wouldn’t be ready to go. But, at the same time, we felt he was worth drafting in the third round. With all the homework we did, with his doctor, with getting access to his medical information and having our medical staff look at it, it certainly looks like he’s trending in the right direction.”

4. (31) - PK / P Jake Julien, Eastern Michigan 

Eastern Michigan Press Release: A four-year starter for the Green and White, Julien has built his special teams resume into one of the best in school history. He is tied with Rich Hanschu (1979-80) for first in the EMU record books with a 43.4 career punting average, and ranks eighth in EMU history with 7,383 yards punting. Julien is the only punter in Eastern Michigan history to record two 70+ yard punts in his career. Through four seasons, he has 51 balls downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line to go along with 37 that traveled longer than 50 yards.

Desjardins: “He’s got a big leg, his hang time is very good. He’s a guy we feel can punt in this league. Could he do more than that? That’s to be determined, but that’s not why we drafted him – we took him as a punter. He’s going back to school, maybe he gets into an NFL situation. I don’t know when we’ll see him, but for us, it’s a good get in the fourth round.”


5. (42) - LS Keegan Markgraf, Utah, 6'03" / 222

Team Press Release: In 2020, Markgraf was a semifinalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award, awarded to the best college football long snapper in the nation. He was also on the Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention for the 2020 season. In 33 career games played with Utah, Markgraf recorded 160 career snaps (65 punt, 23 FG, 72 PAT).

Desjardins: “As much as everybody has a long snapper, it’s not easy to find a good one. They can’t all be precise, consistent and have some ability to block and cover. Right now, we have a very good long snapper (Louis-Philippe Bourassa), but if something ever happened to him, we don’t have a lot of depth.”

6. (49) - OL Matthew Derks, Delaware State, 6'03" / 315

Desjardins: “He’s a big, wide-bodied, physical interior offensive lineman. I think he needs to get a little smaller for purposes of the CFL and his movement skills will need to improve. But he’s strong, he’s physical, he’s smart. He’s a guy we liked. He’s going to go back and play another year so we felt he was worth taking there and see how he continues to develop.”

One To Watch: North Carolina's Patrice Rene

For a variety of reasons, I've found the NCAA season difficult to get into this past year. The bowl games don't mean much to me but I do plan on sitting down in front of the Orange Bowl tonight specifically for Patrice Rene. If you're unfamiliar with him, here's a little write up Tim Baines did for the Ottawa Citizen in September of 2019.

Where did Rene end up in the draft rankings? As of the league's first edition this past October, he was ranked eighth overall. His status for the NFL draft is less clear, however.

Rene has played in nine games this season and registered 20 solo tackles plus eight assists. The depth chart I located showed him as a back up for the Tar Heels but I'll be looking out for #5 nonetheless.

2020 Draft Results

This post will be updated frequently during the evening as I locate articles, news and opinion on the RedBlacks 2020 college draft selections.


01-06) LB/DB Adam Auclair, Laval

Adam Auclair photography by Mathieu Bélanger

Duane Ford: Adam, like his brother (Antony), comes with questions about where he’ll play at the next level but, as it applies to him, being considered a "positionless" player is an asset. He is a hybrid, part linebacker and part defensive back, and can line up all over the field covering, blitzing, or playing the run. This diverse skill set makes him an intriguing possibility in today’s multiple-look CFL defences, and perhaps the most versatile player in this draft class.

RedBlacks press release: He was named the 2017 Presidents’ Trophy winner as U SPORTS Outstanding Defensive Player. He was also awarded the Bruce Coulter Award, as the defensive player of the game after the 2018 Vanier Cup final.

GM Marcel Desjardins to Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun: “First off, he’s a very athletic and physical football player. He’s got pretty good movement skills. He’s got some position flexibility possibly. He’s also obviously a player with his size, athleticism and speed, he can be an impact player for us on special teams.” ...But there are some things he still needs to work on — his footwork being one of them. We really like him as a pick. Those guys from Laval are very well prepared based on the coaching and environment they’ve been in. We feel Adam is a guy who can be an instant kind of player for us, potentially in multiple different roles.”

HC Paul LaPolice: "...we felt he was, by far, the best special teams player in the draft. So he immediately comes onto our roster and injects speed. He makes us faster, right away. He was very productive in college. The nice thing about him is you can project him as a WILL or a free safety, we think he’s closer to a linebacker, but you don’t get, often, athletes that you talk about playing two different spots so it just talks about his versatility.”


02-10) DL Michael Hoecht, Brown

GM Marcel Desjardins to Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun: “We didn’t feel like we could pass up the opportunity to acquire the rights to such a big, tall, talented, athletic, cerebral, full-of-energy, disruptive defensive lineman. Those guys don’t come along very often. The thing that jumped out at me the most was when you watch his film, you would think he was on a team that was one of the best teams in that conference — they really weren’t, they really struggled. He was a guy, regardless of the circumstances, he just kept flying around anyway, making plays, being disruptive and being a leader. This guy is like (former Redblacks defensive lineman Jake) Ceresna, but more athletic, more quick twitch.”

From this CFL.ca article: "Hoecht was born in Oakville, Ont before moving to Dayton, Ohio in 2001. The talented pass-rusher made an instant impact after joining the program at Brown University, making 18 tackles and four tackles for a loss while adding another four sacks in his freshman year.

He finished his collegiate career with 174 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss 16.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in 37 games with the Bears. He was named a captain in both his junior and senior seasons under two separate head coaches, making him one of just four two-time captains in the program’s history.

Along with his tape, Hoecht also ran a virtual pro day in which he was able to show off his athletic prowess. Standing at six-foot-four and 290 pounds, he ran an impressive 4.65-second 40-yard dash while also putting up 23 reps on the bench press and posting a 33.5-inch vertical."

From Marshall Ferguson for cfl.ca: "Everything he does from snap to whistle has a purpose and there is little wasted energy on irrelevant movement. Expect Hoecht to land somewhere in the teens  in the CFL Draft, unless a club finds out he has little or no chance to stick with the Rams."

02-19T) LB Dan Basambombo, Laval

Photo by Simon Clark

GM Marcel Desjardins to Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun: “I like his size, I like his physicality. With those elements, he’s a guy who can come in and play special teams right away. He’s got pretty good quickness, but doesn’t run the best. The biggest thing is he’ll hit you and you’ll know when he hits you. He has the athletic makeup that in my opinion is better than some of the special teams types linebackers that are presently playing in the league and are having pretty good success.”

HC Paul LaPolice: “(He’s) just an athletic linebacker. Out of the territorial guys, we felt he was the best player and somebody who we can, again, start to develop, send him back (to school), and then eventually he comes to us. We thought he was a big-bodied linebacker who could run.”

04-29) OL Jakub Szott, McMaster

From marauders.ca: "Hailing from Toronto, Ont., Szott was a 2019 OUA second-team all-star as an offensive linesman after protecting the Marauders second-ranked passing performance in the conference that went for 303.9 yards per game, as well as the team's nearly 130 yards on the ground."

GM Marcel Desjardins to Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun: "He’s got some size, he’s got some strength, but the thing we really like about him is he’s very physical. He can create movement off the line of scrimmage. He’s got decent feet, but that’s the type of thing he needs to work on. He’s just a nasty, physical offensive lineman who has surprising movement skills for a guy his size.”

HC Paul LaPolice: “What we enjoyed a lot about Jacob is, we felt that he might have been the most physical, or the nastiest guy in the draft. He will play hard, he will play physical, he will drive people downfield, he will pancake people. We really liked his tape and felt to get him in the fourth round was a very good get for us. Someone who we felt could come in and compete as an offensive lineman but also bring some physicality to our unit.”

05-38) DB Treshaun Abrahams-Webster, Calgary

GM Marcel Desjardins to Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun: “He’s a DB who we liked not only as a DB — you don’t find a lot of DBs who can play special teams and do it well, but he’s one we felt could do that. He’s got good feet, he reacts well, he triggers well. He understands coverage and he has pretty good burst when he’s closing. He’s not small. I think he’s a guy we think can come in and contribute on (special) teams right away and get you out of a game if you need at a corner spot and maybe eventually become a starter for you.”

HC Paul LaPolice: “He, when you’re watching the tape, can play multiple positions. He can play boundary corner, he played free safety at times, he played field corner. We just thought he was very productive out of the defensive backs that we saw on tape. We felt that he would be somebody that could come in and give us some roster flexibilty and maybe develop into somebody who, I know (Bob) Dyce liked him on (special) teams, so he could be a teams player but also maybe eventually be a free safety or a field corner.”

06-47) LB Brad Cowan, Wilfrid Laurier

GM Marcel Desjardins to Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun: “He’s a big, physical player. I guess he’s deceptively agile, he moves around relatively well. He’s a guy who’s going to hit you, his motor’s always going. He’s physical engaging blocks. He just needs to work on his speed, his agility, his footwork — those types of things.”

HC Paul LaPolice: “Another big body. You try to do matchups with special teams. Another big bodied linebacker allows us to have better matchups. We felt he was a pretty productive kid for a big linebacker out of Laurier. We think he’ll be good to compete in special teams right away.”

07-56) DE Reshaan Davis, Ottawa

GM Marcel Desjardins to Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun: "We obviously like his size and his athleticism. He just needs to be more consistent, which a lot of these guys do — he’s not the only one. He’ll make some plays that make him stand out. Then there are times there are plays he should be making that he’s not even close to making. He needs to be more consistent, he needs to be more physical. He sees things relatively well, he just doesn’t finish consistently.”

HC Paul LaPolice: “Reshaan, we saw some flashes of him on tape that showed the ability to rush the passer. And being a local product we were able to talk to coach Jamie Barresi, who is a friend of mine and his college coach. Jamie raved about him. Now, this is a guy that hasn’t played football for too many years. He came into Jamie’s office and was just in school and he tried out for the team. I think he’s just kind of figuring out that, ‘oh, I can maybe do this for a long term profession.’ (He is) a guy that we felt that has the tools to hang around on the practice squad and develop into a player.”

08-65) OL Kétel Asse, Laval

GM Marcel Desjardins to Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun: “...we didn’t draft him earlier because we had taken Szott already. At that point, when it got to the eighth round, we couldn’t pass it up. He’s massive. He’s got size and bulk. He’s got decent feet and quickness. He just plays with a high pad level at times, he needs to get better where that’s concerned. We had pretty good exposure to him, having visiting the school and watching a lot of film. He was at the NFLPA game in California in January. He has tools to develop, but he’s raw.”

HC Paul LaPolice: “We just felt that in the eight round, he was a big-bodied kid with some athletic ability to give us some more depth on the offensive line to compete. So we felt it was a good pick for us in the last round.”

Marking Our Territory

The current version of the territorial selection in the draft only came into play last year but being that Ottawa has such a pick this year, this is a good time to go back and look at the original version of that draft feature.

As of April 2019...:

The two teams with the highest waiver priority will each get to make one Territorial Draft Pick – to be used to select a player born within their territorial limits at the end of the second round.

Since Ottawa found all kinds of innovative ways to suck last year, they get an additional pick at the bottom of the second round.

Last year's press release included some historical info.

From 1972 to 1982, each club had the right to pre-select two players from its region who would be exempted from the draft. That limit was reduced to one Draft exemption selection in 1983 and 1984, and then the practice was terminated altogether prior to the 1985 Canadian Draft.

How big a deal was this? Well, the Ottawa Rough Riders did quite nicely with it, thank you. Here's a look at some past territorial picks.

1973 - Donn Smith - OL - Played from 1973 to 1980 and was a three-time East all-star. 

1975 - Peter Stenerson - QB - Played multiple positions for Ottawa between 1975 and 1982, including receiver at which he caught 99 passes for 1460 yards and 11 tds. As a defensive back, he recorded five interceptions in 1976. 

 

1975 - Jeff Turcotte - OL - Played in 65 games between 1975 and 1980.  

1976 - Jeff Avery - Receiver - Played from 1976 to 1982, gathering in 169 passes for 2619 yards and 15 scores.  

1977 - Mike Murphy - RB - Ran for 1983 yards and contributed 163 receptions for another 1634 between 1977 and 1980. Murphy scored 10 touchdowns during that time.  

1978 - Bruce Walker - Receiver - Had 120 receptions for 1511 yards and five touchdowns over five seasons but also contributed as a punt returner over that time. 

1979 - Pat Stoqua - Receiver - From 1980 to 1984, caught 92 passes for 1546 yards and scored six times.    

1982 - Mark Seale - DL/OL - Played in Ottawa for three seasons before moving on to Toronto. Had 8.5 sacks in 1983.  

1983 - Roger Cattelan - OL - Played offensive line from 1983 to 1987. 

1983 - Mike Hudson - Receiver - Credited with 102 receptions, 1247 yards and two touchdowns between 1983 and 1988.   

1984 - Michel Bourgeau - DL - Prior to going to Edmonton in 1989, Bourgeau played on the defensive line for five seasons for Ottawa from 1984 to 1988, and recorded 15 sacks in that time.  

That is not a full list by any means and the list above doesn't include all of each individual's accomplishments. But it highlights the main contributors from the territorial pick and hopefully provides some insight as to its potential value.

Feeling the 2020 Draft

Now that the outcome of the Nick Arbuckle acquisition has been determined, let's take a deeper look at the impact that it will have going forward.

As a reminder, the team gave up a third-round draft choice for his rights, then swapped places with Calgary in the first round of the coming college draft (from first to sixth) when they were able to sign him prior to free agency starting on February 11th.

Here are a couple of quotes from general manager Marcel Desjardins, as found in the Ottawa Sun and provided by Tim Baines, at the time that the trade with Calgary was first announced.

“We were willing to give up a third-round pick to see how it plays out… Look, we’ve got guys from last year’s draft, guys who didn’t play, coming back. We’ve got Samson Abbott, Chris Larsen, Gabriel Polan, Clement Lebreux. Those guys might make our team. Plus we get a territorial draft pick (at the end of the first round).” 

“When we’ve drafted toward the back end of the first round, we’ve always ended up with a pretty good football player. We certainly feel like we’ll get a good player at six. It’s something I proposed, that we flip those picks.”

The territorial pick is actually at the end of the second round. Tim Baines' addition to Desjardins' first comment above, in parentheses, is incorrect.

So we lose a third and drop in the first. To evaluate the impact of those moves, let's review how we are doing for Canadian talent.

By my unofficial count, and including draft choices from previous drafts that are expected to show up, but not guys that are becoming free agents in 10 days, we have...

FB - 3 (Beaulieu, Gosselin, Polan...all from Sherbrooke!) 

WR - 4 (Dubois, Lewis, Sinopoli, Tyrell)  

OL - 10 (Fontana, Gagnon, Johnson, Korte, Lauzon-Seguin, MacMillan, Mateas, Omara, Pickett, Secord) 

DL - 7 (Abbott, Grant, Larsen, Laurent,  Lebreux, Onyeka, Romick)  

LB - 1 (Côté) 

DB - 4 (Bolduc, Hamlin, Howell, Pruneau)

The fullback count does not include Brendan Gillanders since he is listed simply as a running back.

You're always looking to improve and add depth, of course, but many of those positions are pretty full. You can only keep so many guys around.

But even if that were not the case, the team added some Canadian players late last year that could turn into good "substitutes" for draft choices.

DB Nate Hamlin was picked up last October following his release by BC. The Lions had drafted him in the fourth round in 2017. He did not play in 2019 but the Carleton product could continue to contribute on special teams, as he did with the Lions, and hopefully grow from there. He turns 25 in June.

I already wrote a post about WR James Tyrrell upon his signing last November. I found him to be an interesting pickup.

In 2018, Tyrrell recorded 17 receptions for 292 yards and a score. He went undrafted in the spring of 2019.

In his 2019 season with Concordia, his numbers blew up to 52 catches for 779 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers are at the top of the USports receiving stats and in line with what the top receiving non-NCAA prospect, Waterloo's Tyler Ternowski (16th on the CFL's latest Scouting Bureau release) put together.  Tyrell is now a Redblack, acquired for "free". This could turn into a quality move quickly.

There may be a better one. DT Julien Laurent was brought in last October, much like Hamlin, and also like Hamlin, he had been released by BC.

Laurent, however, came much more highly-touted. Prior to the 2018 draft, Laurent was considered a top-10 prospect. BC ultimately chose him in the first round, 7th overall. Ottawa got him as a free agent.

This isn't to say that the third-round choice given up and picking lower in the round don't represent a certain value. Of course they do. It's entirely possible that we could have all the players above and that Arbuckle could have been acquired as a free agent without paying that cost.

But based on what could be some shrewd late-season acquisitions in 2019 and being awarded a territorial pick, if you're going to pay that cost, this appears to be a good year to take the chance.

Happy Anniversary X2!

The official account for the city of Toronto (of all people) tweeted earlier today that the CFL was celebrating its 62 birthday today.

I looked it up and that is technically correct. Intentions for the two leagues to split from the CRU were announced two days earlier, mind you, apparently out of the blue.

Presumably the agreement was considered finalized on January 19th, 1958, even though there were still wrinkles to iron out.

The above graphic is from the Ottawa Citizen from January 20th 1958. A scroll down the same page reveals that league heads handled other affairs when they got together that weekend as college draft results were also announced. A very familiar name made the list with little fanfare, at the time.

So on its literal day of birth (officially), the CFL also took in the greatest Canadian player it would see for the next decade and well beyond. How fitting.

The Long, Long, 1952 College Draft

If you're an NFL fan who thinks that league's draft taking four days is far too long, you might find yourself thankful that they don't run it like the first Big Four college draft.

The rules for it were ironed out on April 5th during a meeting of league (Big Four) officials. 

The driving force was market size; Ottawa and Hamilton did not have access to as great a number of local amateur players as Toronto and Montreal did. The Rough Riders were defending champions, mind you, but evidently this was still perceived as a disadvantage.

Coming up with the rules was not an issue because the initial selections were made that day and reported in the newspaper on April 7th.

Most sources, including cfl.ca as I write this, consider this to be the entire draft class and name only these players.

It was not. Teams could continue to make selections right up to training camp, apparently. Ottawa made their next selection on April 14th.

Then Ottawa's next selection was announced on May 3rd.

And then the final pick was revealed in the first week of July.

So all told, the draft took approximately three months to complete.

Now something changed along the way. The league as a whole announced the selections named its selections about a week later. Ponton above is not among them but we have a new name in Dannis Masulka from McMaster.

And yet...Ponton was on the rookie picture! Here is your 1952 draft class. I suspect that Ponton's omission above is simply an error.

Vince Colliza is not included in the picture. He was acquired by Hamilton in late July or early August about 10 days after the shot was taken.

A July 31st article made it seem as though Colliza was signed as a free agent by the Ti-Cats, but one from a few days later (in a Windsor paper) provides details for a trade of his rights to Hamilton. Again, this is a guess, but Hamilton might have signed him before realizing they weren't allowed to, so some sort of compensation had to be worked out.

All of the clipping above are from the Ottawa Citizen. The Ottawa Journal did not give the draft as much attention but it was more detailed in its reports when it did. It did explain that the initial pool of players numbered 17 but more were added later to come to a total of 28, or seven per club. I count eight for Ottawa but that's a mystery for another day.

2019 Draft Results

Oh, right, we're drafting Canadians too...

I'll do the same thing as last year, which I say knowing full well very few people saw it. I'll update this post constantly as picks come in and I find information about the player selected.

Ottawa does not have a second round pick as a result of trading it for LB Chris Ackie late last year. The quotes from GM Marcel Desjardins are from this Ottawa Sun article. 


Round 1 (7):  Alex Fontana, OL, Kansas, 6;02", 300

At the University of Houston, played in 11 games in 2016 (starting five). He missed 2017 due to injury then played in 12 games in 2018 with nine starts at Kansas.

From Marshall Ferguson's mock draft: Toronto native Alex Fontana had an outstanding pro day with the Kansas Jayhawks recently after deciding to skip the CFL Combine in order to maximize his pro day performance.

Fontana measures in at 6-foot-1, 298 pounds. He benched 225 pounds 29 times, broad jumped eight feet and 10 inches, vertical jumped 27.5 inches, ran a 5.20 in the 40, a 4.84 in the shuttle and a 7.78 in the three-cone.


Round 3 (27): Gabriel Polan, RB, Sherbrooke

Recorded 666 yards on 122 carries (three touchdowns) at Sherbrooke in 2018 on his way to being named a first-team conference all-star.

Desjardins: “Sherbrooke used him as a running back, we see him as the same as we do with our other Sherbrooke fullbacks (Jean-Christophe Beaulieu and Anthony Gosselin). He’s an athletic H-back, fullback type who can get into space and catch the ball if need be and have the physicality to block in the box. With all those guys, it’s special teams value. He’s got size, he runs pretty well and he’s got kind of a knack on special teams for being in the right place.”


Round 4 (36): Thomas Grant, DL, Acadia, 6' 05", 285

2018 AUS lineman of the year.

Desjardins: “He’s a massive man, almost 6-foot-6 and 290 lbs. He’s an interior D lineman who’s very athletic for his size. He’s very strong and stout. He’s still a bit raw, he still needs to learn the position, he needs to learn to keep his pad level down. He’s a guy who can potentially go back to school after camp. Potentially, he could become an O lineman as well if the D line thing doesn’t work out.”


Round 5 (45): Wesley Lewis, WR, Houston Baptist, 6'06", 210

Desjardins: “He’s another big boy at 6-foot-5, 218 lbs. He runs real well. He knows to use his body to his advantage. He doesn’t need to dominate and be physical with DBs because he can just kind of impose himself on them by just getting in the way. He catches the ball pretty well. There’s a lot to like about him. It’s funny, he was actually at one of our tryout camps in Houston last year – as an American. We didn’t know he qualified as a Canadian. Our guys liked him so he was on our ready list should we have needed a guy like that to come in. In the interim, he gained national status. A guy that size, you can’t pass up that size, speed and athleticism.”


Round 6 (54): Chris Larsen, DL, Manitoba, 6'04", 255


Round 7 (63): Samson Abbott,  DL, Manitoba, 6;04", 240

Played with the Alberta Golden Bears from 2014-16. Led Alberta in sacks as a rookie in 2015. Played junior football with the Winnipeg Rifles in 2017 due to transfer rules and led the team in sacks with five.

Desjardins (including Larsen above): “They’re very similar. Larsen’s a bit bigger. They’re both athletic. Larsen plays a bit more on defence. Abbott doesn’t play a ton on defence, but he is a very, very good special teams player at that level. He’s probably the most ready guy from a special teams perspective to come in and play. He’s about 6-foot-4, 240 – Nigel Romick, that’s the type of guy he is. As we all know, those guys are crucial to have on your team for special teams ability. The biggest thing with those two guys is they have two years of eligibility left. That’s the same with Thomas Grant and Polan.”


Round 8 (72): Clement Lebreux, DL, Laval, 6'04", 296

Desjardins: “He’s a big boy – 6-foot-3 1/2, 300 lbs. He’s strong and stout. This is a future pick, similar to Kevin Malcolm a couple of years ago. Kevin had torn his ACL, Clement tore his ACL at the regional combine in Montreal. He’s a guy we’ll wait on. He’ll rehab and get better. I don’t think he’ll be ready this season, he hasn’t had his surgery yet. But next year, he’ll be a full go coming into camp.”

Mexican Draft Results

If you'd have told me, when I started to restore my old website in mid 2017, that I would one day post the results of a Mexican draft, I would have tried to have you entered into concussion protocol but...Here we are.

I have to admit that I find it a little hard to get into this. I'm not opposed to a partnership between leagues in other countries, even if said league does not play the game by our rules. But we've gone from an announcement of talks, to an letter of intent, to a combine, to a draft all within eight weeks.

It all feels a little rushed, doesn't it? How much preparation actually went into deciding on these guys? I suppose in small, new leagues the standout players, well...stand out, but still.

Anyway...There were a number of questions about this event, including why it got so much attention with a collective bargaining agreement about to expire, how it would affect roster rules, etc.  So I'm going to add some of the information I've found for future reference, starting with a tweet from Dan Barnes who did an excellent job of covering the proceedings.

Fair enough, although I would suggest that the expense to attend one in Orlando or San Antonio is probably far more likely to bear fruit.

As for the CBA, I believe the following is from the Regina Leader-Post from late last week.

There must be a good reason to get started so late. Just because I don't know and/or understand that reason doesn't mean there isn't one.

Bottom line though, the Mexican draft did not interfere with negotiations. All this Mexico-based activity taking place in a short amount of time gives the impression that the league is ignoring a must (CBA) for a want but that doesn't appear to actually be the case.

I could see the bottom tweet coming true. It might only take one guy or two. If a Mexican player becomes a solid contributor on a team he's an instant draw and ambassador.

Remember when the RedBlacks were in their formative stages and it seemed so important to have a French presence to draw eyes from Gatineau? That, on a larger scale.

My question then becomes...What if they all bomb? How many years of fruitless drafts take place before that aspect starts to appear unrealistic and football fans in Mexico cease to pay attention? A Mexican presence in the CFL could take a while, 'cause...

"Not look out of place in a CFL camp" is faint praise indeed.  But judge for yourself. Here is our second round pick in action.

Boy, if you're not crazy about "coarse language", maybe turn the volume down.

I couldn't find anything recent about Max Soto but taking a chance in the third round on a guy who was the first overall pick in his own league seems sound.

We'll see where this whole thing goes. Perhaps the teams that treat this initiative with respect and truly work at it can develop an edge over those that dismiss it and go through the motions.

The RedBlacks appear to have taken it seriously and as a fan, all I can ask for is that every effort is made to win, so I appreciate that, at least.