CFL.ca
Jaime Stein
CFL.ca
CFL Evaluation Camp has come and gone and Monday morning feels like the hangover after a good wedding. Following months of planning, the CFL’s premier event to showcase the top talent for the incoming draft class took place in downtown Toronto without a hitch.
Players were treated like professionals, from a top-notch hotel room in Toronto’s Yorkville district, to buffet meals, right down to bags full of Reebok swag they collected at the start of the weekend.
On Friday evening, CFL.ca had an opportunity to interview about 20 of the 50 prospects. If I had to choose one word to describe the young men whom I met, I would probably select “class”. We had some fantastic interviews with the group of 20, many of whom are featured on the CFL’s Amateur Scouting Bureau list.
After three full days at the CFL’s Evaluation Camp, here are some random thoughts:
Better than expected
The talk for the past year or so has been about this year’s draft class being weaker than in previous years. That sentiment seems to have fallen by the wayside after chats with several GMs and scouts on the weekend (Video). What appears to have happened is that in past years, there were a few players who stood out from the pack while the rest of the draft wasn’t as deep. This year, it seems as though there are more players clustered together, with no real standouts (yes, Jamall Lee tested extremely well, but I’m not sure Toronto or Hamilton will draft a running back with picks 1-4). Now that talent evaluators have had a chance to interview, test and observe the players, the prevailing view is that the level of talent is much higher than initially predicted.
The quality of players is improving and this is thanks to the level of coaching we are now seeing in the CIS. With former CFL coaches like Greg Marshall and Joe Paopao returning to the university ranks players are getting better training. If you take a look across the country, CIS coaching staffs are littered with former CFL players from Blake Nill to Leroy Blugh. This bodes well for football in Canada.
Strength vs. Core Strength
At first glance, it appears as though the draft class of 2009 is not as strong as previous draft classes. Five players tied for the highest number of bench press reps at 23. This is the lowest top score in the history of Evaluation Camp.
However, after crunching numbers from the past couple of E-Camps, a different story comes to light.
In 2009, the average number of bench press reps was 16.1. Compare it to 2008 (14.6), 2007 (13.2) and 2006 (14.6) and it appears as though players are getting stronger and training smarter.
Speaking with a couple of coaches and GMs, they believe that players are focusing more on core strength, which in turn makes them better all-round athletes. If you take a look at the top bench press marks of all time, it definitely does not correlate with ability to play in the CFL.
Mr. Men
One of the best parts of my job is meeting people. On Friday night, as mentioned, we had the opportunity to chat with several players. Some of the most memorable include:
Deji Oduwole was one of the first people we spoke with and continued to chat with throughout the duration of the weekend. He falls into the category of Mr. Personality.
Stan van Sichem would be Mr. Show or according to the Regina product’s teammates it’s actually ‘Stan van Show’. He may be the first Dutch-born player to be drafted into the CFL. He moved to Canada to play hockey in high school and ended up finding a niche on the football field. He is full of colour and character and may one day be the star of his own reality show.
Thaine Carter from Queen’s University showed up dressed for a business interview and likely could have sold ice to the Norwegians by the end of the day. He is another example in a long line of Queen’s players to wear the Mr. Nice Guy tag (see Bryan Crawford). Unfortunately, Thaine could not participate for most of the camp due to a calf injury.
Matt Carter, a receiver from Acadia, carries the label of Mr. Interview. He gave succinct and articulate answers on a regular basis and will likely become a go-to guy for media on whichever team selects him.
Tristan Black may become Mr. Politician after shaking hands with a majority of coaches, scouts and GMs before leaving the field on Sunday. He performed well on the field and provides a nice quote off the field, as well.
Due to time constraints we didn’t get to speak with all the players at E-Camp, but other players who were good interviews include Steve Myddelton, Scott McHenry, and Matt Lambros.
As well, props should be given to the offensive linemen, who as a group outperformed the other interviewees when asked to state their name, school and position for our cameras.
Brotherly Act
One match-up that was worth a peek on the weekend was between Guelph’s Brad Crawford and current Argo Bryan Crawford. Brad is Bryan’s younger brother and there was a little sibling rivalry taking place as Brad would keep Bryan posted of his results. Bryan witnessed Brad’s performance firsthand on Sunday, as Bryan was stationed at the Short Shuttle Drill as an evaluator.
How do the two brothers stack up at E-Camp in their respective years?
Height: Bryan (5’10”), Brad (5’11”)
Weight: Bryan (200 lbs), Brad (191 lbs)
Bench: Bryan (11 reps), Brad (13 reps)
Broad Jump: Bryan (9.050), Brad (8.925)
40-yards: Bryan (4.50), Brad (4.65)
Shuttle: Bryan (4.56), Brad (4.62)
Brad is stronger, Bryan is faster. Bryan is a huge asset on special teams for the Argos. My prediction is that Brad will follow in his brother’s footsteps.
Spills and Thrills
The biggest hit on Sunday was a collision between James Green, a running back from St. Francis Xavier University, and Jim Barker, the Calgary Stampeders’ Senior Vice-President, Football Operations. Barker was evaluating drills from the sideline in a plastic chair. Green was stretching out to catch an overthrown ball from the Argos’ Cody Pickett. Both combatants went down hard, but Barker insists he got the better of Green.
Smooth Moves
Waterloo’s Joshua Svec turned some heads and drew some loud hoots and hollers from fellow receivers as he turned a DB inside out with a sweet stop and go move.
Bull Market
The word around town was that evaluation camp was especially good for the stock of:
Jonathan Pierre-Etienne – DL, Montreal
Deji Oduwole – DL, Calgary
Matt Lambros – WR, Liberty
CFL Canadian Draft
Stay tuned for the only result that will matter at the end of the day: The 2009 Canadian Draft, which will take place on Saturday, May 2, 2009.
Jaime Stein is the Canadian Football League’s Manager of Digital Media and the former play-by-play voice of the Toronto Argonauts.
