
CFL.ca Staff
WINNIPEG — Winnipeg Blue Bombers GM Joe Mack is looking at six-foot-eight draft pick Tyson Pencer to help fill the very large shoes of players like recently retired tackle Doug Brown.
“We’ve talked a lot, all of us, about the need for Canadian talent,” Mack said Thursday, after giving up his eighth and 13th picks to Hamilton in order to move up to the No. 3 spot in the first round of the 2012 CFL draft and grab Pencer.
Mack also pointed to the loss of Saskatchewan native Brendon LaBatte, who left in the off-season as a free agent to play for the Roughriders. LaBatte was an offensive lineman.
“You’re always trying hopefully to get someone that can eventually be a starter.”
Mack said he sees that in Pencer, a native of North Delta B.C., who impressed Mack when playing at Washington State.
“He played left tackle at Washington State against some really good competition as a young man.”
Last season he left for the Okanagan Sun of the Canadian Junior Football League, but Mack says injuries and academic problems kept Pencer off the field.
“We’ve spoken to him already. He’s very, very excited. He’s healthy. He’s feeling great about it. He said that he wants to be one of the all-time great Bombers. That’s great to hear.”
Mack expects Pencer to report to camp this season.
“Wow!! Dreams come true!! I’m a Winnipeg Blue Bomber!!.” Pencer tweeted shortly after he was picked.
The Bombers identified Pencer as one of three players who could help the team return to the Grey Cup, which they lost last year to the B.C. Lions.
But offensive lineman Ben Heenan was snapped up by Saskatchewan as the No. 1 pick and defensive lineman Jabar Westerman went to the Lions at No. 2.
Pencer wasn’t even seeded in the top-10 picks.
With their second pick, the Bombers selected Queen’s receiver Johnny Aprile. Aprile registered 594 yards and four touchdowns on 31 receptions last season, averaging 84.9 yards per game which was good enough for seventh in the CIS. Aprile also developed into a premier kick returner, averaging a nation-best 36.5 yards per return with two touchdowns, also a CIS best.
With the 21st overall selection, the Blue Bombers picked defensive lineman Christo Bilukidi.
Bilukidi was a two-year starter and the Panthers’ top defensive lineman in his first two seasons at Georgia State. He had 10 career sacks – a GSU record – and 16 tackles for loss during his collegiate career. Bilukidi played one year at Eastern Arizona Junior College before joining Georgia State. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
In the fourth round, the Blue Bombers selected linebacker Rene Stephan (23rd overall) and defensive lineman Jake Thomas (29th overall).
Stephan attended Harding University after transferring from De Anza Junior College in 2009. He recorded 145 total tackles between the two schools as well as 4.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss. Stephan was named a First Team All Conference linebacker while at De Anza College.
Thomas played in all eight games last season and finished second in the AUS conference with nine sacks and was named a second-team All Canadian for his efforts. The two-time AUS All-Star played for Team Canada at the 2011 IFAF World Championship in Austria and won a silver medal.
With files from the Canadian Press