Mount Allison University
TORONTO — The future is at stake for 41 of the country’s top amateur prospects on Friday, as the Ontario Regional Scouting Combine arrives in Toronto.
It’s the second of four combines this month — including regional combines in Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg — as prospective draft picks aim to prove their worth ahead of the 2018 CFL Draft.
The top performers on Friday will earn an invite to the CFL Scouting Combine presented by adidas, which takes place March 24-25 in Winnipeg.
RELATED
» Ferguson: Getting you primed for combine season
» Opportunity Awaits: Regional Combine helped Laurensse to next level
» Regional combine participants invited to National Combine
Guelph’s defensive back Orion Edwards is among can’t-miss prospects this time around, as the five-foot-nine. 180 pounder is a two-time team MVP and brings 23 total tackles and three pass breakups to the combine.
Scouts will also keep an eye on Windsor’s running back Marvin Gaynor, who exploded onto the scene in 2017 and posted the best statistics of his young career. He rushed 131 times (fourth in the OUA, eighth in U SPORTS) for 935 yards (second in the OUA and fifth in U SPORTS) and four touchdowns.
Last year, 15 players from regional combines were extended an invitation to the CFL Combine, 11 of those being selected in the 2017 CFL Draft. Two of those 11 drafted came from the Toronto Regional Combine including defensive lineman Mark Mackie and receiver Jordan Hoover.
Both Mackie and Hoover were selected by the Edmonton Eskimos in the eighth and fourth rounds, respectively.
RELATED
» 5 players to track at the Ontario Regional Combine
Testing starts at 8:00 a.m. ET with height and weight, hand and arm measurements, video shot, vertical and broad jumps and the bench press. At 10:00 a.m., prospects will take part in the highly-anticipated 40-yard dash as well as the short shuttle and 3-cone drill.
After positional drills and one-on-ones at 12:30 p.m., the final announcement of those invited to the national combine is expected at approximately 2:50 p.m.
2018 is the sixth year row that the CFL will host regional combines and the fourth year it will host a trio of them. The first regional combine took place in Montreal on March 7.
The Western Regional Combine on March 22 will set the table for the national combine, which begins on March 24 at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg.
At the CFL Scouting Combine presented by adidas, players will undergo medical examinations; performance, strength and speed tests; on-field football drills; and team interviews over a span of two days in front of coaches, scouts and general managers.
By the Numbers:
– Of the 41 players currently on the Ontario Regional Combine roster, 37 are draft eligible.
– While the field is fairly split, 10 receivers lead the way among most popular positions (Full breakdown: 10 WR, 9 DB, 6 LB, 5 OL, 5 DL, 4 RB, 2 K)
– 16 schools/programs will be represented, led by the nine from McMaster. The full breakdown is as follows: Guelph (5), Waterloo (4), Toronto (4), Hamilton Hurricanes (3), Queens (3), Windsor (3), Western (2), Bishops (1), Kent St. (1), Laurier (1), Michigan State (1), Mount Allison (1), Southwest State Minnesota (1), St. Mary’s (1), and York (1).
