Rice University
He has yet to set foot in his new football home, yet Peter Godber was long ago exposed to BC Lions orange. The Leos’ first selection on Thursday night, you see, recalls attending Grey Cup festivities in Toronto as a youngster, and meeting the man who would eventually call to inform him he would be heading to the west coast to begin his pro career.
“Growing up a huge Argonauts fan, I went down to the Grey Cup and Geroy Simon was there signing autographs,” recalls Godber.
“I still have the T-Shirt in my closet with his autograph on it. So it was kind of surreal for me to get a call from him saying that they were interested in me. They made it clear before the draft they really liked me, then they called me again two days ago and then today. They also said that if I was there (at number three), they were going to take me. I couldn’t be more excited to head out to Vancouver and help this team win football games.”
The hulking 6’3″ and 304-pound offensive lineman out of Rice University could very well make an impact on GM Ed Hervey’s makeover on the line of scrimmage in his rookie season. Once the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes did the expected, nabbing wide receiver Mark Chapman and offensive lineman Trey Rutherford respectively, Hervey and his brass were more than satisfied to transfer Godber’s magnet to the selection side of their draft board. The GM agrees with that notion of Godber being a name to watch right away.
“We have the right guard position that we feel is open for someone to take advantage of and feel that Peter gives us a physical presence, he gives us upside and along with the guys we have here, we feel there is going to be stiff competition at that position,” says the Lions’ football operations overlord.
MORE ON THE CFL DRAFT
» Round 1 Recap: O-linemen dominate
» Ticats tab Chapman with No. 1 pick
» Run of O-linemen sets new draft record
Godber raised a few eyebrows in late March when he elected to not take part in testing at the CFL National Scouting Combine, leaving Winnipeg after the player interviews with every team’s brass. Both the player and General Manager don’t see it as a major issue.
“I believe in myself,” explains the Toronto native.
“I definitely know what I bring to the table as an offensive lineman and that shows in my film as well as my numbers on pro day. You try not to worry about things that aren’t in my control and I knew that there would be teams watching in my pro day. That was my chance. I performed well in my pro day and I wasn’t worried about any negative reaction from the media at the combine. At the end of the day, teams are going to pick the best players. That was my mindset and I wasn’t worried about it.”
The pro day indeed speaks for itself. Godber put up 31 reps on the bench press (225 pounds) and ran a 5.58 40-yard dash. All of those testing results made his decision to skip the combine A-okay for Hervey and his brass.
“The reason why the player is there is based on the film that we witnessed,” says the General Manager.
“That’s what we go on. The player’s game film is the resume. There was no way I was going to allow a player wanting to go home because he felt tight and want to work out his pro day to prevent me from picking the best players for this football team. He was stiff, his muscles were tight and he went home. He didn’t commit a crime. When you watch his game film you realize why he was there and he’s the kind of player we want on this football team.”
By virtue of a Wednesday trade with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Hervey also had the seventh overall pick in round one. He used it on another player they highly-coveted and was projected to go even higher in some circles: the top ranked defensive lineman Julien Laurent.
“We felt we needed to add depth to our interior,” explains Hervey.
“Julien was just too good of a player to pass up and we were somewhat surprised that he was there. You never know if they’re going to be there, given the fact there weren’t too many players that look like him at his position. When he landed there we were excited about it and happy to have him.”
Along with anchoring one of the top defensive line units in the Sun Belt Conference, Laurent excelled in the classroom by earning Academic All-District honours with a 3.38 G.P.A. With some intriguing Canadian pieces already in the Lions’ rotation such as 2017 first-rounder Junior Luke, David Menard and Maxx Forde, that competition in Kamloops just got a whole lot better. The GM says that was the plan all along: to find players in the top end of the draft that could compete for starting spots right away.
“That was our approach in being aggressive and getting the two picks in the first round,” adds Hervey.
“The time was now to make the point and address the area up front. You build your teams there. The more depth you have, the greater you can be.”
Although the returns are very early, Hervey feels he hit all of the necessary goals in his first draft running the BC Lions.
“I believe we did a pretty good job of getting the players we targeted and aiming for those positions on our team that needed an upgrade. We also addressed wide receiver and defensive back which are areas we also felt we needed some depth. All in all, we feel like we had a good day, but it’s going to be up to the players to come in and show what they have,” says Hervey.
“We feel like these young players are going to come in and provide a bit of a spark.”
And the fact these players are equally as excited makes the draft results more rewarding. Godber has already been briefed on the west coast by former college teammate and 2015 Lions draft pick Christian Covington, who has stuck with the Houston Texans.
“I practiced against Christian every day and we would always tell me how awesome it is out there,” adds the third overall selection.
It’s a small football world indeed. If you weren’t excited for training camp yet, you surely should be after Thursday night’s activity.
Breaking Down The Remainder Of The Class
Round 2, 16th overall- David Mackie, FB Western
The Skinny: Mackie was a versatile member of the Mustangs, serving as a blocking back, long snapper and even caught a few balls out of the backfield as a receiver. Along with an appearance in the U SPORTS East-West Bowl, Mackie was named an OUA First-Team All-Star in 2017. Mackie has a few solid vets to learn from in his first camp, whether it’s Jeremiah Johnson and Brandon Rutley in the backfield or the long snapper extraordinaire Mike Benson on special teams.
Round 3, 21st overall- David Knevel, OL Nebraska
The Skinny: At 6’8′ and 325 pounds, he already looks the part. Geroy Simon attended Knevel’s pro day at Nebraska and came away quite impressed. Knevel became a Cornhuskers starter in his junior season of 2016 and would help quarterback Tanner Lee reach the 3,000-yard passing mark this past season, starting eight games for the best pass blocking unit in the Big Ten. Knevel will very much be a factor come training camp as the squad continues its goal of having the best Canadian depth up front.
Round 4- 34th overall- Isaiah Guzyluk-Messam, DB Laurier
The Skinny: Hervey began the night without a pick in the fourth round, then flipped his 38th and 46th overall selections to Montreal for this pick. The goal was to complete the deal once they knew Messam would still be on the board. Guzyluk-Messam recorded 82 tackles and ten pass breakups in his 24 games with the Golden Hawks. As is the case for many Canadians taken in the later rounds, his biggest rookie contribution will likely come on special teams.
Round 6- 47th overall- Rashari Henry, DL Laurier
The Skinny: Henry was a force on the Golden Hawks’ defensive line, racking up 32 tackles and 7.5 sacks in 30 games. You’ve listened to Hervey preach the importance of depth. Henry provides even more competition on what is shaping up to be quite the battle on that side of the ball.
Round 7- 54th overall- Will Watson, WR UBC
The Skinny: They went local with their last pick of the evening and it could prove to be an intriguing move. T-Birds head coach Blake Nill took to Twitter and pointed out Watson’s hands and route running were two major strengths of his game. Watson was thrilled to receive a call from Simon informing him he was indeed heading to his hometown team. You can never have too many quality Canadian receivers. The Surrey native provides an intriguing project.
