Dinos staking claim as a pro football factory

CFL.ca Staff

TORONTO — No school has dominated the CFL Draft over the past 15 years like the Calgary Dinos.

The University of Calgary continued its emergence as a U SPORTS powerhouse this week, producing eight of the 69 players selected in the 2018 draft, passing Laval outright for the most prospects chosen since 2003.

The Dinos also matched Laval with one historic feat early in the draft, making up five of the draft’s first 17 picks. Only the Rouge et Or accomplished the same in 2005.

Not surprisingly, the Calgary Stampeders selected two of the eight prospects chosen from the local university — yet the team taking most advantage of the Calgary pipeline may come as a surprise.

Central Michigan’s Mark Chapman was the first player picked Thursday in Toronto (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)

A year after taking defensive end Connor McGough and offensive lineman Braden Schram fourth and 13th overall respectively, the Ticats circled back and took two more Calgary players in the first two rounds.

Offensive lineman Darius Ciraco was the draft’s sixth overall pick, joining Schram to form a pair of Dinos on the Hamilton O-line. And with the Ticats’ fourth pick in the draft, the 15th overall, they selected defensive tackle Brett Wade.

Ciraco could provide a long-term replacement for Ryan Bomben, who was traded to Montreal to allow the Ticats to move up to first overall and select Central Michigan receiver Mark Chapman.

“We made the trade with Montreal and that was our goal, to get the top offensive lineman,” said Ticats head coach June Jones. “He’s a guard and a centre and any time you can get a guy that can play both positions it’s ideal.

“He graded out real high,” Jones added. He’s got a chance to compete right away and I have a lot of confidence in all of our offensive linemen — we’re going to be very competitive there.”

Two picks after Ciraco, offensive lineman Ryan Sceviour was picked by the Calgary Stampeders. Other Calgary players picked in the top-17 were Rashaun Simonise and Micah Teitz, in addition to the aforementioned Wade.

The Ticats added another Calgary product in the eighth round with offensive lineman Joel Van Pelt.

Brett Wade was the second Calgary player picked in the top two rounds by the Ticats (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)

Thursday’s draft brought plenty of interesting trends and points of analysis. A year after only two offensive linemen were picked in the first round, the 2018 CFL Draft saw an historic run of O-linemen taken early, with a record-breaking seven first-round picks. There were 18 linemen taken in the entire draft, matching 2005 for the highest total in the last 16 years.

In total, 32 of the original 72 picks (including three used as supplemental selections) were moved, a mark of 44 per cent and proof that draft picks are becoming a significant commodity in the CFL.

Of the 69 actual selections, 56 came from Canadian schools compared to 13 from NCAA institutions. The 13 from the NCAA mark the lowest total since 2014 when only one NCAA prospect was taken in the draft.

Finally, an astounding 31 players taken in Thursday’s draft are from Ontario, with 13 from Quebec, eight from Alberta and only two from Saskatchewan.

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