Canadians Down South: Collegiate Bowls
With the East-West Shrine Game and NFLPA Collegiate Bowl slated for this weekend, let’s examine the Canadian players who will be showcasing their talent for scouts south of the border.
The Shrine Game, which will feature Canadians Mathieu Betts and Joel Van Pelt, will kick off at 3 p.m. ET in St. Petersburg, Fl. at Tropicana Field.
Mathieu Betts, DL | Laval
The dominant Laval defensive lineman has been doing his thing throughout the week in Florida, and people are taking notice.
All Mathieu Betts does is PUT OL IN THE CYCLE pic.twitter.com/LhMpo1WMsn
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) January 15, 2019
The three-time Metras Trophy winner as Canadian university football’s best lineman, Betts is drawing serious interest and could very well follow two other recent Metras winners — Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (2013) and David Onyemata (2015) — south.
Joel Van Pelt, DL | Calgary
An 8th-round draft pick of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last year, Van Pelt once caught a touchdown pass in the 2016 Mitchell Bowl.
The Collegiate Bowl, set to kick off at 5 p.m. ET at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Ca., will feature Canadians Maurice Simba and Alex Fontana — with fellow Canadian Alexandre Savard likely to miss out due to injury.
Maurice Simba, OL | Concordia
At 6-foot-8, 320 lbs., Simba could catch the eye of scouts with his size alone; after beginning the week in California with second-team reps, he was on the first team at practice yesterday (Wednesday).
Alex Fontana, OL | Kansas
The 6-foot-2, 300-lb. Fontana started at centre for the Jayhawks this past season, and shot up from No. 9 to No. 5 in the Scouting Bureau’s December prospect rankings.
Alexandre Savard, TE | Laval
The 6-foot-5, 240-lb. Savard was injured during practice and will reportedly miss Saturday’s game.
Simba and Savard were the first two Canadians to ever participate in the week-long event.
Three of the four players — including the top-ranked Betts — were included on the Scouting Bureau’s December rankings.
