Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca
TORONTO — It was a standout first day of the CFL Combine presented by New Era, as top prospects from Canada and around the globe took part in the vertical jump and bench press at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.
Global defensive lineman Noke Tago from Oregon State led all prospects with 30 reps on the bench press while a pair of receivers, Riley Boersma and Gavin Cobb, tied for the best leap of the National players with a 40.50 inch jump.
But who were the standouts overall? CFL.ca’s Marshall Ferguson weighs in with his top three prospects on Day 1 of the CFL Combine.
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1. Daniel Adeboboye | RB, Bryant University
Of the National prospects, no one had a better bench result than Daniel Adeboboye. The five-foot-nine, 218-pound running back was a standout on the first day of testing and as Ferguson states, he should be on everyone’s radar heading into Sunday’s testing.
“With a national best performance of 28 reps on the bench, Daniel Adeboboye announced his presence as THE national running back to watch on Combine Sunday amongst a highly competitive group full of U SPORTS standouts,” said Ferguson.
2. Simeon Okonta-Wariso | DL, Lubeck Cougars (GFL)
According to Ferguson, there wasn’t a more impressive overall day on Saturday than the one that Simeon Okonta-Wariso had. The six-foot-one, 255-pound Global defensive lineman impressed on both the bench and with his vert in Toronto in front of scouts and general managers.
“While Noke Tago won the bench press and Robin Wilzeck posted the best vertical jump, I believe Okonta-Wariso had the best overall day with a 32.5” vertical at 255 pounds before throwing up 225-pounds 24 times,” said Ferguson. “He made a strong day one case to get drafted high as a special teams pick and play athlete.”
3. Enoch Penney-Laryea | LB, McMaster
Enoch Penney-Laryea stood out on Saturday, hitting 27 reps on the bench, the second-best of all of the National prospects. He also was third in the vertical jump with a 39.50 inch attempt. Ferguson expects the five-foot-10, 217-pounder to show off his skills even more so on Sunday at the University of Toronto when the prospects hit the field.
“For anyone who knows Enoch’s background or saw his Ontario Regional Combine testing numbers there is no shock that Penney-Laryea began his national combine with eye popping numbers,” said Ferguson. “The athleticism will never be questioned, but his real test will come in positional drills when asked to adapt to linebacker Sunday on CFL.ca.”