Schakel ready to get to work for a CFL team
TORONTO — On the weekend that CFL teams got their measurements and evaluations of the prospects for the 2022 Draft, Josiah Schakel was just itching to get onto the field.
“You can train all day long. You can jump the highest, be the fastest, but as soon as you strap on the pads you’re either a football player or you’re not,” Schakel told CFL.ca at the CFL Combine presented by New Era last month.
Schakel, the six-foot, 221-pound linebacker from the University of Alberta, is certainly a football player.
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The Sherwood Park, Alta. product proved that throughout the Golden Bears’ 2021 season. He led the Canada West conference with 51.5 tackles in six games, with his 8.6 tackles per game leading all U SPORTS players. Schakel’s four sacks were the second most in the conference and he added eight tackles for a loss, along with three forced fumbles.
Those efforts earned him the U SPORTS defensive player of the year, along with Canada West defensive player of the year honours.
At last month’s combine, Schakel ran the third-fastest 3 cone, at 6.97 seconds and the fifth-fastest shuttle, at 4.29 seconds. He added 18 reps on the bench press, a 4.77-second 40-yard dash and a 32-inch vertical leap.
“One of my attributes is that I have a high football IQ,” Schakel said.
“Whatever team drafts me is getting a tough guy, a guy that’s willing to work. A guy that wherever the coaches put him, he’s willing to do what’s best for the team and a guy that wants to win.”
