Christian Bender/CFL.ca
EDMONTON — Day 2 of practice sessions got underway on Saturday at the CFL Combine presented by New Era, with offensive and defensive players continuing to work on their respective installations.
That will culminate with some full 12-on-12 work later on Saturday and into the final practice session on Sunday at Commonwealth Stadium’s field house.
On Saturday morning, though, we decided to focus on one-on-ones with prospects. After two days of measurements and testing, they were finally on the field on Friday and got to go up against each other in front of teams.
Here’s what prospects had to say about their performances and who caught their attention in the first day of on-field work.
CFL COMBINE presented by New Era
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Mount Allison’s Lucas Cormier has enjoyed going against top receivers like Clark Barnes in the one-on-ones at Combine (Christian Bender/CFL.ca)
“Coming from the AUS and playing free safety, I got a lot of cover one where as a free safety I’m in the middle of the field. It’s definitely interesting to go against guys like Clark Barnes, definitely a pretty high skill level. It’s testing my strengths and my coverage, for sure. But it’s been fun.”
– Mount Allison DB Lucas Cormier on the challenges of one-on-ones.
“I had a couple of tough matchups against Harrison Bagayogo. He’s a good cover guy and I actually wanted him. So I got him and and then for the rest of the day, I was cleaning it out. Had a couple good routes and did a good job catching the ball.”
– Ottawa REC Daniel Oladejo on his first day of one-on-ones.
“The first rep I was a little nervous so I couldn’t do my best but the rest after that, after I got my feet under I feel like I did really good. I think I was maybe five-of-seven, I can’t really remember. I feel like I did a really good job.”
– Saskatchewan REC Daniel Perry on his first day of one-on-ones.
Game recognizing game
Saskatchewan’s Daniel Perry has caught the eye of scouts and opponents alike at the Combine (Christian Bender/CFL.ca)
“There’s talent across the board here. I think our defensive back group is very talented and again, Clark Barnes is a very talented receiver. Daniel Perry’s a really good receiver. The receivers, the class in general is full of talent.”
– Cormier’s selections as top players.
“You definitely want (Bagayogo) in call outs. That’s what you compete for. You want to go against the best guys. That shows the type of player you are and if you do your thing against a guy like that that’s highly regarded, it speaks to your skill set as well.”
– Oladejo on facing Siriman Bagayogo.
“Yesterday, Clark Barnes won a couple of reps over me and I’d love to go up against him today and hopefully win all the reps that I get. I’ll take Clark Barnes all day. I think he’s the guy to beat here.”
– Cormier on who he wants to face again on Saturday.
“Definitely the Guelph DB (Bagayogo). He’s got all the attributes to be a great defender. He’s a little fun to watch and tough to go up against. Also my guy from my school, Charlie Ringland, he’s just an absolute beast in all aspects, too.”
– Perry on his toughest opponents on Friday.
“On the d-line, I see Aidan John from SMU, he’s tough. He was with me at the Invitational and I played high school with him and it’s cool to see him now, because I haven’t seen him in so long. He’s playing in AUS and I’m in the OUA. He’s going, he looks good.”
– Queen’s OL Theo Grant on who impressed him in one-on-ones.
