Marsh’s 3 Stars: Wrapping up the CFL Combine
EDMONTON — On Sunday afternoon, the longer, new formatted CFL Combine presented by New Era wrapped up from the Field House at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
Scouts, general managers and coaches had five days to evaluate prospects during the week in the form of testing, interviews and three days of practices, including one-on-ones and indy drills as they now set their sights towards the CFL Draft on May 2.
After the week was over, CFL.ca’s Marshall Ferguson was impressed by two defenders that separated themselves from the pack along with a receiver that was highly regarded as one of the top players in his position heading into the week of evaluation.
CFL COMBINE presented by New Era
» Marsh’s 3 Stars: Versatility on full display on day 2 of practice
» Marsh’s 3 Stars: DBs catch attention on testing day
» Marsh’s 3 Stars: Standouts from the first day of practice
1. Michael Brodrique | LB, Montreal
Michael Brodrique impressed during the week in front of scouts and general managers during the CFL Combine (Christian Bender/CFL.ca)
“He’s a big body that looks like a CFL player immediately,” Ferguson said. “He got a chance to show in the final session on Sunday how quick he is to the football in the run game. I think there’s some learning and some growth that will come playing against the CFL offences, but I have no doubt that he could be put on a roster right now and hold his own.
“Throughout the week, I think as the intensity heated up, it really matched his strengths and he was able to stay steady and consistent throughout the week.”
2. Clark Barnes | REC, Guelph
Clark Barnes was one of the top receivers at the CFL Combine this week according to Marshall Ferguson (Christian Bender/CFL.ca)
“Barnes came in hyped up after he was very productive as a kick returner. When he was healthy, he’s been really, really solid at receiver for Guelph,” said Ferguson. “To see him amongst the elite receivers at the CFL Combine, he still was able to show that he has the unique ability to just glide and get open and separate. He understands time and space pretty well.
“He’s got very plug and play CFL potential and I think that’s why he stood out for me throughout the entire week.”
3. Francis Bemiy | DL , Southern Utah
Francis Bemiy showed his skills in the one-on-one session of the CFL Combine as he now waits to be selected in the CFL Draft (Christian Bender/CFL.ca)
“Bemiy looks like he was made in a lab,” Ferguson said. “If you were building a defensive lineman, he would pretty much be the prototype of what you would want. He has long arms, he’s extremely strong and has a good base that he plays with. He is a natural pass rusher.
“I think that he just consistently, every time that he took a rep against any offensive tackle at this Combine, he showed that he could basically manipulate what they wanted to do to him and just stick to his game. He’s very, very consistent. He was really fun to watch this week, I actually just enjoyed getting to know his game a little bit better.”
