Bailey McLean/CFL.ca
Kevin Mital arrived at the 2024 CFL Combine with doubters to silence and a point to prove.
The critics whispered about the 230 pounds he carried on his six-foot-one frame. They wondered out loud about his decision to leave Syracuse University and move back to Quebec.
They wanted proof of full recovery from a lingering ankle injury that tanked his receiving numbers in his final year for Laval.
“It was a stressful experience — doing all the interviews and stuff,” said Mital, who won the 2022 Hec Crighton Trophy as the most outstanding player in U SPORTS football. “But it was a great experience on my part.”
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So great, in fact, that Mital — projected by some to go in the second or even third round of the 2024 CFL Draft — established himself as a legitimate first-round prospect.
The Toronto Argonauts selected Mital in the first round (fifth overall). He went on to score his first CFL touchdown in the Grey Cup victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Talk about a gridiron fairytale come true.
“After a full season in the CFL, it feels like the combine happened a couple years ago,” Mital said on Thursday. “But I was at the combine and then won the Grey Cup all in the same year.
“Crazy. It’s a crazy thing.”
Mital, 25, exemplifies how a strong showing at the combine can propel a player to the professional ranks.
“I just proved that I could run,” he said. “I can catch. I can do everything like the other receivers can. And I can answer all the questions the coaches and general managers had for me.”
Mital ran a 4.58-second 40-yard dash. He registered 20 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press. And he turned heads when he hit the field.
Even veteran Winnipeg receiver Nic Demski took notice of Mital’s punishing playing style and ability to make guys miss in open space.
“It means a lot to hear him saying that,” Mital said. “He plays a style of football where he’s very versatile. That’s something I’m trying to do. He’s pretty much doing everything on that offence. So I look at a lot of game film from Nic.”
In terms of the combine, Mital credits Laval receivers coach Guillaume Rioux for preparing him to perform under pressure.
“I think all the guys from Laval had a great combine on the testing and drills,” he said. “For the football part, I had a lot of catches. I had fun.”
He would not, however, describe the interviews as fun.
“It was like a job interview,” he said. “They all asked me why I came back from Syracuse and about the case that I had.”
By case, Mital means his involvement in a 2021 bar fight. In September 2023, he pleaded guilty to one charge of assault in connection with the melee.
The judge granted Mital an unconditional discharge, which prevents him from having a criminal record.
In the interviews at the combine, Mital refused to shy away from what happened.
“It was pretty stressful, but I think it went well,” he said “I think I did a great job.”
Mital needed to do “a great job” to prove he was still the same player named the 2022 Vanier Cup MVP with eight catches for 142 yards.
In the entire 2023 regular season, Mital caught 22 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns for Laval. Those numbers are hardly what anyone would expect to see from a first-round draft pick.
But Mital is proof that a stellar combine performance can turn it all around.
His advice to the players at this year’s combine?
“Just have fun,” he said. “Go play football. If you get to the point where you’re at the CFL Combine, they already know your name. They already know you can do good stuff on the football field.
“So just go out there, don’t think too much and go have fun. Do what you’ve gotta do.”
