Long Island Athletics
Each year the CFL Draft takes on its own unique shape.
Positional group strengths and weaknesses are the basis from which everything else seems to grow out around, but one of my personal favourite tendencies is the homecoming for many NCAA athletes.
The dichotomy of U SPORTS and NCAA helmets really doesn’t happen all that often. Whatever your opinion is of the varying leagues and levels that players develop within, the CFL Combine and its new multi day format allow for everyone to get on the field at the same time, with the same coaching and battle to show why they can be an impactful CFL player.
The journeys to the CFL Combine for NCAA athletes are more diverse, and occasionally confusing thanks to the transfer portal, NIL money and general consensus, that a college career completed without maximizing opportunity in a variety of places is one somehow less valuable than those all completed in one location.
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This makes tracking down film, contacts and reference points for scouts that much more exhaustive in an already overwhelming pile of names and boxes to check before draft day.
Once these players are on the field in Regina their play will speak for itself, simplifying all of the complications. With that in mind, here are five NCAA prospects making their way to Saskatchewan next week that intrigue me, as I’m sure they do CFL decision makers.
QUINCY VAUGHN | TE | NORTH DAKOTA
Now that my transfer portal rant above is complete, let me highlight a player whose commitment and dedication to one program is as pure as a North Dakota glacial lake.
Vaughn is the younger brother of former Tiger-Cats defensive lineman Justin Vaughn and both have a CFL alumni in their father Mike, who played briefly for Hamilton in 1989 and stayed in Canada deciding not to head home for Colorado. That’s Quincy’s brief origin story but his positional change is the headline here.
A top flight Canadian quarterback through his time at Clarkson’s Football North, he worked as a backup for the Fighting Hawks over three seasons before making the jump to tight end in 2023. As a short yardage specialist and big body over the middle, his positional flexibility feels extremely CFL and should add value where his career production lacks.
ISAIAH BAGNAH | DL | BYU
(BYU Athletics)
A Lethbridge, Alberta native, Bagnah is known for versatility after making the jump from Boise State to the Cougars. His variety of talents from pass rush to coverage aren’t limited to the gridiron. As a child Isaiah grew up playing a plethora of different instruments from piano to trumpet and every string in between while speaking French.
Now the question becomes if the multitalented Bagnah can lay down a combine performance worth of he renaissance man background and jump into the top end of draft day.
LUDOVICK CHOQUETTE | RB | LONG ISLAND
(Long Island Athletics)
Listed at five-foot-10, 214 pounds Choquette has a powerful lower body base that typically won’t translate to some combine setting tests, but will undoubtedly show well once the pads are on.
Ludovick has a habit of making great opening arguments. In his 2021 season opener, the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec native scored three touchdowns in a victory against Eastern Washington and his 124-yard season opener at Albany last fall was a season high. Opportunity awaits in Regina to make another convincing case for employment.
DRE DOIRON | OL | KANSAS
(Kansas Athletics)
My lone offensive lineman highlighted here, Doiron Began at Catholic Central in London, Ontario before hopping the border to Buffalo. After a redshirt 2020 he started at right tackle for ten games in 2021 and began the first of his three years at Kansas the following season.
At six-foot-four, 205 pounds Doiron has all the length and experience necessary to shine in Regina. Doiro’s journey is the culmination of a high school and collegiate football career that began “because there were no open basketball spots”. Basketball’s loss is the CFL’s gain as he eyes the pro stage in a weeks time.
KING AMBERS | DB | WEST TEXAS A&M
(East Texas A&M Athletics)
A highly respected talent at his positional group, Ambers laid down an impressive pro day recently running 4.51 seconds in the 40-yard dash with a respectable eight reps on the bench press and plenty of spring in the vertical and broad jumps.
The Pickering, Ontario native spent all four years at West Texas A&M with three interceptions and 59 tackles. If he participates in all combine tests and drills in person, I believe we could see the Regina showcase’s biggest riser with an emphasis placed squarely on his ability to look comfortable in ‘team’ sessions.
