By Perry Lefko,
CFL.ca
For most of his university career, Chris Bauman has heard about the comparisons between himself and Jason Clermont.
Both are products of the University of Regina Rams, both are receivers who put up impressive numbers, both are imposing physical specimens and both wear jersey number 82.
Clermont has graduated to the Canadian Football League as a standout with the B.C. Lions and Bauman is looking forward to showcasing his skills at the professional level.
“They always talk about (Clermont), all of our receiver coaches,” Bauman said. “Everything they relate is to him, what he does. He’s come out and helped us a lot just in practices and everything, so, yeah, we hear about him every day.”
Bauman is eligible for this year’s CFL draft on May 2 and is projected by many observers to be selected early in the first round. Bauman led the Canadian Interuniversity Sport last year with 42 receptions, 10 of them touchdowns, for 923 yards, erasing school marks for receptions and receiving yards set by Clermont.
The one notable difference between the two receivers is that Bauman played on the outside and Clermont flourished inside.
Bauman attributed his success last year to the offence clicking, becoming more confident and working out with quarterback Teale Orban in the summer.
“I knew I had to put up a good year just to help the draft and everything,” he said. “Me and Teale just clicked, I guess, and everything was working.”
Bauman registered a time of 4.68 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the TransGlobe Evaluation Camp.
“It was slow for me,” he said. “I’ve run 4.48, but I think it was just nerves and just the surface we were on.”
He had an impressive leap of 37 inches in the vertical jump.
“I think it’s just natural leaping ability,” he said.
Bauman took pride in his production in the one-on-one drills, catching eight of nine passes.
“I think that’s where I got my name out there more,” he said.
In the drill to bench press 225 pounds, he had only two reps.
“It’s something I’ve never done too much. I haven’t put too much emphasis on it,” he said. “I wasn’t even going to do it, but I thought I might as well. I’m happy I did it. I’ve been working on it a lot now and it’s improved quite a bit. The (professional teams) want to see it – that’s what they’ve been saying – so I guess I’ll start doing it. It will help with getting off the jam at the next level.
“I’m trying to put on a bit of weight because I don’t know if I’ll be put at slot or wideout (at the professional level),” he added. “I’d have to do a lot more blocking (inside), especially on D-linemen, so benchpressing would help a lot there.”
He stands 6-foot-5 and weights about 220 pounds.
Bauman comes from an athletic family. His father, Dave, played football and basketball at the University of Brandon.
“He was only about six-foot, but he could dunk, so I think I got that (leaping ability) from him,” Bauman said. “For basketball he was a point guard and for football he was a receiver and a punter. To be honest, I didn’t really know he played football for the longest time. Once I started playing (football) in high school, he’d take me out (to practice), but he showed me a lot more in punting than in receiving.”
Bauman’s mother, Dianne, is a marathoner who has run in the Boston Marathon.
Bauman is looking to be selected by any team, but the native of Manitoba has a slight preference to play out west to be closer to his family. Bauman attended high school in Brandon, where he played nine-man football, and elected to go to the University of Regina because he thought he’d have a better opportunity to flourish playing in the Rams’ offence.
Perry Lefko is the CFL’s Director of Communications.
