Yalowsky shocked by CFL selection
By Herb Zurkowsky,
Montreal Gazette
Richard Yalowsky, the Alouettes’ first-round selection in Wednesday’s Canadian Football League college draft, said he wants to play professionally. But the offensive tackle is recovering from major knee surgery and is staring at the prospect of a burgeoning engineering career.
Yalowsky was shocked to be taken seventh overall by Montreal.
“I was definitely surprised,” he told The Gazette. “Given the fact of my knee injury … where it is … I’m very surprised.”
Yalowsky has played little football the last two seasons for the Calgary Dinos. He missed the 2005 season with knee problems and also suffered torn ligaments in his left knee midway through last season, undergoing major surgery two weeks later.
That was six months ago. And Yalowsky, 22, with another year of college eligibility remaining, is at least four months away from playing again. In other words, even if he wanted to turn pro immediately, he would have missed more than half the season.
Also, Yalowsky is a year from graduating with an engineering degree. He has a 3.5 grade-point average and is in the midst of a 16-month internship with a semiconductor company. Getting him to agree to a CFL rookie salary might be difficult.
“First things first. I have to get the knee healed. As long as the knee heals, then I’d love to give football a try. But, of course, an engineer’s (salary) does pay well. Football’s definitely there in the future,” he said.
Jim Popp, the Als’ general manager and head coach, is on vacation and couldn’t be reached for comment.
There’s no doubt Yalowsky’s considered a prodigious talent. The 6-foot-5, 305-pounder beat out Dan Federkeil, a member of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, as the Dinos nominee for the 2004 Metras Award, given to the outstanding lineman in Canadian university football.
Dinos head coach Blake Nill, a former Alouette, said he received calls from six CFL teams about the mobile Yalowsky.
“If a team can convince him to give up his engineering career for a little while and play some football, they’d really have a diamond in the rough there,” Nill told the Calgary Herald.
Not only will Yalowsky not attend Montreal’s training camp, wide-receiver eric Deslauriers, last year’s first-round (seventh overall) pick, also will probably be absent after recently signing a free-agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That makes three times in the last four years the Als have had to wait on their opening-round selections.
CFL insiders have told The Gazette Popp didn’t distinguish himself during the draft process. The Als selected another offensive-tackle, Darryl Conrad, in the second round out of Manitoba. Brian Dobie, Conrad’s university coach, told sources he was surprised the player was selected that early, suggesting he has average potential. Conrad likely was considered attractive because of his size – 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds.
That’s not to suggest all of Popp’s picks have been panned.
Defensive-back Donovan Alexander, selected 23rd overall out of North Dakota, is a talented player who was rated in the top 15. But he has a year of eligibility remaining, and the Als will have to remain patient while waiting for him. And defensive-end James Judges, selected 31st overall by Montreal out of Buffalo, is quick, athletic and considered versatile. He can play outside, but could also move inside, to tackle, if he adds weight.
Note – In addition to the draft, each CFL team is allowed to sign two additional Canadian collegians for training camp. The Als selected Sean Brown, an offensive-lineman out of Alberta, along with Universite de Montreal receiver Yves Beriault, who’s considered extremely fast.
