CFL.ca Staff
TORONTO — The Saskatchewan Roughriders have made Queen’s University defensive end Shomari Williams the first overall pick in the 2010 CFL Canadian Draft. It was the first time the Riders had held the first overall selection since 2001 when they drafted Long-time Rider offensive lineman Scott Schultz.
Williams is a lightning quick 6’2” 236 pound defender who led the Queen’s Golden Gaels to a Vanier Cup in 2009. He was the top rated prospect by the CFL Amateur Scouting Bureau heading into the Draft.
Draft analysts suggested he will likely be shifted to linebacker in the CFL and could contribute to the Riders’ pass rush coming off the edge in defensive co-ordinator Gary Etcheverry’s schemes.
That could help address an important need for the Riders in the wake of the departures of defensive ends and sack specialists John Chick and Stevie Baggs.
The Riders obtained the first overall pack in a trade with the Toronto Argonauts announced this morning.
The deal saw Saskatchewan trade the second and fourth picks and non-impot punter Jamie Boreham to Toronto in exchange for the first and eighth pick.
Williams transferred to Queen’s University in 2009 and was a key member of the Vanier Cup winning Golden Gaels. The 25-year old registered 32 tackles and four sacks, along with 8.5 tackles for losses in six regular-season games. He became a force in the playoffs, recording 26 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for losses in four post-season contests.
Williams dressed in 27 games for the University of Houston where he spent three seasons. He finished his time at Houston with 22 defensive tackles, two tackles for a loss and a quarterback sack.
With their second round selection (8th overall), the Riders selected University of Regina Rams receiver Jordan Sisco. The Regina product has played in 30 career regular season games and recorded 141 receptions for 2,051 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was named a Canada West all-star in each of the past two seasons and was the Rams top receiver in both of those years.
With the 33rd overall pick in the fifth round (via Winnipeg) the Riders selected Patrick Neufeld. The Regina product has spent the past three seasons at the University of Saskatchewan. He dressed in eight games over the past two seasons and helped guide the Huskies offence to the best in the Canada West leading in scoring offence (27.1 points per game), pass offence (2,209 yards), rush offence (10 touchdowns on 1,355 yards), total offence (21 touchdowns on 3,564 yards) and pass efficiency (.644) in 2009. The offensive tackle was named a Canada West all-star in 2009.
Also in the fifth round – 38th overall the Green and White selected defensive lineman Bruno Lapointe from the University of Buffalo. Lapointe has played in 27 games over the past four years in Buffalo. He dressed in1 2 games last year and recorded 30 defensive tackles, six tackles for a loss and one quarterback sack.
For complete results of the 2010 CFL Canadian Draft click here.
