CFL.ca Staff
TORONTO — One of the most important off-season events for teams across the Canadian Football League is being held in Toronto in just a few weeks.
The 2012 CFL Evaluation Camp presented by Reebok will host 59 of Canada’s top football prospects eligible for the upcoming draft. The three-day event from March 2-4 is an opportunity for general managers, coaches and scouts to test, interview and evaluate prospects who they may select in the 2012 CFL Canadian Draft on Thursday, May 3.
Click here for a full list of invitees
This year’s camp features 11 of the top 15 Canadian prospects as identified by the CFL’s Central Scouting Bureau, including top ranked Ben Heenan, a 6’4”, 310 pound offensive lineman from the University of Saskatchewan, and Arnaud Gascon-Nadon (#13), a 6’3”, 250 pound defensive end from Université Laval.
Both recently participated in the East-West Shrine Bowl in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Canadian university football continues to be well represented at the event, as 54 of the 59 E-Camp invitees are from CIS programs.
Also participating at this year’s scouting combine are three quarterbacks, Billy Greene (UBC), Kyle Graves (Acadia) and Kyle Quinlan (McMaster).
Quinlan capped off a tremendous year by being named the game MVP at each stage of McMaster’s post-season run, including the Yates Cup, Uteck Bowl, and Vanier Cup victories.
The 6’3”, 215 pound pivot had one of the best games in the 47-year history of the CIS football final completing 36 of 55 passes for 482 yards and two touchdowns, and adding 106 yards on the ground on 14 carries.
Last year, both quarterbacks attending received playing time in the CFL in 2011. Brad Sinopoli was a 4th round selection (29th overall) of the Calgary Stampeders and landed a roster spot as the club’s third string quarterback.
Marc Mueller went undrafted, but signed a contract with the Edmonton Eskimos. He saw action during the team’s first pre-season game before returning to the Regina Rams to play is last year of eligibility in the CIS.
In 2010, Vanier Cup Champion quarterback Danny Brannagan from Queen’s was signed by the Toronto Argonauts as a free agent and spent that season with the club.
For the 2012 Evaluation Camp presented by Reebok, the CFL is pleased to work with Sport Testing Inc., the world’s leading athlete evaluation company with a mandate of improving sport internationally.
Sport Testing Inc. provides a full combine solution, real time scores, report cards, athlete comparison, and long term athlete tracking. They can be found at www.sporttesting.ca.
The full selection order for the first round of 2012 CFL Canadian Draft is:
1. Saskatchewan Roughriders
2. Edmonton Eskimos via TOR
3. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
4. BC Lions via MTL
5. Calgary Stampeders
6. Edmonton Eskimos
7. Winnipeg Blue Bombers – Forfeit
8. BC Lions
