Justin Dunk
CFL.ca
We continue our game of stock up or stock down with TSN’s Duane Forde, shifting the focus to three offensive positions in particular: quarterback, running back and offensive line.
Looking forward to the 2012 Canadian draft and with an eye on the performances at E-Camp in the rearview mirror, some athletes climbed up in the ranks in advance of May 3, while others had their stock take a hit.
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| Vanier Cup winning QB Kyle Quinlan proved that the CIS championship wasn’t a fluke at the 2012 E-Camp. |
Kyle Quinlan
Quarterback
6’ 3” 205 pounds
McMaster
Forde: “I think he has the opportunity to be drafted. I don’t think that the E-Camp weekend was the necessarily the best showcase for the things that Kyle Quinlan does best.
“Kyle’s a guy that’s a gamer. He showed that in the [2011] Vanier Cup. It’s not so much about what you do in terms of testing, but when the intensity gets ratcheted up on game day, he just makes throws and make plays.
“As a quarterback you want to have a certain comfort with your receivers and with your system. You’re not going to get that, with all the throws you’re making at E-Camp – it’s kind of like sandlot football – a coach is telling two guys, ‘ok you run this and he’s going run that route, so you throw this’.
“You don’t have that connection with your receivers. I felt like there were times, for all the quarterbacks, where the timing was off a little bit, but it is certainly understandable in this setting.”
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Billy Greene
Quarterback
6’ 1” 220 pounds
UBC
Forde: “I know he’s a guy who certainly would like to play quarterback in the Canadian Football League. But, I do think teams see Billy more as possibly a slot [receiver], and I know there has been some mention of him at the fullback position as well.
“He was a guy who ran the football a lot and was willing to sacrifice and take some hits in doing that. Frankly, that’s a position where teams are looking for a guy.
“It’s hard to find guys to play fullback now because so few of them are being developed at the CIS level. You look for option and I think teams will consider Billy Greene as a guy like that.”
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Nathan Riva
Running back
5’ 11” 195 pounds
Western University
Forde: “His 40 time provides some affirmation because I think everybody knew that Nathan Riva was fast. That’s sort of been his calling card as a player. He ran one of the fastest 40 times at the East West Bowl last spring as well. He obviously showed up having trained, being physically prepared.
“The big thing for him is [his speed], it creates some flexibility. I think a lot of teams look at Nathan Riva as a good running back, but also as a guy who might be a great safety or a great slotback.
“The scouts look and go yeah, he’s got the speed to maybe move to one of those positions and be a real impact guy. Certainly there was some buzz about him at a different position.
“In terms of explosiveness and that shiftiness, who knows what Nathan’s upside is, I think there’s a whole lot to work with there. He has good pro speed already.
“I think Nathan has a bit of an attitude or approach to the game that would make him wide open to moving to other positions, he’s a bit of an adventurer, and I think he’d be up for anything for a chance to play the game.”
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| Sebastien Levesque’s stock took a dip after E-Camp, where the combine setting didn’t play to his strengths. |
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Sebastien Levesque
Running back
5’ 10” 205 pounds
Laval
Forde: “I would describe him as another one of those guys, where the combine setting doesn’t demonstrate what he does best. I think Levesque’s game film is probably the best advertisement of his skill set.
“He’s a very good running back between the tackles, a guy who does well in the open field, runs hard, takes some physical punishment and those are the things he doesn’t get to show here.
“He’s not a guy who has been asked to play block a ton or in the Laval system, be a receiver. And yet, those are the things the running backs do in one-on-ones at E-Camp. It’s not advantageous to him.
“But at the same time, this is a guy who’s played a lot of football. For those of us who have follow Canadian university football, he has been very much a part of our consciousness over the course of the last four years.
“You hope that people will evaluate a guy who has that much film, on his tape rather than just from one weekend in March.”
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Ben Heenan
Offensive line
6’ 4” 310 pounds
Saskatchewan
Forde: “For him I don’t think it’s a big deal. He’s a guy that has shown himself to be durable, so I don’t think people are going to panic too much about the injury.
“He’s a guy who has been a four-year starter at a school that has produced a number of very good Canadian Football League offensive linemen. I think his film largely speaks for itself. But also, teams like to see a guy live and in person.
“Ben showed up here physically well prepared and in shape and I think those things kind of maintained his status. I don’t think there was anything that hurt him.”
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Tyson Pencer
Offensive line
6’ 8” 330 pounds
Washington State
Forde: “He’s a very intriguing guy. Anytime you look at the biggest guy in the offensive line group and he also turns out to be one of the most athletic in the group it’s a good thing.
“I kind of did a double take when Tyson Pencer’s name remained atop the leaderboard for 40-yard dash through the entire offensive line group when you know that he is the biggest guy out there.
“A lot of teams look at him as a guy who’s going to be a project, a guy who might develop into a good CFL lineman. Pencer is certainly not a guy who’s ready to play right away, but a guy who could potentially grow into something special.
“You don’t have guys with his size growing on trees.”
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Carson Rockhill
Offensive line
6’ 6” 295 pounds
Calgary
Forde: “Carson Rockhill is definitely a guy who’s stock has climbed over the course of the season. He was one of the most athletic linemen at the East West Bowl last year.
“I will use the word ‘upside’. I don’t know if you have guys in this draft that can step in and start right away, potentially Heenan and Austin Pasztor, but beyond them you’re looking at guys who are going to develop over the course of a few years.
“So you’re looking for guys with upside, and Carson Rockhill is a guy who, I think, has a huge upside. You were looking for him to show those flashes of athletic ability and see that he is progressing, getting stronger and starting to fill out.
“I think Carson Rockhill is a guy who’s on the right track, and is very much on the radar.”
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| Kirby Fabien’s stock dropped after he failed to live up to his fifth overall ranking from the most recent prospect assessment. |
Kirby Fabien
Offensive line
6’ 6” 300 pounds
Calgary
Forde: “I think for a lot of the offensive linemen there was a big opportunity, after Ben Heenan it is a bit of a wide-open group. I think most people looked at Kirby Fabien as a potential number two guy in the offensive line group.
“He’s a guy who still has to physically mature and get a little bit stronger, but there’s so much upside in him. I think there was an opportunity there after Ben Heenan got hurt for a guy like Kirby Fabien to step up. I think that this was something of a missed opportunity unfortunately.
“That’s the nature of timing – I know he was injured coming into this thing. But overall, I would describe this as an unfortunate weekend because it probably didn’t do a whole lot to help him.”
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