A new regime prepares for their first CFL Canadian draft together in TigerTown.
In Hamilton the combination of old – vice president of football operations Bob O’Billovich and the rest of the football operations staff – combined with the new – head coach George Cortez and his coaching staff – have been busy preparing to select from the top Canadian talent available in the 2012 draft on May 3.
“George is a veteran guy, a savvy guy, he’s been around the league long enough. He’s been through a lot of CFL drafts in his career. This is nothing new for him,” O’Billovich said.
“It’s just doing it with a new group of people now. Once we get down to the drawing board and it’s time to start picking, I think we’ll do a good job.”
Despite this being their initial draft with one another, it appears both O’Billovich and Cortez are very much on the same page in terms of theories on picking players.
“You’re probably going to draft according to your needs initially and then if for some reason, when it’s your turn to pick, if there’s nobody there that has any immediate need impact for you, then, you generally will pick the next best player regardless of position,” O’Billovich explained.
“I think most people would start off with looking at what they need,” Cortez said. “If that need is not available at that time or the need doesn’t match a player that fits the draft slot most people are going to take the best player available.
“There is no such thing as too many good players.”
Also, the two men share a willingness to move up or down the draft board.
“One year, back in 2008, when I was in Calgary we ended up with the second and third pick [overall], and we ended up with them because of a deal that was made 15 minutes before the draft started,” Cortez said.
“Was that anticipated that morning? I can’t say that it was, but it worked out well for us.”
“Half the time, [a trade] doesn’t actually really happen until right before the draft,” O’Billovich said
Obie speaks with a wealth of experience on pulling off draft day deals, especially recently
In two of the last three drafts O’Billovich has dealt Hamilton’s first-round pick – the Ticats forfeited their first-round pick in 2010 after selecting offensive lineman Zac Carlson in the 2009 supplemental draft – with the mindset of moving down and acquiring extra selections.
Back on draft day in 2009, BC Lions general manager Wally Buono was infatuated with Jamall Lee, a running back prospect out of Bishop’s University.
Buono wanted to ensure himself of getting Lee, so a call was made to Hamilton where a deal was hashed. O’Billovich then traded his own number three overall pick to the Lions for their sixth overall pick and BC’s second-round pick, 13th overall.
Hamilton moved down three spots in the first-round where they selected Darcy Brown, and used the second-round pick to select a defensive back out of New Hampshire, Ryan Hinds.
Lee has since retired from the CFL. Meanwhile, Brown and Hinds have become solid non-import pieces on the Ticats roster. Score a win in that deal for O’Billovich.
Last year, Obie used a similar strategy on draft day.
Edmonton Eskimos general manager Eric Tillman was looking to infuse his team with some fresh Canadian talent and wanted Nathan Coehoorn, a receiver from the University of Calgary.
Problem was the Esks had already used their first-round pick, second overall, on Rice offensive lineman Scott Mitchell.
Tillman was itching to move back into the first-round and found a willing trade partner in Hamilton.
O’Billovich and his staff, not dead set on having one particular top-of-the-draft player in 2011, made a deal, sending their first-round pick, fifth overall, to Edmonton for two second-round picks, 10 and 13 overall.
Tillman and the Eskimos selected Coehoorn, the player they had targeted, and the Ticats grabbed offensive lineman Moe Petrus from Connecticut and defensive lineman Maurice Forbes out of Concordia.
It’s too early to say who got the better end of the Eskimos-Ticats draft transaction last year, but the trade was, again, constructed based on one team’s affinity for a specific player.
“Those are the kind of things that might happen once you get a good feel for the draft,” O’Billovich said of his wheeling and dealing in recent pick-fests.
The Tiger-Cats hold the third overall selection in the upcoming draft, to go with one second-round pick, two third-round picks, a fourth-round pick and finally a fifth-round selection.
In other words, lots of draft currency for the Black and Gold to play with.
Cortez admitted he would never say never regarding any possible trade scenarios. O’Billovich shares a similar mindset when contemplating possible draft deals, if not a more pro-active one.
“Everybody will be scouting around to see if there is anything that might be able to be done.”
