Boston College Athletics
TORONTO — Most of Canada’s top football prospects took centre stage at the CFL Combine, but what about those who didn’t compete?
In the end, pro days will play an important role as teams look to evaluate top talent ahead of the May CFL Draft.
“Pro days provide a chance for players who didn’t get invites to combines to show what they can do in front of scouts,” said CFL.ca Insider Justin Dunk. “Hidden gems with pro physical and athletic traits can be uncovered.”
Second-ranked prospect David Onyemata made headlines heading into the Combine weekend event by announcing he’d be the first Manitoba Bison to hold his own pro day. He put up strong numbers and confirmed his status as an elite football prospect, and not just on the Canadian side of the border either.
Projected first overall pick Josiah St. John was at the Combine and did interview with teams but didn’t test. He held his pro day in the days leading up to Combine, then met face to face with many of the league’s scouts, coaches and general managers.
While the CFL Combine gave us a greater sense of the top prospects heading into the CFL Draft, we take a look at some of the players who weren’t there and how they performed at their pro day:
Josiah St. John, OL — Oklahoma
March 9, 2016 — Oklahoma University Pro Day
John Williamson/Oklahoma University
Josiah St. John is the third-ranked prospect in the CFL Scouting Bureau but so far has been pegged as the number one overall pick in both of Justin Dunk’s 2016 Mock Drafts. The 6-foot-6, 308-pound tackle may be the only offensive lineman in the CFL with potential to start on the outside for a CFL team.
PRO DAY RESULTS
| Height | 6-foot-6* |
| Weight | 308 pounds* |
| Vertical Jump | 27″ |
| Broad Jump | 8’10” |
| Bench Press | 17 reps |
| 40-Yard Dash | 5.39 seconds |
| 3-Cone | 8.11 seconds |
| 20-Yard Shuttle | 4.76 seconds |
*Measurements not from Pro Day
From CFL.ca’s Justin Dunk: “Linemen with the upside to play offensive tackle as a Canadian are rare. [St. John] leads the pack to go No. 1 overall for now.”
Juwan Brescacin, WR — Northern Illinois
March 11, 2016 — Northern Illinois Pro Day
Scott Walstrom/NIU Athletics
One of the less talked about prospects in the CFL Scouting Bureau, the 6-foot-4, 227-pound Juwan Brescacin likely solidified his ranking as the country’s 12th best prospect after jumping a solid 36.5 inches in the vertical.
Brescacin, who had 24 catches for 298 yards and a touchdown in his final season with the Huskies, also ran a 4.62 in the 40 while pushing nine reps on the bench.
PRO DAY RESULTS
| Height | 6-foot-4 |
| Weight | 227 pounds |
| Vertical Jump | 36.5″ |
| Broad Jump | 9’1″ |
| Bench Press | 9 reps |
| 40-Yard Dash | 4.62 seconds |
| 3-Cone | N/A |
| Pro Agility Shuttle | N/A |
From Brescacin via the Daily Chronicle: “Coming in here, I felt pretty fresh and explosive. The biggest thing was catching all my footballs, and I did that. I was told I looked pretty smooth in my routes. I’m happy.”
David Onyemata, DL — University of Manitoba
March 14, 2016 — University of Manitoba Pro Day
Johany Jutras/CFL
It took less than 24 hours for the combine spotlight to shift to Manitoba’s David Onyemata. The defensive tackle became the first ever Manitoba Bison to hold his own pro day, and on March 14 he dominated in front of 17 NFL teams and one CFL team.
Onyemata is the second-ranked player in the CFL Scouting Bureau and asserted his status as a top prospect, pressing 33 reps on the bench while running a 5.06 in the 40 — an impressive number for a 6-foot-3, 300-pound interior defensive lineman.
PRO DAY RESULTS
| Height | 6-foot-3 |
| Weight | 300 pounds |
| Vertical Jump | 33″ |
| Broad Jump | 9’11” |
| Bench Press | 33 reps |
| 40-Yard Dash | 5.06 seconds |
| 3-Cone | 7.25 seconds |
| Pro Agility Shuttle | 4.65 seconds |
From CFL.ca’s Justin Dunk: “After NFL evaluators were able to see Onyemata in person, his draft stock went up. It seems like there is a real possibility he could be a mid-round NFL pick and in turn that would cause him to slide down the CFL board.”
Trent Corney, DL — University of Virginia
March 15, 2016 — University of Virginia Pro Day
UVA DE Trent Corney just did 34 reps. Would have tied for No. 1 at the Combine. Doesn’t all fit in the video. pic.twitter.com/tguHwXOG0s — michael phillips (@michaelpRTD) March 15, 2016
The eighth-ranked prospect on the CFL Scouting Bureau, Trent Corney’s game is all about strength — something he put on full display at the University of Virginia Cavaliers’ Pro Day on March 15.
With 35 scouts in attendance, the powerful Corney put up 34 reps on the bench press, matching the top performance at February’s NFL Scouting Combine.
PRO DAY RESULTS
| Height | 6-foot-2 |
| Weight | 254 pounds |
| Vertical Jump | 38″ |
| Broad Jump | 10’6″ |
| Bench Press | 34 reps |
| 40-Yard Dash | 4.5 seconds* |
| 3-Cone | N/A |
| Pro Agility Shuttle | N/A |
*Denotes unofficial time
CFL scout via 3-Down Nation: “You put his tape in and it’s really good. He held his own against Notre Dame’s Ronnie Stanley, who could be a top-15 NFL pick as an offensive tackle.”
Mehdi Abdesmad, DL — Boston College
March 16, 2016 — Boston College Pro Day
Feb. 26-29, 2016 — NFL Combine
Boston College Athletics
Abdesmad, the fourth-ranked prospect in the CFL Scouting Bureau, participated at the NFL Combine in February, then at a Boston College Pro Day on March 16 in front of 16 NFL teams. A 6-foot-6, 284-pound defensive lineman, he was an All-ACC honourable mention after recording 49 tackles (15 for loss) and 5.5 sacks.
While Abdesmad did participate in both a pro day and the NFL Combine, Boston College would not make his pro day results available publicly.
NFL COMBINE RESULTS
| Height | 6-foot-6 |
| Weight | 284 pounds |
| Vertical Jump | 29.5″ |
| Broad Jump | 9′ |
| Bench Press | 25 reps |
| 40-Yard Dash | 5.10 seconds |
| 3-Cone | 7.55 seconds |
| 20-Yard Shuttle | 4.62 seconds |
From NFL.com: “Abdesmad is an intriguing prospect due to his size and impact tackle production. He’s big and strong enough, but his poor pad level and hand usage prevents him from reaching his full potential. While his knees have been an issue in the past, he looked unaffected this season and could become a rotational tackle/end for a 3-4 team.”
Arjen Colquhoun, DB — Michigan State
March 16, 2016 — Michigan State Pro Day
Michigan State Spartans
Once penned by Justin Dunk’s 2016 CFL Mock Draft to go second overall, a strong showing at the Michigan State Pro Day has since dropped Arjen Colquhoun off the first-round radar.
The thinking is that Colquhoun, a player that some scouts say could start from day one in the CFL, hasn’t slipped off anyone’s radar south of the border.
PRO DAY RESULTS
| Height | 6-foot-1 |
| Weight | 189 pounds |
| Vertical Jump | 37″ |
| Broad Jump | 10’1″ |
| Bench Press | N/A |
| 40-Yard Dash | 4.55 seconds |
| 3-Cone | N/A |
| Shuttle | 4.16 seconds |
CFL Scout via 3-Down Nation: “He could come in and be a starter at corner in our league.”
Tevaun Smith, WR — Iowa State
March 21, 2016 — Iowa State Pro Day
Iowa Athletics
The number one-ranked player in the CFL Scouting Bureau, Tevaun Smith wasn’t invited to the NFL Scouting Combine but turned heads at Iowa’s Pro Day, particularly with his 40-yard dash time of 4.38 seconds — a mark that would’ve landed third among receivers at the NFL Combine.
Smith hasn’t been viewed as a first-round prospect in the CFL so far, but the Toronto native could see his stock on the rise.
PRO DAY RESULTS
| Height | 6-foot |
| Weight | 205 pounds |
| Vertical Jump | 38″ |
| Broad Jump | 10’2″ |
| Bench Press | 13 |
| 40-Yard Dash | 4.38 seconds |
| 3-Cone | 6.72 |
| Shuttle | 4.26 seconds |
