Let’s jump right to it. Five observations from Saturday at the CFL Combine:
1) It is the first official CFL event with Adidas providing apparel for the league and the swag looks fresh. Players were decked out in three stripes gear for height and weight measurements, video body shot, bench press and vertical jump. Each prospect got a duffle bag stuffed full.
2) Some chatter was going around about what the Riders might do with the No. 1 overall pick, stay there and select a player or possibly trade the selection. Vice President, General Manager and Head Coach Chris Jones said, “There’s a lot of discussion still left before we’ll make that determination.”
3) Many scouts aren’t sure why receiver Josh Stanford even bothered to show up to the combine. He’s been a “train wreck” as one personnel man said since his arrival. A promising talent, Stanford’s gone from really intriguing to possibly off some teams’ draft boards because of his behavior so far.
4) A receiver moving in the opposite direction is Brian Jones. The Acadia product checked in at six-foot-four, 233 lbs. and he’s strong and explosive – 24 reps on the bench press and 34-inch vertical. If Jones can put down a 4.6-second range 40-yard time on Sunday he’ll continue to raise his stock.
5) For the first time ever the CFL took the Saturday schedule of testing events out of the Park Hyatt hotel in downtown Toronto and moved them to the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport – the University of Toronto’s new athletic centre – about a block away. The setup looked sharp and made for a very professional feel. There was lots of room for prospects to warm up and prepare and plenty of seating for scouts to observe.
