It has never been harder to scout talent for the CFL, but the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are digging especially deep this year.
According to a report from Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press, the club has signed local high schooler Mekhi Tyrell to a tryout agreement that will see him participate in training camp with the professional team.
While prospects who play football at the college or university level must enter the league through the draft, CFL teams routinely invite players without collegiate experience from their local region to training camp. These territorial exemptions are typically pulled from the rosters of nearby Canadian Junior Football League teams, like the Winnipeg Rifles. Notable current players such as Andrew Harris, Jevon Cottoy, and Logan Ferland have all entered the league via that avenue.
Those prospects are typically in their early to mid-twenties at the time of their tryouts. Tyrell is an anomaly, having turned 19 years old earlier this month. The youngest players in the CFL last year were twins Jalen and Tyson Philpot, who turned 22 last July.
The six-foot-one, 185-pound target hails from the Winnipeg suburb of Transcona but has played his last two seasons at Clarkson Football North in Ontario, a prep school that plays an American schedule. He is currently ranked as the 22nd-best Canadian prospect in the 2023 recruiting class according to CanadaFootballChat and the top-rated receiver.
Tyrell has received interest from a number of NCAA programs, including attending the Nick Saban Football Camp at the University of Alabama in June. However, he was unable to receive scholarship offers due to academic issues.
The young receiver has strong ties to the Bombers through local training program Recruit Ready, which counts star Canadian pass catcher Nic Demski among its coaches.
Tyrell will report to Blue Bombers’ rookie camp on May 8 and will not count against their roster limit until final cuts. He faces a steep climb to make the roster directly from high school but could become the youngest CFL player since 1977, when Hall of Fame punter Hank Ilesic dressed for Edmonton at 17 years old.
