March 25, 2017

Saskatchewan players savoured the CFL combine experience

The test is over, gentlemen. Put down your pencils.

On Saturday, 50 CFL hopefuls completed the three days of physical testing and mental strain that made up the national combine at Evraz Place. From now until May 7 — the date of the CFL draft — there isn’t anything more the prospects can do to improve their stock.

How the players did while meeting with teams, how they performed during physical testing, and what they showed in drills and one-on-ones will determine how they’re remembered by player personnel types over the next six weeks.

University of Regina Rams slotback Mitchell Picton said he accomplished his goals during the combine: Test well, run crisp routes, catch the ball and show teams what kind of football player he is.

“It’s exciting, thinking about what all this could bring for us as young prospects in the league,” the 21-year-old Regina product said after Saturday’s final session at the Credit Union EventPlex.

“You have to conduct yourself as a professional at all times. You have to remember that it is a job interview and that you’ve got eyes on you at all times.”

Picton, a first-team U Sports All-Canadian in 2016, went into the combine as the 20th-ranked prospect in the CFL Scouting Bureau’s December rankings.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound accounting student met with representatives of six CFL teams, finished in the top five (among the eight receivers) in four of the six physical tests, and acquitted himself well in the one-on-ones.

“I came here and showed the scouts what I’m all about,” said Picton, who led Canada West in receptions (58), receiving yards (834) and touchdown catches (11) in 2016. “Now it’s up to them to watch film, review what happened here and decide what direction they want to go in in the draft.”

Picton’s U of R teammate, offensive lineman Jeremy Zver, reportedly has been heading up CFL teams’ draft boards.

Zver tested well at the combine — he was first among nine O-linemen in the 40-yard dash, second in each of the shuttle run, vertical jump and board jump, third in the three-cone drill, and tied for fifth in the bench press — but the 23-year-old Reginan admitted he was “a little rusty” in the one-on-ones.

The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Zver, who took reps at centre and guard despite playing tackle throughout his Rams career, knows he has a lot of improvements to make before he embarks on a CFL career.

But he has exhausted his five years of U Sports eligibility, so his showing at the combine could very well decide his football fate.

“I won’t be worried about the draft until two weeks (beforehand),” said Zver, who’s eight classes short of a geology degree. “I’ve still got to get through school and I’ve still got to do training, so I’ll probably be more focused on that.”

That said, the former U of R Cougars basketball player savoured the combine experience and all that it represents for him.

“It’s one of those moments where it’s like, ‘I’m actually here. I’m at the top of my level and this could be it. I could go on or I could stop here,’ ’’ said Zver, who met with seven CFL teams. “It’s surreal.”

University of Saskatchewan Huskies offensive lineman Evan Johnson finished first among his position group in four tests (shuttle run, three-cone drill, vertical jump and broad jump), was second in another (40-yard dash), and tied Zver for fifth in the bench press.

Johnson, a 22-year-old Regina product, interviewed with eight CFL teams during the week and held his own playing centre, guard and tackle in Saturday’s one-on-ones.

“You’re going against the best players in the country, so there’s a lot of pressure to perform,” said Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 297-pounder. “It’s a job interview and you need to be able to perform. Doing that against the best players in the country definitely has its moments.”

And now Johnson — like all of the prospects who attended the combine — will have to hope he did enough to earn a call on May 7.

“My studies are pretty heavy right now, so they might take priority for the next couple of weeks,” Johnson, a civil engineering major, said with a laugh. “But (the draft) absolutely will be in the back of my mind.”

Complete testing results from the combine can be found online here.