Asher Hastings estimated he threw at least 150 passes Saturday at the CFL combine.
But the 24-year-old Regina-born quarterback didn’t see himself as just an arm at the event. The McMaster University Marauders pivot hopes he was viewed as a CFL prospect, just like every other player at the combine.
“I was trying to do the best that I possibly could on every single rep,” Hastings said after the combine wrapped up at the Credit Union EventPlex. “I was trying to show (coaches, general managers and scouts) how much I love football and how much I want it.”
Hastings played his high school football with Regina’s Martin Monarchs before joining the Prairie Football Conference’s Regina Thunder.
He spent four seasons with the Thunder, helping the squad win the Canadian Junior Football League title in 2013. He also was named the top junior football player in the country that year.
Despite having one season of junior eligibility remaining, Hastings moved to Hamilton in 2014 to begin his career at McMaster. After serving as a backup in his first Ontario University Athletics season, the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder became the Marauders’ starter in 2015.
He had a remarkable season, completing 203 of 284 pass attempts for 2,586 yards and 31 touchdowns. The latter total set a single-season Canadian university football record.
His statistics fell in 2016 — he was 150-for-233 passing for 1,915 yards with 11 TD tosses — as he played his final season of post-secondary football. Despite the lower numbers, Hastings still earned an invitation to the CFL’s national combine.
But Canadian-born quarterbacks are rare in the CFL; there were only two — Brandon Bridge of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Andrew Buckley of the Calgary Stampeders — on CFL rosters last season.
Other homegrown pivots have had to change positions to play in the CFL, including receivers Kyle Graves of the Montreal Alouettes and Brad Sinopoli of the Ottawa Redblacks and safety Marc-Olivier Brouillette of the Roughriders.
So Hastings — like every other Canadian QB — has to know that making it to the CFL at his chosen position is a tough row to hoe.
“It’s a challenge,” he admitted with a smile, “but I’m also at a point in my life where I’m trying to open as many doors as possible.
“Whether it’s as a player or as a coach or just being involved in football, I want to do this for the rest of my life. Something like this (combine) is an incredible opportunity because I get to be around so many football people in the span of a three-day period.”
Hastings and Samuel Caron of the University of Montreal Carabins were the only two quarterbacks invited to the combine, although University of Regina Rams pivot Noah Picton also threw passes during the one-on-one drills.
Because of the dearth of Canadian quarterbacks in the CFL, Hastings and Caron likely must prove themselves more to scouts than do offensive linemen or defensive backs — positions manned regularly in the league by Canadians.
“I think we do, but that just motivates me more,” Hastings said. “That just challenges me more to show these coaches my football knowledge, my football IQ, how much I love football and how much I want to play at the next level.”
Hastings earned some football IQ points during training-camp stops with the Roughriders (2012), the Toronto Argonauts (2015) and the Redblacks (2016).
Learning the ropes from quarterbacks like Darian Durant and Ricky Ray no doubt helped Hastings, while the stints themselves added to his list of accomplishments.
Asked if he thought his resumé would have any impact on CFL scouts and GMs, Hastings replied: “I guess we’re going to find out.”
“I think I interviewed really, really well,” said Hastings, who met with representatives of three teams during CFL Week. “I’m at a little higher level because of my age, because of how much football I’ve played, and because of my interest and my passion — how much I love the game and how much I study it. I hope I was able to show that.”
Hastings is to graduate from McMaster in April and will leave school with two degrees (in psychology and sociology) and a certificate (in business). But he’s still hopeful that he’ll get a shot as a quarterback in the CFL — and he looks at Bridge and Buckley as inspiration.
“There’s definitely hope,” Hastings said. “I’m an optimist, so I’m praying for the best and waiting for the draft on May 7. But if it all comes to an end, that’s OK because I want to get involved with coaching right away and start giving back to the game.”
