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Monday Morning Quarterback: U SPORTS stars shine at CFL combine, led by McMaster’s Daniel Petermann

Andrew Bucholtz

Johany Jutras

Welcome to Monday Morning Quarterback, a weekly look at all the best U SPORTS stories from the week. This time around, we’re looking at the many impressive U SPORTS football connections at CFL Week.

U SPORTS stars shine at CFL combine:

Many U SPORTS football players go on to the CFL each year, with 56 of the 71 selections in last year’s draft (and six of the nine first-round picks) coming from U SPORTS schools. And it looks like there will again be a strong U SPORTS influence in this year’s draft, with 14 of the top 20 prospects in the winter Scouting Bureau rankings having U SPORTS ties.

A key step ahead of that draft is the CFL Combine, which took place in Winnipeg this weekend as part of the larger Mark’s CFL Week festivities, and players from U SPORTS schools turned in tons of impressive performances there, including the best showings in four out of the six measured events. Here’s a further look at each of those events and the U SPORTS players who stood out there.

40-yard dash - Marauders’ Petermann takes the lead:

The 40-yard dash is often a key metric used to evaluate prospects, and McMaster Marauders receiver Daniel Petermann turned in the best showing there, posting a time of 4.539 seconds. In fact, the top five performances all came from U SPORTS players, with Laurier Golden Hawks defensive back Isaiah Guzylak-Messam, Laval Rouge et Or receivers Marco Dubois (notable considering that he only earned his national combine slot through a strong regional combine showing, one of four players to do so at the East regional combine in Montreal) and Tyrone Pierre, and Laurier defensive back Godfrey Onyeka rounding out the top five with times of 4.604, 4.622, 4.637 and 4.664 seconds respectively. And U SPORTS players notched nine of the top 10 showings in the 40.

The 5’11’’, 205-pound Petermann posted four impressive seasons at McMaster, earning the OUA rookie of the year award in 2014 and recording a career-high 61 catches for 831 yards and nine touchdowns in 2015. He’s coming off a strong year in 2017, too, where he led the Marauders with 36 catches for 517 yards and two touchdowns. And he has quite the family genetics to help him out, as CFL.ca’s Chris O’Leary explored in a feature:

As for the source of his speed, Petermann, five-foot-11 and 205 pounds, admitted he’s been blessed with good genes. 

“My mom’s side is pretty athletic,” he said. 

His uncle is Peter Guarasci, who played professionally in Italy and joined Steve Nash on Canada’s Olympic basketball team in 2000. He’s currently the head coach of the UBC Okanagan Heat. His cousin, Rick Morocco, played professional hockey in Italy and played for Team Italy in the 1992 Olympics. He’s currently the executive director of the Canadian Junior Hockey League.

The genetics are a big help, he said, but added that it’s nice to have an athletic family to help him deal with the mental side of sports, which factor heavily into a combine setting.

“Both of my parents are tough, so they’ve been hard on me and kept me mentally in check, making sure I’m doing the right things.”

Oh, and Petermann has high standards for himself, saying afterwards he felt he could have ran even faster:

Vertical jump - Varsity Blues’ Kozachuk ties Petermann for top spot:  

The other event where Petermann particularly shone was the vertical jump, where he posted a mark of 39 inches. That’s a crucial stat, especially for a receiver, and it’s one that should help his draft stock. However, he wasn’t alone atop the leaderboard there, as Toronto Varsity Blues linebacker Paul Kozachuk tied him for first. And that’s perhaps particularly impressive considering that Kozachuk only landed a national combine invite late in the game thanks to a strong performance at the Toronto regional combine (he was one of six players to advance from there). Kozachuk (who also has a great story about getting players to slap him in the face before drills) said afterwards he did even better than he hoped:

“I was looking for 37, which is what I hit at the regional. I had a pretty good broad so I knew it was going to be a pretty good day with the vert.”

U SPORTS players also placed third and fifth in the vertical jump, with Dubois (36.5 inches) and Western Mustangs defensive back Jordan Beaulieu (35.5 inches) picking up those spots respectively.

Bench press - Thunderbirds’ Shepley posts the most reps:

The bench press is a vital metric for linemen in particular, and a couple of U SPORTS linemen led the way this time around. 6’4’’, 306-pound UBC Thunderbirds guard Dakoda Shepley posted 27 reps of 225 pounds, the highest number at the combine:

Shepley, who came in at 11th in those December prospect rankings (up from 14th in September) recently attended the Eastern Michigan Eagles’ pro day and put up 31 reps there, so he was expected to do well in this event. He told 3 Down Nation’s Justin Dunk afterwards his success on the bench is about practice and breath control:

“Repetition, pardon the pun. I’ve been going at it for about three months now, it’s just getting that technique down, your routine and setup and just doing it like you’ve done 1,000 times before. In training, I was averaging about 30 every week.”

“...Holding your breath is the most important. I got to 17 on my first breath, then I regrouped, take my breaths and bang out four or five, bang out three or four, then one at a time after that.”

Oh, and Shepley also has an unconventional source for inspiration for his offensive line play. He told Postmedia’s Tim Baines he likes to watch sumo wrestling to study leverage:

“It goes down to primal instincts. It’s mano e mano, one guy pushing the other guy. When you really think about the mechanics of the position, offensive line is really sumo wrestling — you can’t get pushed back, you have to push that guy back.”

“I watch a lot of sumo wrestling and learn about leverages. If you think about it, down to how low you get to the centre of gravity and the power in the legs, it’s very similar.”

The rest of the top five performers on the bench were also U SPORTS players. Guelph Gryphons offensive lineman Andrew Pickett was second with 25 reps, while Ottawa Gee-Gees defensive back Jackson Bennett, Western Mustangs linebacker Jean-Gabriel Poulin and Calgary Dinos offensive lineman Ryan Sceviour all tied for third with 22.

Shuttle run - Gee-Gees’ Bennett blows away the field:

Speaking of Bennett (ranked 13th on that December prospects list), he had a great showing in the shuttle run, posting an event-best time of 4.09 seconds. Beaulieu was second with a time of 4.13 seconds. And two other U SPORTS players tied for fifth, with Western running back David Mackie and Guelph defensive back Royce Metchie posting times of 4.28 seconds each.

3-cone drill - Bennett and Petermann shine again:

The best 3-cone drill time was posted by Central Michigan wide receiver Mark Chapman with a 7.00-second mark, but the rest of the leaderboard was filled by players with U SPORTS ties. Bennett was second with a 7.02, while Petermann posted a 7.03 to take third. Beaulieu tied for fourth with a 7.06, a mark also posted by Acadia Axemen DB Brandon Jennings and former Calgary Dinos WR Rashaun Simonise (most recently of the CJFL’s Okanagan Sun).

 

Broad jump - Rouge et Or’s Dubois leads the way:

Chapman also posted the best broad jump mark, 10 feet and 7.25 inches, but Dubois (10’7’’) and Simonise (10’5.75″) were close behind. Petermann also placed fifth with a mark of 10’4.25″, just behind Simon Fraser’s Justin Buren’s 10’4.50″.

One-on-ones - Rams’ Simon and Gryphons’ Metchie make big plays:

The one-on-one drills are also a critical part of the combine, but it’s more difficult to talk about outright leaders there thanks to the more subjective nature of those results. But it’s easy to spotlight some of the top showings, such as this catch from Regina Rams’ running back Atlee Simon:

 

Or this defensive play from Metchie:

Players like Shepley and Bennett also impressed in the one-on-ones:

In fact, Bennett, Shepley and Petermann were named CFL.ca analyst Marshall Ferguson’s biggest stars of the combine.

Passing showcase: Huskies take second-straight title

Something that’s often been cited as improving the calibre of quarterback play in the U.S. is the prevalence of passing-focused 7-on-7 spring leagues. CFL senior director of football operations Ryan Janzen brought in a modified version of that at last year’s combine in Regina, working with a few Canada West schools that each entered teams in the new “passing showcase.” That went so well that it was expanded across the country this year, as CFL.ca’s David Grossman wrote recently:

“It was a huge success (in Regina), so the next step was to make it available across the country,” Janzen said. “The coaches loved it, the players saw opportunities to learn and excel and, from our perspective, it was improvement on all fronts.”

The objective for the CFL, and open to the 27 universities that have teams, was to focus on first and second year football players – those who may have been red-shirted or didn’t see much game action because of others with more experience or graduation days not far off.

…Halifax, Toronto and Winnipeg hosted 7-on-7 tournaments in March and 14 universities tapped in on the initiative. It was one-handed touch football as quarterbacks, receivers and defensive backs staged 30-minute games with players only requiring a helmet and jersey. The CFL picked up the tab for indoor rental facilities, and universities paid for their own transportation.

“The concept was great and it brought young players together to showcase their skills – and learn from others,” said Kevin MacNeil, head coach at the University of Guelph. 

And that 7-on-7 game was again showcased by Canada West teams at the combine’s passing showcase, with the Saskatchewan Huskies taking home their second straight title:

But the hometown Manitoba Bisons might have posted an even better highlight:

 

Hall of Fame: X-Men’s Brûlé, Mustangs and Lions’ Cosentino and Huskies’ Flory among inductees

The Canadian Football Hall of Fame’s 2018 class was also unveiled at CFL Week, and there are several big U SPORTS connections. Perhaps chief amongst them is the selection of legendary St. Francis Xavier X-Men fullback and defensive back Paul Brûlé in the amateur player category. Brûlé played both ways for St. FX in the 1960s and became the first Canadian university player to pass 1,000 yards rushing in a season in 1966, plus set a single-season record with 20 touchdowns and then broke it by posting 25 touchdowns in another season. He once scored eight touchdowns in a game (seven rushing touchdowns and one on a punt return), and recorded 51 career touchdowns (49 rushing) by his 1967 graduation, which still stands as a Canadian university record.

Another key U SPORTS-connected inductee is Frank Cosentino, tabbed as a builder. Cosentino played for the Western Mustangs in the late 1950s, winning two Yates Cups as Ontario champions and a national title (before the creation of the Vanier Cup, even) in 1959, then went on to a 10-year CFL career, but he made an even bigger mark as a coach. Cosentino coached the Mustangs for five years, leading them to Vanier titles in 1971 and 1974, and then went on to turn the struggling York Lions around, coaching them to postseason appearances in 1984 and 1985. He has also authored 17 books on sports in Canada, including three on Canadian football.

The third inductee with a major U SPORTS connection is current Saskatchewan Huskies’ head coach Scott Flory, inducted as a player. Flory had a strong college career at guard for the Huskies, winning Vanier titles in 1996 and 1998, and then went on to 15 impressive CFL seasons with the Montreal Alouettes. Since his 2013 retirement, he served as the CFLPA president (2014-2016) and also started working as the Huskies’ offensive coordinator during that time. He was then tabbed as their new head coach ahead of the 2017 season following the retirement of Brian Towriss.

Social media posts of the week:

The Manitoba Bisons claimed the women’s hockey national title last week, the first in program history, and they received a pretty cool tribute at the Winnipeg Jets’ game Sunday:

 

Elsewhere in women’s hockey, the Markham Thunder claimed the Clarkson Cup as CWHL champions, and they have a strong U SPORTS alumni presence: