Men’s Football News

Dakoda Shepley, an offensive lineman from the UBC Thunderbirds is the top-ranked U SPORTS player on the third and final prospect list released by the CFL’s Scouting Bureau in advance of the league’s 2018 Canadian Draft.

CFL Release

Thirteen U SPORTS standouts cracked the rankings unveiled on Thursday, compared to 14 on Dec. 13 list.

Shepley was listed at No. 14 in the initial rankings published back in September before moving up to No. 11 in December. In his fourth campaign with the Thunderbirds last fall, the 6-foot-5, 290-pound lineman from Windsor, Ont., was named a Canada West all-star, after playing in all eight games as UBC qualified for its third straight CW Hardy Cup.

The only players ranked ahead of Shepley on the Scouting Bureau’s April list are NCAA products Ryan Hunter, an offensive lineman from Bowling Green State and Mark Chapman, a receiver from Central Michigan.

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Last May, McMaster receiver Danny Vandervoort was the first U SPORTS player selected in the CFL Canadian Draft when the British Columbia Lions called his name at No. 3. Vandervoort had been ranked fourth, seventh and fourth, respectively, on the three prospect lists released over the course of the season.

Fifty-six U SPORTS players were selected in the 2017 CFL Draft (out of 71 total picks), including six in the first round.

The CFL Scouting Bureau releases its rankings three times each year: in August, December and April. The Bureau is comprised of CFL scouts, player personnel directors and general managers from the league’s nine teams.

CFL SCOUTING BUREAU LIST (Apr. 12, 2018):

Rank

Name

Pos.

University

Hometown

Ht.

Wt.

Dec. 13

1

Ryan Hunter

OL

Bowling Green St.

North Bay, Ont.

6-4

325

3

2

Mark Chapman

WR

Central Michigan

Port Huron, Mich.

6-0

180

10

3

Dakoda Shepley

OL

UBC

Windsor, Ont.

6-5

295

11

4

Trey Rutherford

OL

Connecticut

Markham, Ont.

6-5

312

2

5

David Knevel

OL

Nebraska

Brampton, Ont.

6-9

315

1

6

Mark Korte

OL

Alberta

Spruce Grove, Alta.

6-4

285

12

7

Peter Godber

OL

Rice

Toronto, Ont.

6-3

300

4

8

Julien Laurent

DL

Georgia State

Toronto, Ont.

6-4

295

5

9

Rashaun Simonise*

WR

Calgary / Okan.

Vancouver, B.C.

6-5

200

7

10

Godfrey Onyeka

DB

Wilfrid Laurier

Brampton, Ont.

6-2

200

6

11

Jackson Bennett

DB

Ottawa

Cumberland, Ont.

6-0

214

13

12

Andrew Pickett

OL

Guelph

Kitchener, Ont.

6-4

300

13

13

Ryan Sceviour

OL

Calgary

Calgary, Alta.

6-4

305

18

14

Darius Ciraco

OL

Calgary

Burlington, Ont.

6-4

295

9

15

Regis Cibasu

WR

Montreal

Kinshasa, Congo

6-2

230

8

16

Bo Banner

DL

Central Washington

Bellingham, Wash.

6-2

241

NR

17

Daniel Petermann

WR

McMaster

Stoney Creek, Ont.

6-0

203

NR

18

David Mackie

RB

Western

Jackson’s Point, Ont.

6-3

246

NR

19

Micah Teitz

LB

Calgary

Calgary, Alta.

6-2

225

NR

20

Isaiah Guzylak-Messam

DB

Wilfrid Laurier

Hamilton, Ont.

6-3

205

NR