LION SNEAK ATTACK LANDS B.C. TOP PICK
Club takes linebacker in CFL draft
TORONTO — The B.C. Lions ensured Jordan Williams began his CFL tenure with a bang.
The Lions opened the CFL draft Thursday night by moving up from No. 3 to first overall in a trade with the Calgary Stampeders. Then B.C. made Williams the first player taken.
“I’m absolutely surprised,” the linebacker said during a conference call. “I thought the CFL is one through nine and that’s what you get. I didn’t think they’d pick me, I thought they’d get a defensive end or something. For them to take me, man, it’s surreal. I can’t even quantify how it feels.”
The five-foot-11, 219-pound Williams hasn’t played football since 2017 when he finished second in tackles at East Carolina with 89 — three for a loss — with a forced fumble. The 27-year-old is an American by birth but was deemed a national for the draft because his mother is Canadian.
“I think once I know the rust’s off, I’ll be locked and loaded and ready to go,” he said.
Last year, the Ottawa Redblacks offered Williams a practice-roster spot after he attended one of the club’s free-agent camps. But upon learning of his mother’s nationality, the club recommended Williams investigate taking that path into the league.
Williams shined at last month’s Ontario combine, the CFL’s final tryout due to coronavirus. He recorded a 40-yard dash time of 4.48 seconds, 20 reps in the 225-pound bench press, 39-inch vertical jump and broad jump of 10 feet, 8.5 inches.
B.C. (5-13) finished last in the West Division last season. The Lions fired head coach DeVone Claybrooks and replaced him with Rick Campbell after he stepped down from that post with the Ottawa Redblacks.
The Toronto Argonauts then took Virginia receiver Dejon Brissett, the older brother of Toronto Raptors guard/forward Oshae Brissett, second overall. And the elder Brissett, a native of Mississauga, Ont., gets to begin his pro career very close to home.
“It’s surreal being home for the first time in a long time. I can’t explain how excited I am,” he said.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound Brissett played 12 games last season with Virginia after transferring from Richmond, recording two receptions for 18 yards. Brissett appeared in 33 games at Richmond, recording 86 catches for 1,282 yards and nine TDs.
Brissett is looking forward to joining a Toronto team coming off consecutive 4-14 campaigns after winning the 2017 Grey Cup.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “We’re going to make it happen, for sure.”
At No. 3, Calgary took Southeastern Louisiana defensive end Isaac AdeyemiBerglund of Dartmouth, N.S. And while the six-foot-two, 243-pound Adeyemi-Berglund now knows where he’ll begin his pro career, he still doesn’t know exactly when it will begin due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s always crazy when you talk about this COVID-19 thing, but it’s the same for every athlete,” he said. “But it’s crazy because we just got drafted, it’s probably the biggest night of our lives according to football so it’s definitely strange.”
Adeyemi-Berglund registered 28 tackles for a loss and 15 sacks in college.
The Edmonton Eskimos selected Buffalo offensive lineman Tomas Jack-Kurdyla at No. 4. The six-foot-four, 300-pound Montreal native was a four-year starter for a Bulls team that last year set schools records for most rushing yards (3,256, 296 per game) and fewest sacks (eight).
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats used the first of their two opening-round selections on Guelph offensive lineman Coulter Woodmansey at No. 5. The six-foot-five, 325-pound Toronto native plays with an edge, a solid attribute for a franchise coming off a club-record 15 regular-season wins last year.
The Ottawa Redblacks (3-15) followed by taking versatile Adam Auclair of Laval. The sixfoot-two, 205-pound Auclair, whose brother, Antony, is a tight end with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, can play linebacker or in the secondary and contribute on special teams.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders didn’t look far with the seventh overall pick, taking Saskatchewan Huskies offensive lineman Mattland Riley. The six-foot-three, 285-pound native of Melfort, Sask., was a 2018 secondteam All-Canadian.
Hamilton followed up by selecting North Dakota defensive end Mason Bennett. The sixfoot-four, 235-pound Winnipeg native appeared in 43 career collegiate games, recording 128 tackles — 31.5 for a loss — with 20 sacks and two fumble recoveries.
Toronto completed the first round with its second selection, Regina offensive lineman Theren Churchill at No. 9. The six-foot-six, 295pound native of Stettler, Alta., made 25 career starts at right tackle for the Rams.
In the second round, B.C. made Nathan Rourke of Oakville, Ont., the first quarterback taken at No. 15. That’s the highest for a Canadian at that position since 2001 when Montreal selected Jesse Palmer out of Florida.
The six-foot-two, 209-pound Rourke completed 200-of-328 passes for 2,820 yards with 20 TDs and five interceptions last season at Ohio University while rushing for 867 yards (5.6yard average) with 13 touchdowns.
It will be a homecoming of sorts for Rourke, who has family in Vancouver and Powell River, B.C.