The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
UConn lineman expected to be taken early in CFL draft
Former UConn lineman passed up NFL invite for chance to play in Canada
STORRS — With defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi being selected by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the NFL draft and seven other members of the 2017 UConn football team either signing as undrafted free agents or receiving invitations to rookie minicamps, it was an exciting time for former Huskies.
Now it is Trey Rutherford’s turn.
There’s a report that Rutherford passed on a chance to head to camp with an NFL team because he has an opportunity to be among the first players selected in Thursday’s Canadian Football League draft.
“It’s a long process. It’s definitely exciting,” said Rutherford, one of three offensive players to start all 12 games during the 2017 season.
Athletic enough to start three games at fullback as a sophomore at UConn and versatile enough to see time at tackle and both guard positions, Rutherford has a chance to be the No. 1 selection, just as his former Huskies teammate Alex Mateas was in 2015.
Rutherford is the No. 4 prospect including the third-rated offensive lineman in the Canadian Football League Scouting Bureau final list of top prospects. However, both of the linemen ahead of him signed as undrafted free agents with NFL teams, making it unlikely that a CFL team would use a first-round pick on them.
Representatives from Saskatchewan and Calgary, slated to pick fifth and eighth in the CFL draft, were in attendance at UConn’s pro day last month along with scouts from more than 20 NFL teams. With Rutherford passing on taking part in the CFL combine because of his academic commitments at UConn, it was a chance to get a first-hand look at the likely first-round pick.
“It’s going to be like a waiting game but I still have to finish up school so I’ll have something to keep my mind off of it,” Rutherford said after the UConn pro day. “I have to adjust to being a yard off the ball and stuff like that. It’s awesome for them to come down to see me, flights aren’t (cheap) so that feels special, and I appreciate that.”
Mateas was taken by the expansion Ottawa Redblacks with the top pick in the 2015 CFL draft. He has been a key member of Ottawa’s offensive line, helping the Redblacks to the Grey Cup title in 2016 and an appearance in the CFL title game in 2015.
While Rutherford grew up about a 30-minute drive outside Toronto and made it to some of the Toronto Argonauts games as a kid, having Mateas play for Ottawa gave Rutherford a reason to watch those games as well in the last few years.
“I definitely remember watching Alex when he had a chance to play. It was always surreal seeing a guy you played next to on the TV screen in a pro football league, so that was my most recent memory,” Rutherford said.
Montreal and Hamilton have the top two picks in the CFL draft.
Rutherford would join Alec Bloom (Arizona), Luke Carrezola (Kansas City), Vontae Diggs (Washington), Junior Joseph (Cincinnati), Tommy Myers (New Orleans), Cole Ormsby (Atlanta) and Jamar Summers (Pittsburgh) as members of the 2017 UConn squad to be drafted, signed or invited to camp by NFL teams. Former UConn quarterback Tim Boyle was signed as an undrafted free agent by Green Bay, while former UConn defensive end/tight end E.J. Norris and quarterback Richard Lagow are slated to be at rookie camp with Chicago and Kansas City, respectively.