Elks take LB Mauga-Clements 1st overall in global draft
TORONTO
The Edmonton Elks selected linebacker Eteva MaugaClements first overall in the CFL’s global draft Tuesday.
The six-foot-four, 218pound Mauga-Clements, from American Samoa, last played football at the University of Nebraska in 2022. He participated in the CFL’s national combine last month, posting a 4.73-second 40-yard dash time, a 35-inch vertical leap and 13 reps in the 225-pound bench press.
A total of 18 players (two per team) were taken over two rounds.
Predictably, five of the first nine selections were specialists (punters or kickers). They included Australian punters Matt Hayball of Vanderbilt (No. 2, Ottawa), Nik Constantinou of Texas A&M (No. 5, Hamilton), Eastern Kentucky’s Jeremy Edwards (No. 7, Toronto) and James Madison’s Sam Clark (No. 9, Montreal).
Hayball signed as an undrafted free agent with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints on Monday.
The B.C. Lions took kicker/ punter Carl Meyer of the Jacksonville Sharks, an Arena football team, at No. 6. Meyer is South African and a former rugby player.
The Lions made an interesting selection in the second round, taking Australian punter Tory Taylor at No. 15 overall. The former Iowa Hawkeye, a two-time All-American, was taken in the fourth round of last weekend’s NFL draft by the Chicago Bears after posting a 46.3-yard career average and 127 punts inside the opposition’s 20-yard line.
Specialists dominated the selection as seven punters/kickers were among the 18 players selected. Defensive linemen (four), linebackers (three), receivers (two), offensive line and defensive back (one each) rounded out the picks.
This was the fourth CFL draft that pooled global players together. Previously, separate selections were made for
Mexican, European and Japanese players.
Last year, the Ottawa Redblacks selected Blessman Ta’ala, a defensive lineman from Hawaii, first overall. The six-foot-two, 305-pound Ta’ala appeared in 12 regular-season games, recording six tackles, one special-teams tackle, two sacks and a forced fumble.
Kicker Dean Faithfull of Great Britain and Australian punter Adam Korsak were taken second and third by Edmonton and Saskatchewan, respectively. Both made significant contributions to their teams last season.
A long-standing global player has been German defensive lineman Thiadric Hansen, who signed this off-season with the Toronto Argonauts. Hansen, 31, was the second player taken in the 2019 European draft by Winnipeg and appeared in 46 regular-season contests with the Blue Bombers.
The six-foot-two, 254pound Hansen played in three of Winnipeg’s four Grey Cup appearances (missing 2022 due to injury), winning twice (2019, ‘21).