Ottawa’s Ankou No. 3 in CFL’s draft ranking
Eli Ankou couldn’t find a television with the right cable package in Los Angeles, so he didn’t watch the Grey Cup game in late November.
Similarly, it was only from his brother that Ankou, a 6-foot-3, 325-pound defensive lineman from Ottawa, learned he was No. 3 in the CFL Scouting Bureau’s top-20 rankings for the 2017 college draft in December. He was No. 5 on that list in September.
“I wouldn’t call it surprised,” Ankou said of his reaction. “Just because I’m Canadian and the Canadian football community is really tight and everybody knows everything about everyone.”
Among the things people from outside that tight football community might not know:
Ankou recently completed course work for his sociology degree from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA);
In his fourth and final season with the Bruins football team, he recorded 20 unassisted tackles, 18 assisted tackles and a blocked kick in 10 games;
He has been invited to participate in the NFL Players’ Association Collegiate Bowl in Carson, California, on Jan. 21;
He likes snow, or at least he expressed a liking for it Tuesday, one day after returning home from California for the holiday season.
“It will probably wear off once I have been here for a little while,” he said.
It has been quite a while since Ankou last saw snow, partly because he has spent the past five years at UCLA — the first as a non-playing “redshirt” member of the football program — preceded by one year at Red Lion Christian Academy, a private school in Bear, Delaware.
His football experience began with three seasons with the Cumberland Panthers, two with the St. Peter Catholic High School Knights and one with the junior Ottawa Sooners.
“It has always been my dream, ever since I started playing the game, to be able to play as a professional,” Ankou said.
He has spoken with player agents, but hasn’t yet signed with one. While the week of practices and off-field meetings leading up to the NFLPA contest is intended to raise profiles of less-heralded prospects with NFL scouts, it’s fair to assume CFL clubs are already well aware of Ankou, even if he hasn’t yet received any details about the pre-draft regional and national combines in March.
He’ll likely remain in California to train after NFLPA game week, then see where football takes him.
To paraphrase his description, the Canadian and American versions of pro football both have positives and negatives and points of emphasis. One difference, though, is the latter features a significantly higher player wage scale.
“But, if I end up anywhere in Canada, it’s not like I’ll be trippin’,” Ankou said. “I think that playing (anywhere) will be really big, that will be really huge.”
Every member of the top 20 in the 2016 CFL Scouting Bureau rankings was drafted, although some weren’t chosen until later rounds because the selecting team figured it would have to wait at least a short while for the athlete to exhaust NFL options and the player might never sign with them at all. For example, the Ottawa Redblacks gambled a third-round choice on the CFL rights to defensive lineman Mehdi Abdesmad, but the Quebecer has spent this entire season on the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad.
The only other prospect with Ottawa-area connections in the most recent CFL draft rankings was Carleton Ravens wide receiver Nate Behar, listed 12th.
Ankou said he wanted to help inspire the next generation of talented athletes just as he had drawn inspiration from Ottawa-area products such as Christo Bilukidi, a defensive lineman who attended Georgia State University before playing 24 NFL games over four seasons with several clubs, and Scott Mitchell, a Rice University offensive lineman who was the second pick in the 2011 CFL draft, but played only a couple of seasons before a knee injury derailed his career.
“One of my many goals is a desire to be able to come back and help out the younger guys. I was one of those guys (once),” Ankou said.
“Once I’m done, I’ll be able to help my community a lot more. Maybe I’ll have a bigger platform as a professional athlete.”