Pair of Sask. players impress
The Saskatchewan Roughriders go beyond the information that is available from the CFL’s national combine when it comes to evaluating the prospects for the 2017 draft.
The results from the combine, which concluded Saturday at the Credit Union EventPlex, will contribute to the Riders’ decisions on which prospects to select on May 7. However, the Riders will dig deeper for information on the draft-eligible players.
“The CFL does a good job of getting the information to us and they put it on sheets and we’re able to disperse it to our coaches,’’ said Chris Jones, the Riders’ head coach and general manager. “We’ve had our coaches call all of the position coaches, the strength coaches and the head coaches of all the players that we have (targeted) as we try and gather all of the information that we can on work habits, how many games they missed because of injury, and things of that nature.’’
The Riders have seven picks in the 2017 draft, including the second overall. The results from the national combine may alter how the prospects are ranked by the team.
“We’ve already got who we feel like are the top five guys at every position or top 10 guys at every position,’’ Jones said.
“Some guys will move up and down based on what you see in the one-on-ones.”
The national combine concluded with one-on-one matchups between offensive and defensive linemen, running backs and linebackers, and receivers and defensive backs. The University of Regina Rams’ Mitch Picton and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies’ Mitch Hillis were among the pass-catchers who stood out Saturday.
Hillis may have the caught the attention of the scouts with a twisting reception during one-on-one drills.
“It was a tough catch and people seemed like it so I will take it,’’ Hillis said. “One catch or one nice route might set you apart from the others. That catch may have helped me a little bit.’’
Picton, who was rated 20th by the CFL’s Scouting Bureau before the national combine, was pleased with his showing. “I did what I wanted to do and what I expected to do,’’ Picton said.
Picton and Hillis both have another year of Canada West eligibility remaining. Zver, a Rams offensive lineman, has exhausted his Canada West eligibility.
“This is one of the biggest job interviews that I will ever have,’’ Zver said. “This opens the door up for a lot of different opportunities in life and a lot of different people that you meet.’’