CFL: Toronto’s Smith tops draft prospect list
The CFL’s scouting bureau recently released the second of three rankings of the top-20 eligible prospects for the 2016 CFL Canadian draft.
Here is a look at the top five:
1. TEVAUN SMITH
Wide receiver, University of Iowa
The Toronto native was second on his team in receiving, with 30 receptions for 546 yards, and scored three touchdowns despite missing three games with a knee injury. A big-game player, Smith scored the longest touchdown of Iowa’s season in the Big Ten championship earlier this month with an 85-yard bomb in a 16-13 loss to Michigan State.
2. DAVID ONYEMATA
Defensive lineman, University of Manitoba
The Manitoba Bisons first-team All-Canadian defensive lineman is the highest-ranked CIS and defensive player on the scouting bureau list. During his 2015 campaign, the sixfoot-four, 300-pound lineman won the J.P. Metras Trophy as the outstanding down lineman of the year in the CIS.
3. JOSIAH ST. JOHN
Offensive lineman, University of Oklahoma
A native of Toronto, the six-foot-eight, 308-pound Oklahoma Sooners offensive tackle has spent two seasons in Norman, Okla., playing in 15 games and starting in four (all in 2015). After a journey that took him from Toronto to Fresno to Texas and now to Norman, he will play in the college football playoffs against the Clemson Tigers on Dec. 31.
4. MEHDI ABDESMAD
Defensive lineman, Boston College
The Montreal native, six-foot-seven and 287 pounds, overcame knee injuries that kept him out of the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Abdesmad appeared in 39 games during his time at Boston College, finishing with 98 total tackles (58 solo), 21.5 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks.
5. ARJEN COLQUHOUN
Cornerback, Michigan State
A native of Windsor, Ont., Colquhoun has been nicknamed “The Canadian Flash.” The six-foot-one, 202-pound cornerback played in 13 games in 2015 and started in 10. He accumulated 35 total tackles (24 solo), 1.5 tackles for a loss, one sack and two interceptions for the Spartans. Like St. John, Colquhoun will be a part of the college football playoffs when Michigan State takes on Alabama Dec. 31. Curtis Rush