CIS prospects finding NFL homes

It's been a good couple of weeks for CIS football. After a strong showing by CIS prospects in the CFL draft, including first-overall pick Shomari Williams (who I interviewed before the draft), six CIS players appear in good shape to catch on with NFL teams. The Detroit Lions signed [Sean Yuille, Pride Of Detroit] Laurier defensive end Chima Ihekwoaba after their rookie minicamp [Tom Kowalski, Mlive.com, via Ron Balaskovitz], and Concordia linebacker Cory Greenwood signed with [Mark Masters, National Post] the Kansas City Chiefs today. Waterloo offensive lineman Joel Reinders has signed with Cleveland [David Naylor, The Globe and Mail, Concordia offensive lineman Kristian Matte has inked a deal with Houston [Herb Zurkowsky, The Gazette], Bishop's wide receiver Shawn Gore reached an agreement with Green Bay [Dave Heller, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel] and Regina wide receiver Jordan Sisco signed with the Indianapolis Colts [Ian Hamilton, Regina Leader-Post].

This does seem to represent a significant change. CIS players like Israel Idonije and Dan Federkeil have headed straight to the NFL out of CIS schools before, but most of the Canadians in the NFL have come from American schools, like Nate Burleson. Having so many players from CIS schools sign with NFL clubs is certainly surprising, especially when several of those players weren't even ranked among the top CFL prospects [Kirk Penton, Toronto Sun].


Christine Rivet of the Waterloo Record had an interesting piece on this, interviewing New York Jets' scout Brock Sunderland, a former director of scouting for the Montreal Alouettes. Sunderland said the gap between CIS-trained and NCAA-trained players is closing, and the fourth-round selection of Western defensive end Vaughn Martin by San Diego last year has convinced more NFL teams to take CIS football seriously.

"I think the Vaughn Martin thing really opened up the eyes to the CIS athlete – that maybe this might be a real opportunity more than just a (fantasy)," Sunderland said. "It opens up the belief it can happen."

What's also interesting about this is that NFL teams are looking at CIS wide receivers and linebackers. Previously, many of the CIS guys taken have been offensive linemen, and some have made the argument that those guys have been seen as projects, chosen based on physical attributes and in spite of the quality of their competition, rather than because of it. Physical attributes are obviously important at receiver and linebacker too, but the amount of guys heading south and the diversity in their positions suggests to me that NFL teams are developing more of a respect for the quality of play in CIS.

The loser in all of this may be the CFL, though. The CFL draft has always been difficult because you have to balance a player's talent against the likelihood that they'll suit up for you; as Masters pointed out in this piece, the more talented players obviously have a higher risk of sticking around in the NFL. Sometimes, top talents will bounce around the NFL for a year or two before heading back north, like Jamall Lee; in other cases, they'll make their reputation up north and then head to the NFL, like Ricky Foley. In other cases, high CFL draft picks like Samuel Giguere, Federkeil and Idonije stick in the NFL and never see the field up north.

It's a delicate balancing act, and we won't be able to properly evaluate it for a few years, but it's important to keep in mind that most of these players went pretty high in this year's CFL draft. The big loser could be the Montreal Alouettes, who used their first two picks on Matte (seventh overall) and Ihekwoaba (14th overall). However, the reigning Grey Cup champions have less immediate needs than other teams and may be able to afford to wait a few years in hopes that those guys will come up north. The Toronto Argonauts have more immediate problems; they traded down from first overall to third, passing on Williams and picking Greenwood, who now seems unlikely to suit up for them next year. They also chose Reinders 26th overall, which seems like reasonable value given that he was rated as the 11th-best prospect by the CFL's scouting bureau, but that could hurt them if he sticks in the NFL. Sisco went eighth overall to Saskatchewan, and the Riders can probably afford to wait for him, given the depth of their Canadian receiving corps. Gore went 10th overall to B.C., and that may hurt more, as the Lions could use some more Canadian pass-catching talent. The eventual effects of this trend on the CFL can't be fully analyzed until we see where these players wind up in a few years, though.

In the end, this seems to me to be a bit of a reflection on how CIS football is changing. I wrote about the effects of increased athletic scholarships and national recruiting a while back, and this may tie into that. There's more competition than ever to attract recruits, and many schools have looked to do that by improving their athletic facilities, adding full-time coaches and offering more advanced strength and conditioning programs. We've also seen a rise in out-of-conference exhibition games among the bigger programs, which has helped to increase their national profiles. More CIS schools seem to be taking football seriously, and high-school recruits, CFL scouts and NFL scouts are all noticing that. To me, that's a good thing.

[Cross-posted to The CIS Blog]

On The Ground: Talking to top CFL prospect Shomari Williams

The CFL draft is coming up [Jaime Stein, CFL.ca] this Sunday (noon Eastern, TSN). It's always an exciting time of the year, particularly from the perspective of watching CIS stars making the jump to the pros. To get you excited for it, here's an e-mail interview I just conducted with Shomari Williams, the Queen's defensive end who led the Gaels to the Vanier Cup this year and is ranked first overall by the CFL's scouting bureau. We talked about the CFL, CIS, the NCAA and his up-and-coming business helping recruits. My questions and his responses are below (slight edits for clarity).

Andrew Bucholtz: You've made a pretty meteoric rise up the CFL Scouting Bureau rankings, from #15 at the start of last season to #4 in December to #1 earlier this year. Do you pay any attention to the rankings, and if so, what did it feel like to take over the top spot?

Shomari Williams: It felt great being named the top prospect in Canada. I worked real hard all season and it was a great feeling to know that all my hard work paid off.

A.B.: With the draft coming up this weekend, there's a chance you could be selected first overall. Do you see the top spot as something special, the way it's usually viewed in the NFL, or does it not make as much of a difference in the CFL's smaller draft?

S.W.: I think this is a big deal. Even though the CFL is smaller than the NFL, only a select few people can ever say they were drafted and even fewer can say they were taken first overall. If I am picked first, it will be something special for me and my family to have my name in the record books as the number-one pick in the 2010 CFL draft.

A.B.: How do you feel about getting the chance to play in the CFL? Has it been something you've always been interested in, or a more recent goal?

S.W.: I feel truly blessed to have an opportunity to play in the CFL. When I first started college, I never had plans to play pro. My first goal was to get on the field and contribute to my team and go from there. As time went on in college, I started thinking about playing pro and coming back and going to Queen's really helped me in getting ready for a professional career.

A.B.: I understand you grew up in Brampton and then played in the NCAA at the University of Houston before coming to Queen's last year. Why did you choose that career path (high school to NCAA to CIS), and would you change anything if you had the chance to go back and do it again?

S.W.: Growing up, I just dreamed of playing in the NCAA. Watching it on TV made me fall in love with football in the States. Getting a scholarship and attending the University of Houston was a great experience for me. I graduated from Houston and I really wanted to play pro football, and I thought the best way to position myself for that was to come back and play for Queen's. I really don't like what-if scenarios, so I don't regret any of the choices I've made and I think all the experiences I've had has made me a better person.

A.B.: What did it mean to you to win the Vanier Cup in your only year of CIS football?

S.W.: Winning the Vanier made me feel like Carmelo Anthony! To come to a team for one year and have such a great season individually and team-wise, you couldn't ask for anything more. The 2010 Queen's Golden Gaels will go down in history as a championship team, and to be a part of that is something that I will never forget.

A.B.: How do NCAA and CIS football compare (calibre, coaching, atmosphere, practices, etc)? What did you like and dislike about each?

S.W.: Some things in the NCAA you can't compare to the CIS. It's just because the NCAA has so much money. The two things I think any football player is looking for when deciding on a program is the experience and the coaching. I had a wonderful experience and excellent coaching in my short time in the CIS and the playoff atmosphere was ridiculous too.

A.B.: Did you find it difficult to adapt to Canadian rules after your years in the NCAA? Which set of rules do you like better?

S.W.: To be honest, I barely noticed the rules. A few times, I lined up offside, but other than that, I really didn't notice the different rules.

A.B.: If you could change CIS however you wanted (at an organization-wide level, a football-wide level or just a Queen's level), what changes would you make?

S.W.: There are so many changes I think the CIS should implement to make the league better. To me, it has a great product, but we hear so little about it. I wish the CIS was run more like a business. To me, if the people involved had a greater stake in the success of the league, they would be more creative in how to expand and market the league.

A.B.: I understand you started Student Blitz (his recruiting business) in 2007. What gave you the idea, and how did you put it into practice? How many athletes have you worked with?

S.W.: Going through the recruiting process myself and seeing how much time and money it cost to send film to college coaches. I thought about ways to make the process more efficient for other players with time and money, so I created a database that allows you to send your film and athletic information to any NCAA coach. I've worked with about 15 athletes now and 70% of those athletes have received full scholarships, so I am happy with that.

A.B.: What are your future plans for the site?

S.W.: Right now, I am trying to get an investor and partner for the business so that he can run the day-to-day operations of the site. I am also excited about my new venture, TopProspects.ca, which should launch in May. This service will help high school athletes get recruited by CIS coaches.

Thanks to Shomari for taking the time to talk with me! Best of luck to him this Sunday. If you want to follow the draft, it will be televised on TSN starting at 12 p.m. Eastern/9 a.m. Pacific. I'll also be following the B.C. Lions' Den's crew's live blog; it should be an excellent source of draft coverage too. I'll hopefully have a post-draft summary up Sunday afternoon at both Sporting Madness and The CIS Blog.

[Cross-posted to The CIS Blog]