March 1, 2012
By Chris O’Leary
Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON — The Edmonton Eskimos head into this year’s Canadian Football League evaluation camp in a much different scenario than they were in a year ago.
“It’s different than last year, where we went in and had some glaring needs,” Eskimo General Manager Eric Tillman said on Thursday night from Toronto.
The league’s coaches, general managers and league officials have convened this week in Toronto for the CFL Congress.
In addition to the congress, the rules committee meeting and the 2011 Coach of the Year presentation (Eskimo Head Coach Kavis Reed is nominated, along with Winnipeg Blue Bomber Head Coach Paul LaPolice and BC Lions General Manager/former Head Coach Wally Buono), coaches and GMs will get a look at more than 50 of Canada’s top football prospects, in anticipation of the CFL Canadian draft, which takes place on May 3.
“We feel very good about our Canadian nucleus right now,” Tillman said. “In fact, we have 33 Canadians under contract on our roster, which is probably a league-high.”
It’s close. Edmonton has 32 non-import players on its roster, while the Calgary Stampeders have 33. Two first-round picks in May’s draft will change that number for the Eskimos, though.
“Clearly there are some areas that we feel we can upgrade, but there isn’t a glaring need (this year),” Tillman noted.
Picking second overall and at sixth, Tillman and Reed have been studying up on those needs and how they can be addressed.
Having been through his share of evaluation camps in his tenure as a GM — he worked in BC, Toronto, Ottawa and Saskatchewan before arriving in Edmonton in 2010 — Tillman said the players that the team will select would fare well in both the physical testing and the interview component of the camp.
“We’ve already watched a lot of film on these guys, so I would say that at this point what you look for from a personnel evaluation you almost look for the two extremes.
“(There will be) the guys who will blow the top off of it through testing, or a handful of guys who will disappoint.”
Learning what a player can do in the weight room or in drills is one thing. The big thing, Tillman said, is the long-term.
“There are multiple players you like, so (the interviews are) a chance to get to know them and learn who’s intelligent, how they communicate and how they handle themselves. There are a lot of things involved. For example, you talk to eastern kids a lot about how they feel about coming out to Western Canada.
“There are some guys who want to be close to home, either to a girlfriend or the family or a family business, that they’ve already decided that long term they want to be in Eastern Canada, for example.
“When I was GM of the Argos, when I was in Ottawa, we’d talk to the guys from the west and find out how strong the geographic dynamic is.”
This year’s free agency period has shown just how strong that dynamic can be. Andy Fantuz left the Saskatchewan Roughriders to play closer to home in Hamilton. The Riders pulled offensive lineman Brendon LaBatte away from Winnipeg and got him back to his home province, and the Eskimos landed a talented O-lineman of their own in Simeon Rottier. The Westlock, Alta., product left Hamilton to make his move back west, three years after going first overall in the CFL draft to the Tiger-Cats.
The CFL’s scouting bureau has Saskatchewan Huskies offensive lineman Ben Heenan as its top-ranked prospect, with Boise State defensive end Tyrone Crawford sitting at second. Virginia offensive lineman Austin Pasztor is third, with Wilfrid Laurier wide receiver Shamawd Chambers at fourth. Calgary Dinos O-lineman Kirby Fabien sits at fifth, with Laval linebacker Frederic Plesius projected at sixth.
The camp will have some local flavour to it when it gets underway on Friday morning.
Defensive back Brent Krawchuk and linebacker Tyler Greenslade are both members of the University of Alberta Golden Bears who both played their high school football in Edmonton and will be looking to make an impression in Toronto.
Krawchuk attended M.E. LaZerte, while Greenslade played at St. Francis Xavier. Former Harry Ainlay Titan Teague Sherman. now playing defensive back with the University of Manitoba, will also be in attendance. Finally, Sherwood Park native and Archbishop Jordan alum Ryan Grandberg, who went on to play running back at Queen’s, will be trying to run his way into the good books of scouts.
The evaluation camp runs through to Sunday.