Jim Mullin is the Sports Director at CKNW 980 AM in Vancouver and has offered us the chance to share his blog posts here on BCLionsDen.ca. We’re excited to have Jim’s opinions on the CFL and encourage you to follow his own blog on CKNW.com
By Jim Mullin (CKNW 980)
The BC Lions made a trade, took a gamble and got their wish list at the Canadian Draft, Sunday.
While conventional thinking had the Lions taking Bishop’s receiver Shawn Gore with the fourth overall pick, they instead chose highly touted offensive lineman Danny Watkins of Baylor University. The native of Kelowna will play out his NCAA eligibility this year before potentially arriving at the Lions 2011 camp.
Then, by the time the 10th overall pick rolled around, Gore was still available.
The Lions selected the Bishop’s grad in what Wally Buono described as triumph of “reverse psychology”.
The fact that Gore has signed with the Green Bay Packers as a free agent this afternoon may have send his draft value down to the second round. He is the third player from the Bishop’s program to be selected by the Leos in the past two drafts.
“Shawn is arguably the best receiver in the draft,” noted Buono. “He’s got some opportunities down south and we’ll wish him the best with those, but he’s too good to let slide by to another team.”
The Leos picked up a pair of defenders out of the University of Montreal as linebacker Joash Gesse and corner back Hamid Mahmoudi were selected 16th and 20th overall respectively.
“Joash has had a few injuries which didn’t’t help him at the Evaluation Camp this year,” admits Buono. “What we have seen on film however, tells us that he is a strong, physical playmaker with great football instincts.”
“Hamid will come in and compete for a wide side cornerback position with Davis Sanchez. He had 13 interceptions over a little over three years so he definitely has a knack for big plays.”
Two more receivers were drafted in the fourth round as the Lions grabbed Tusculum College’s Nate Binder and St.Francis Xavier’s Akeem Foster with the 24th and 25th selections.
The Lions had just a single selection in the fifth round and used it to pick up St. Francis Xavier defensive back Cauchy Muamba and then wrapped the 2010 Canadian Draft by choosing St. Mary’s offensive lineman Adam Baboulas and receiver Matt Chapdelaine, son of Lions offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine.
“Overall I’m not sure I have seen a better all-round draft not only for our club but all the teams in our league,” said Buono. “I think it speaks well of the players being developed in Canada and the future of our game.”
After a some interesting trades to get the draft going the BC Lions ended with a pretty good pool of talent when the dust settled on the 2010 CFL Draft. The Lions made a pre-draft deal with the Toronto Argonauts that saw them send the 3rd, 18th, 26th, 30th picks to Argos for 4th, 20th, 24th, 25th picks.
Lions head coach and general manager Wally Buono, indicated the draft may have been one of the deepest he has been a part of.
“Overall I’m not sure I have seen a better all-round draft not only for our club but all the teams in our league,” said Buono on BCLions.com. “I think it speaks well of the players being developed in Canada and the future of our game.”
Let’s take a look at how the Lions made out!
1st Round:
(4) Danny Watkins OL – Baylor
With the fourth overall pick, With their first pick in the draft the Lions selected 6’4″ 310 pound offensive lineman Danny Watkins. Baylor is regarded by many as the best player available in the draft, and the Lions will have to wait on his arrival, as he has one year of eligibility remaining at the NCAA level. It’s also believed that Watkins will get a serious look at the NFL before being available to the Lions.
Watkins is a native of Kelowna, BC, and didn’t play football until 2007, playing hockey and rugby as a child.
“We believe Danny is one of the best players in today’s draft and he will be a very important part of our club in years to come,” said Lions GM and head coach Wally Buono on BCLions.com
More on Danny Watkins:
2nd Round:
(10) Shawn Gore WR – Bishops
Regarded as the best receiving prospect in the draft, the Lions were apparently going to take Shawn Gore with their first pick. But they decided to make the deal with Toronto and drop to four and take their chances that Gore would be there when they picked next at ten. The gamble paid off and the Lions got Gore anyway. Now, as with Watkins they will wait and see what NFL opportunities come Gore’s way. He attended a Green Bay Packers mini-camp this weekend and word today was that he had received an offer to attend the Packer main camp.
If he does end up with the Lions, he’ll have plenty of friendly faces to welcome him, as former Bishop’s teammates Jamall Lee, Dan McCullough and James Yurichuk on the Lions roster.
More Shawn Gore:
3rd Round:
(16th) Joash Gesse LB – Montreal
The Lions switched to the defensive side of the ball with their third pick (16th overall) and chose LB Joash Gesse from Montreal. The 6’0″225 pound Montreal linebacker has good speed, running 4.68 40 at the East-West Bowl, then a 4.38 at the Pro Agility. In just 6 games Gesse racked up 22 solo tackles and 18 assisted tackles. Gesse is coming of a knee injury that prevented him from testing in some E-camp events, has reportedly run very well in off-season workouts.
Duane Ford of TSN.ca said of Gesse, “If he were 3″ taller, he’d be a potential #1 overall.”
(20th) Hamid Mahmoudi DB – Montreal
With their 2nd pick of the 3rd roound (20th overall) the Lions selected Hamid Mahmoudi, a defensive back. Mahmoudi also had limited E-camp participation due to an injury that cut his season short in 2009. He was ranked the 2nd best cornerback in Duane Ford’s pre-draft rankings. On BCLions.com coach Buono had this to say about Mahmoudi; “Hamid will come in and compete for a wide side cornerback position with Davis Sanchez. He had 13 interceptions over a little over three years so he definitely has a knack for big plays.”
4th Round:
(24TH) Nate Binder WR – Tusculum College
The Lions selected another receiver in the 4th round, picking Nate Binder out of Tusculum College (NCAA II) . In 2008 Binder was named to the All-South Atlantic Conference Second Team. He tied a school single-season record with nine TD receptions and tied for first in the SAC averaging 78.7 receiving yards per game (37th in NCAA II) Averaged 4.5 points per game (8th in SAC). Tusculum College went 5-1 when Binder found the end zone in 2008.
(25th) Akeem Foster (St. Francis Xavier)
With their second pick in the 4th round, BC took another receiver, this time Akeem Foster out of St. Francis Xavier. The 6’4″ 212 pound Foster has all the tools, but has been hurt by inconsistency according to Duane Ford, who had Foster ranked 7th amongst receivers. In a recent article on BCLions.com, Foster described himself like as “a problem with and without the ball. If I don’t have the ball I’m looking for someone to hit. If I do have the ball I’m looking to make a big play.”
More Akeem Foster:
5th Round:
(34th) Cauchy Muamba DB -St. Francis Xavier
One thing is for sure, if Cauchy Muamba makes the Lions, he’ll have one of the coolest names on the team. The Lions selected the DB with their 5th round pick, who was described by Duane Ford this way, “Muamba is good enough in man-to-man coverage that teams rarely throw his way, but at 6’1″ and close to 200 lbs., he’s a physical defender who will likely shift to safety in the CFL.”
With Barron Miles retiring, the auditions for his safety spot have begun, and the Lions may see grooming Muamba for that role.
6th Round:
(41sT) Adam Baboulas OL – St. Mary’s
The Lions went to the St. Mary’s Huskies with their first pick of the 6th round and 41st pick overall, offensive lineman Adam Baboulas.
(42nd) Matthew Chapdelaine – Simon Fraser
With their final pick in draft the Lions stuck with the family and chose WR Matthew Chapdelaine. Yes he is the son of offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine, but he hasn’t played football since 2007, having to deal with concussion issues. Coach Buono was quick to dismiss the pick was any type of courtesy to his fellow coach. “”He’s worked out for us four or five times,” Buono said of Matt Chapdelaine. “If I got a list of the comparisons, he would probably be ahead of most receivers in the draft. Honestly, I would never pick a player because he’s the coach’s son. I don’t believe in that b.s. He might be better than the guys we’ve taken. But we don’t know that until we get to camp.”
Kent Ridley of Ridley Scouting Services checks in with another guest post for BCLionsDen.ca. Kent recently attended the CFL E-Camp for the top prospects college football and had the chance to sit down with Washington State offensive lineman Joe Eppele. The 6′-7″ native of Vancouver is considered to be one of the top offensive line prospects for the upcoming Canadian Football League draft.
RS: When did you start playing football?
A: I started playing community ball in 5th grade for the Squamish Titans.
RS: How did you end up at Washington State?
A: I attended a summer camp at Eastern with the Vancouver College high school team the summer prior to my move down to the city for my senior year and while I was at the camp I was called up to Washington State because they had heard about me and were interested in seeing me in a practice. After two practices the coaches said they had seen enough and told me to pack my stuff up and following a meeting with George Yarno -their o-line coach at the time- I had an offer for a full ride scholarship at a Pac-10 school and I committed shortly thereafter.
RS: What do you prefer to play – OT or OG?
A: I enjoy both positions but feel the most comfortable with OT because it has been where I have worked for the majority of my collegiate career. I played my first games ever at guard this past season and picked up three starts at the position. I enjoyed the physicality and aggressiveness of the position as opposed to the more strategic controlled aggression that is required at OT because of the open space and need to protect the edge.
RS: Favourite NCAA highlight?
A: Being on the field in double overtime for the winning field goal in our victory over the Huskies in the 2008 Apple Cup and seeing the stands empty onto the field.
RS: Biggest achievement in football so far?
A: Continually earning the opportunity to compete at a higher and higher level in the sport while never letting myself be happy with where I am and maintaining a consistent need to improve my game.
RS: What do you expect to bring to a CFL team?
A: I believe as an athlete who had the opportunity to compete at the Pac-10 level I bring a level of experience and dedication to the sport that can only be achieved through living it firsthand. I am a 6’8 athletic lineman who brings a heightened level of aggressiveness and realizes my best years of football are still ahead of me. I am passionate and eager to excel in every aspect of the game and will stop at nothing to achieve greatness.
RS: Any advice for the 2011 Draft Class now that you’ve been through the E-Camp?
A: Come hungry, you only get one shot at the E-camp so don’t cut any corners and make sure you are prepared in every aspect and leave it all on the field. It’s a meat auction out there so make sure you are the Filet Mignon.
