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March 21, 2017

Preview: Regional combine circuit caps off in Regina

University of Calgary

REGINA — The last call has arrived for prospects to punch their ticket to the CFL Combine presented by adidas, as the Western Regional Combine unfolds in Regina.

Evraz Place is the site where 45 prospects will take the field in front of scouts, coaches and general managers, all with the same goal in mind: to boost their stock ahead of the 2017 CFL Draft.

Thursday’s showing caps off this year’s circuit of three regional combines, which lead into the national combine Friday and Saturday.

RELATED
» Roster: Western Regional Combine
» 5 players to track at the Western Regional
» CFL.ca to provide live combine coverage

Saskatchewan Huskies

Local product and receiver Mitch Hillis will be one to keep an eye on Thursday in Regina (Saskatchewan Huskies)

For CFL clubs in need of some national receiving talent, Thursday’s combine is the place to be with a roster chock full of talented pass-catchers.

Leading the way is the University of Alberta’s Tylor Henry, who piled up 174 receptions for 2,357 yards over the span of 32 appearances with the Golden Bears.

Saskatchewan’s Mitchell Hillis will put his talents on display for the home crowd, while UBC’s Alex Morrison looks to make up for lost time after playing in only two games throughout the 2016 campaign.

Covering some of the country’s top receivers on Thursday will be standout cornerback Adam Laurensse, a four-time Canada West All-Star and former back-to-back First Team All-Canadian.

Last year, 17 players from regional combines were extended an invitation to the CFL Combine, 10 of those being selected in the 2016 CFL Draft. Four of the 10 drafted came from the equivalent of this year’s Western Regional Combine, then known as the Edmonton Regional Combine.

Alex Ogbongbemiga (36th overall, Saskatchewan Roughriders), Brennan Van Nistelrooy (48th overall, BC Lions), Boyd Richardson (65th overall, BC Lions) and DJ Lalama (70th overall, Edmonton Eskimos) were all picked after advancing to the national combine a year ago.

UBC

Thunderbirds receiver Alex Morrison comes to combine with an athletic, 6-foot-4 frame (UBC)

For Toronto Argonauts assistant general manager Spencer Zimmerman, the regional combine is especially important for players who were either injured or didn’t have their best season in 2016.

“It can provide players that maybe had injuries or didn’t have same year they envisioned on film a chance to enter the discussion of getting drafted,” said Zimmerman. “And then for some of these top guys, it validates what you see on film and provides another platform of exposure for them to compete with the top guys in the draft class this year.”

Among the 45 athletes vying for a chance to stay in Regina, 10 are national free agents. 35 participants are eligible to be selected in the 2017 CFL Draft on May 7.

Testing starts at 10:00 a.m. ET, starting with height and weight, hand and arm measurements, video shot, vertical jump, the broad jump and the bench press.

At noon, players will run the 40, one of the combine’s marquee events, and also participate in the short shuttle and the three-cone drill.

After lunch, positional drills and one-on-ones will cap off the day’s events, leading into the announcement of players invited to the national combine at approximately 4:50 p.m.

Thursday’s event marks the fifth year row that the CFL will host regional combines and the third year it will host a trio of them. The first regional combine took place in Montreal on March 10, followed by the Ontario Regional Combine in Toronto on March 17.

So far this month, 10 additional prospects have been added to the national combine roster after impressing at regional combines.

By the Numbers

– Of the 45 players currently on the Western Regional Combine roster, 35 are draft eligible.

– Receivers and defensive linemen will dominate Thursday’s roster, making up nearly half of the entire field (Full breakdown: 11 WR, 10 DL, 7 DB, 6 LB, 6 OL, 4 RB, 1 FB).

– 13 schools/programs will be represented, led by the 12 from Calgary. The full breakdown is as follows: Calgary (12), Manitoba (7), Regina (7), Simon Fraser (5), Alberta (4), Saskatchewan (3), Calgary Colts (1), Edmonton Huskies (1), Bishop’s (1), Minot State (1), Okanagan Sun (1), UBC (1), Kamloops Broncos (1)