Football: Queen's Williams tops CFL scouting bureau's list, which is good for the OUA

Did you see CFL scouting bureau's new draft list? There is a little synergy thing happening there, with the Toronto Argonauts holding the No. 1 pick and Queen's linebacker Shomari Williams, a proud Brampton resident, being the No. 1-ranked prospect.

The point is the obvious insofar as Williams being from the GTA goes, but also keep in mind how historic it would be (relatively speaking, it is just sports, peeps) if an OUA school has a player taken with the first pick. It hasn't happened in quite a while. The league has been shut out in the first round the past two years.

Canada West has accounted for the No. 1 pick the past three years. The QUFL had it in 2002 and '05 (both from Laval), sandwiched around Saint Mary's Steve Morley in 2003.

The highest an OUA player has been taken in the past 12 years is No. 2 overall (2006, when McMaster's Jason Pottinger, Western's Andy Fantuz out of Western and York's Ricky Foley went 2-3-4; thanks DDS). With Guelph kicker Rob Maver rated sixth and Laurier cornerback Taurean Allen rated eighth, there is a chance of three OUA first-rounders again. The league is on the way up, although yes,Williams' University of Houston's ties should not be discounted.

Here are the first selections out of the OUA the past 10 years:
  • 2009: Dee Sterling, DT, Queen's, second round, 12th overall to Edmonton;
  • 2008: Mike Bradwell, REC, McMaster, second round, 13th overall to Toronto;
  • 2007: Justin Phillips, DE, Laurier, fifth overall to Calgary;
  • 2006: Jason Pottinger, LB, McMaster, second overall to B.C.;
  • 2005: Matt O'Meara, OL, McMaster, third overall to Saskatchewan;
  • 2004: David Azzi, WR, Ottawa, third overall to Ottawa;
  • 2003: Kojo Aidoo, FB, McMaster, second round, 10th overall to Edmonton;
  • 2002: Brian Nugent, WR, York, ninth overall to Calgary;
  • 2001: Ryan Donnelly, G, McMaster, fourth round, 28th overall to Hamilton;
  • 2000: Tim Bakker, C, Western, third overall to Edmonton.
(One small note on 2001: Ottawa had two players drafted before Donnelly, but the Gee-Gees played in the O-QIFC in 2000.)
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8 comments:

  1. Daniel Da Silva4/07/2010 2:23 pm

    Now, this could be suspect because the only research I did was on wikipedia, but it appears that Mac LB Jay Pottinger was taken 2nd, ahead of Fantuz in 2006.

    Also, when was the last time an OUA player was taken first?

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  2. Simply to blow our own horn, 5 of the top 15 prospects comes from the "Q"... Not sure, but probably a record too...

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  3. We have to be realistic too. Williams spent three years in the NCAA and only one in the OUA. Most of his developement as a top pro prospect took place in the NCAA.

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  4. Bender won't go second because he has a serious shot in the NFL, it will be interesting to see about the other Div-1 guys so reinders as the highest ranked Canadian O lineman may sneak into the top 8 depending on a teams needs

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  5. Daniel Da Silva4/07/2010 9:18 pm

    Not too sure about the ranking of the prospects before the draft, but as for the top 15 actually drafted: the most an conference has had since 1998 is 4. Canada West did it a bunch of times, OUA did it once. Didn't see it happen for the Q or AUS, but it's quite likely that I simply missed it.

    As for the most one CIS school has had in the top 15, seems to be both Laval and McMaster with 3. In the same year too.

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  6. We just checked on wiki and Laval (we hate boasting Laval) had 5 of the 17 first picks in 2005...

    That's impressive...

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  7. Were all of them on defence? :^)

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  8. Daniel Da Silva4/08/2010 5:32 pm

    That's a ridiculous question. When has Laval ever had a good defence?

    Only 4 of those 5 were on defence. The 17th pick was an offensive lineman.

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