TORONTO – The Canadian Football League Scouting Bureau today published its final edition of the top 20 ranked prospects eligible for the 2015 CFL Canadian Draft.
In the third and final installment of the CFL Scouting Bureau for the 2015 draft class, Christian Covington claimed top spot after announcing to forego his senior year of college in early January, making himself eligible for both NFL and CFL Drafts.
After finishing first in the fall and winter edition of the CFL Scouting Bureau, UNLV offensive lineman Brett Boyko finished second on the top prospect list. Rounding out the top-five are University of Connecticut offensive lineman Alex Mateas, Yale running back Tyler Varga, and in the fifth slot, Laval offensive lineman, Danny Groulx.
CLICK HERE FOR WINTER RANKINGS
Groulx is the top ranked CIS prospect CIS prospect heading into the 2015 CFL Canadian Draft, set for May 12.
Groulx, a 6-foot-6, 325-pound senior from Gatineau, Que., moves up three positions to No. 5 on the new Scouting Bureau list, which is topped by Rice defensive tackle Christian Covington. A two-time Vanier Cup champion with the Rouge et Or, Groulx opened the season at No. 4 back on Sept. 11 before dropping to No. 8 in the Dec. 10 national rankings.
The other CIS stars included on the latest prospect list are Calgary guard Sukh Chungh (No. 6 / up one position), Western defensive tackle Daryl Waud (No. 7 / down four), Manitoba slotback Nic Demski (No. 9 / down four), Calgary centre Sean McEwen (No. 10 / down four), Wilfrid Laurier defensive back Chris Ackie (No. 11 / up one), Regina wide receiver Addison Richards (No. 12 / down three), Montreal linebacker Byron Archambault (No. 14 / up three), Regina defensive back Tevaughn Campbell (No. 15 / previously unranked), Laurier defensive end Ese Mrabure-Ajufo (No. 17 / up one), Calgary receiver Jake Harty (No. 18 / up one) and McMaster linebacker Nick Shortill (No. 20 / down nine).
Demski and Waud were the top-ranked CIS players on the September and December lists, respectively, both in third position.
Last May, Laval centre Pierre Lavertu became the eighth CIS player in as many years – and the 12th in the past 15 years – to be selected first overall in the CFL Canadian Draft when the Calgary Stampeders called his name at No. 1. He was ranked fourth, second and third, respectively, on the three Scouting Bureau lists published in 2013-14.
A record 59 CIS players (out of 65 total picks) were selected in the 2014 CFL Draft, including eight in the first round, also an all-time mark for CIS (tied with 1970 and 1972).
Mississauga, Ont. native Brandon Bridge, who played for the University of South Alabama last season, becomes the first quarterback ever to make the Scouting Bureau list. The CFL introduced the list for the first time in September, 2008.
BY THE NUMBERS
The ranking includes six offensive linemen, four receivers, three defensive linemen, two defensive backs, linebackers, running backs and a quarterback.
Calgary has three prospects represented on the list, the most by any school. Regina, UNLV and Wilfrid Laurier are the only other schools to have multiple prospects on the list.
In the final edition of the scouting bureau, Covington, Lemar Durant, Tevaughn Campbell, Shaquille Murray-Lawrence and Brandon Bridge climbed into the top-20 list. However, Dillon Guy, Karl Lavoie, Brandon Tennant, Adam Konar and Ettore Lattanzio dropped from the spring edition after being listed in the winter edition.
The province of Ontario is represented with ten hometown prospects. Following Ontario is B.C. with three, Alberta, Quebec, and Saskatchewan with two and Manitoba with one.
All 15 ranked players on last spring’s CFL Scouting Bureau list were selected in the 2014 CFL Draft, including all nine first round selections.
FULL RANKINGS
| Final Scouting Bureau Ranking |
|||
| Rank | Name | Position | School |
| 1 (–) |
Christian Covington | DL | Rice |
| 2 (1) |
Brett Boyko | OL | UNLV |
| 3 (2) |
Alex Mateas | OL | UCONN |
| 4 (4) |
Tyler Varga | RB | Yale |
| 5 (8) |
Danny Groulx | OL | Laval |
| 6 (7) |
Sukh Chungh | OL | Calgary |
| 7 (3) |
Daryl Waud | DL | Western |
| 8 (–) |
Lemar Durant | REC | Simon Fraser |
| 9 (5) |
Nic Demski | REC | Manitoba |
| 10 (6) |
Sean McEwen | OL | Calgary |
| 11 (12) |
Chris Ackie | DB | Wilfrid Laurier |
| 12 (9) |
Addison Richards | RED | Regina |
| 13 (10) |
Jacob Ruby | OL | Richmond |
| 14 (17) |
Byron Archambault | LB | Montreal |
| 15 (–) |
Tevaughn Campbell | DB | Regina |
| 16 (–) |
Shaquille Murray-Lawrence | RB | UNLV |
| 17 (18) |
Ese Mrabure-Ajufo | DL | Wilfrid Laurier |
| 18 (19) |
Jake Harty | REC | Calgary |
| 19 (–) |
Brandon Bridge | QB | South Alabama |
| 20 (11) |
Nick Shortill | LB | McMaster |
Please note: The ranking in the parenthesis is the player’s ranking position from the last CFL Scouting Bureau published in December, 2014.
The 2015 CFL Draft will take place on May 12, 2015 with the Ottawa REDBLACKS owning the first overall selection. You can watch the opening two rounds of the draft on TSN and RDS2 beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET with subsequent rounds being streamed live online at TSN.ca.
The CFL’s Scouting Bureau is comprised of CFL scouts, player personnel directors and general managers from the league’s nine teams.
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