Owls lead nation in going north of the border for talent: 2 canadians players of week

At a recent team meeting, Rice coach David Bailiff had an unusual request. He asked a staff member to display a picture of the Canadian flag on the video screen.
Then he cued up O Canada!

“Probably the first time in the history of college football,” Bailiff joked about having two players from Canada — left tackle Scott Mitchell (picture) and tight end Luke Willson – earn team player of the week honors following a Week 2 victory over North Texas. “It’s a pretty historical moment.”
You think, eh?

Rice has long been known as an academic destination for international students. At the team’s football offices at Rice Stadium, the Owls are at the forefront of recruiting top high school prospects from Canada.

“We have great success there, and I hope to continue to look north for the diamonds in the rough,” said Rice linebackers coach Darrell Patterson, who spearheads the Owls’ recruiting efforts in Canada.

There are 46 Canadians playing major college football, according to a Houston Chronicle review of rosters for all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision programs (formerly Division I-A).
The top destination: South Main.

Rice leads the nation with five Canadian-born players on its roster – Mitchell, Willson, defensive tackle Hosam Shahin, safety Tolu Akinwumi and offensive tackle Stefan Nazar. Eastern Michigan is next with four, followed by Virginia with three.

When it comes to college destinations, the Canadian players are scattered across the nation, from obvious schools within close proximity to the U.S.-Canada border (Eastern Michigan, Connecticut, Buffalo, Oregon State and Washington State) to three schools in Texas (Rice, Baylor and UTEP) and even one in Hawaii.

“With all the schools in the state of Texas taking the four- and five-star recruits, Rice has another option,” said Shahin, a redshirt freshman from Richmond, British Columbia.
Patterson gives the Owls an edge in recruiting north of the border. He is familiar with the provinces and has contacts cultivated from a seven-year career in the Canadian Football League, where he won a Grey Cup with Winnipeg in 1984, and had coaching stints with British Columbia and Ottawa.

“You find an athlete who has an interest and then you see what he is capable of doing,” Patterson said. “He might be a little raw (in talent) in some respects, but they are normally real hard workers, real dedicated and very committed to trying to be successful. That’s what we have here.”
Camping out
Three of the Canadian players on the Owls’ roster have made significant contributions this season. Mitchell has made 31 consecutive starts on the offensive line and was a preseason All-Conference USA selection. Willson is tied for the team lead with 12 receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown.

Shahin, who is listed as the No. 2 defensive tackle on the depth chart, estimates he spent $10,000 in travel costs to attend summer football camps along the West Coast in search of a scholarship.
“I went out on a limb,” Shahin said.

Mitchell and Willson got noticed during a summer instructional camp just outside Toronto.
Mitchell was losing hope of receiving a scholarship offer when he became a late addition to the Owls’ 2007 recruiting class. At the time of his signing, Mitchell said he had 21/2 weeks to apply for a student visa and make travel arrangements for the 1,500-mile trip from Ottawa to Houston.

“I wasn’t expecting anything to happen,” he said. “It was life changing. I didn’t get a chance to go through orientation. I came in the day before (fall camp), got dropped off at my room and was introduced at the team meeting as the guy from Canada.
“I had to try and catch up. I didn’t know any guys on the team or the coaches’ names. I had no idea where to go eat. I was just lost.”

Willson, a sophomore from LaSalle, Ontario, took the more conventional route to Division I-A football. Rice was the first school to offer.

“Rice was the perfect fit,” he said. “I felt really comfortable.”

Ron Dias, who has been scouting high school talent in Canada for 24 years, provides a newsletter to American colleges about top recruits north of the border. Of the 75 top prospects in the report, which Dias considers the “cream of the crop” in Canada, an average of about 22 have been signed each year by Division I-A programs during the last three years.

With states such as Texas, Florida and California major recruiting battlegrounds, Dias said more schools are looking elsewhere, namely Canada, for recruits.

“It makes sense for schools like Rice, Houston and Baylor,” he said.

When Rice and Baylor meet Saturday in Houston, the rosters will feature seven Canadians, roughly 15 percent of those playing on the Division I-A level. Baylor center Philip Blake, a junior from Toronto, is considered the No. 1 prospect for the 2011 CFL draft and Rice’s Mitchell is No. 2.

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[url]http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/college/rice/7211984.html