TORONTO ā Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks teammates Chris Ackie and Ese Mrabure-Ajufo made team history on Tuesday night as they became the first two Golden Hawks to be selected in the opening round of the CFL Draft since Evald Timusk and Barry Jamieson were chosen in the first round back in 1970.
Ackie, a native of Cambridge, Ont., and Mrabure-Ajufo, a native of Mississauga, Ont., were selected fourth and fifth respectively by the Montreal Alouettes and the B.C. Lions.
They become the 12th and 13th Golden Hawks to ever hear their name called in the opening round of the CFL Draft and the first since Shamawd Chambers was selected sixth overall by the Edmonton Eskimos back in 2012.
āWe knew Chris was going to go in the first round but we were ecstatic when he went fourth to Montreal,ā commented Laurier head coach Michael Faulds. āThe re was a loud eruption of cheers at Wilfās, and before we knew it, there was Ese being called at number five and a greater eruption came from the crowd.ā
āTo have the only two players selected from the OUA in the opening round of the draft says a lot about the direction of our program,ā added Faulds. āWe couldnāt be more excited for both Chris and Ese as they begin their professional careers.ā
Asides from being the first Hawk selected on Tuesday, Ackie, a CIS First Team All-Canadian in 2014, becomes the highest-selected Golden Hawk since Tom Walker also went fourth back in the 1972 draft. He was also the first defensive player chosen in the 2015 draft after three offensive linemen went with the first three picks of the night.
Shortly after Ackie and Mrabure-Ajufo were selected, Hawks running back Dillon Campbell of Whitby, Ont., was picked in the fifth round, 39th overall by the Toronto Argonauts. Campbell, a CIS Firs t Team All-Canadian last year and the leading rusher in the country, gives Laurier three picks in the draft, the most since four were chosen back in 2004.
Three other Hawks were awaiting to see if they would have their names called on Tuesday including kicker Ronnie Pfeffer, defensive lineman Asante Mizan and receiver Kelvin Muamba.
ALL-TIME WILFRID LAURIER 1ST ROUND CFL DRAFT PICKS
2015 – Chris Ackie – 4th
2015 – Ese Mrabure-Ajufo – 5th
2012 – Shamawd Chambers – 6th
2007 – Justin Phillips – 5th
1999 – Corey Grant – 7th
1994 – Stefan Ptaszek – 9th
1986 – Paul Nastasiuk – 9th
1982 – Rod Connop – 9th
1974 – Larry Simpson – 5th
1973 – Wayne Allison – 9th
1972 – Tom Walker – 4th
1970 – Evald Timusk – 3rd
1970 – Barry Jamieson – 6th
Photo credits: Matthew Smith & Trevor Mahoney
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