CFL-bound Gryphons should come as no surprise

Mike Treadgold

Sunday’s CFL Canadian Draft came with a considerable Gryphon presence.

A pair of fourth-year players on the Guelph Gryphons football team were chosen in the six-round event and will now have the opportunity to showcase their skills at the professional level.

All-Canadian kicker/punter Rob Maver was widely expected to be among the top picks, and when the Calgary Stampeders made their selection, fifth overall, they opted for the record-setting Maver, who will come into training camp as the leading candidate to handle Calgary’s kicking duties.

The other Gryphon who had his named called in Sunday’s draft was offensive lineman Ryan Bomben, a player who has steadily improved throughout his four years as a Gryphon and will now take his skill set to a CFL training camp after being drafted by the Montreal Alouettes, 31st overall.

Bomben was a first team OUA All-Star this past season, anchoring the Gryphons offensive line, which was a part of the province’s second-highest scoring team.

Each with one remaining year of CIS eligibility, both Maver and Bomben also have the opportunity to return to Guelph for a fifth season if they are unsuccessful in making their respective CFL teams.

Such was the case last season when Gryphons defensive back Brad Crawford was selected by the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian draft, only to be released during training camp. Crawford returned to Guelph for the 2009 campaign, only to be rewarded by the Argos with a contract after the season. He will now have another opportunity to stick with the team and play alongside his brother, Bryan.

Maver and Bomben were parts of a group of six Gryphons who were invited to participate in the CFL’s Evaluation Camp back in March, the largest single-school contingent from any Canadian university. Also participating in the E-Camp were linebacker Adam Dunk, quarterback Justin Dunk, running back Nick Fitzgibbon and defensive lineman Grant MacDonald. While none of those four players were selected in Sunday’s draft, they each retain one remaining year of CIS eligibility, except for Justin Dunk, who is currently playing in Germany for the summer.

The selections of Maver and Bomben are not at all surprising and speak volumes to the quality of play that exists within the Gryphons football program. This is the third time in the past four years that a Gryphon has been drafted into the CFL, with Crawford going to the Argos last year and wide receiver Dave McKoy selected by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 2007 draft.

With CFL teams required to fill at least half of their rosters with Canadian-born players, evaluating and tapping into the CIS talent pool is critical for teams who need to find native-born players that can contribute at an early stage. Traditionally, Canadian-born CFL players have begun their professional careers on special teams before making the jump to the starting offensive and defensive units.

Keeping in mind that there has been a recent successful run of CFL-bound Gryphons, there are also a number of players entering their fourth years, who could have their names called in next year’s draft.

They include wide receivers Dave Harrison and Jedd Gardner, defensive backs James Savoie and Sebastian Howard, and linebacker Matt Rossetti, who was invited to the National Invitational Combine in March.

2010 promises to be yet another exciting season for Guelph Gryphons football.

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