Roughriders know what they are looking for at CFL Combine

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Corey Mace knows what he wants to see at the CFL Combine.

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The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach along with other CFL head coaches, general managers and team personnel are in Regina this weekend for a three-day evaluation camp as they get a close-up look at the top prospects ahead of this year’s draft.

For Mace, while he’s scouted these players on film already, he was excited to see how they perform in person live — whether it’s on the field during one-on-one drills or in the board room for sit-down interviews.

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“I think more and more guys now understand the process and their training of preparing not only for the physical components of what happens here this weekend, but also the sit-down interviews,” said Mace. “These guys are getting good coaching and good advice, but ultimately, like anything else, when the lights are going to be shining on you, you’ve got to perform.

“These guys have been training, hopefully for quite some time, to prepare for this, and you want to see what that looks like when they’re when they’re asked to perform at their best.

“So, there’s a little bit of pressure in that, but there’s pressure being a professional football player and as well.”

After Friday’s individual testing, which included the 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, three-cone shuttle and short shuttle, the 74 prospects hit the field in pads on Saturday and Sunday for one-on-ones and team drills.

After putting up the fastest time in the short shuttle and fifth fastest time in the 40-yard dash, University of Saskatchewan Huskies receiver Daniel Wiebe had another strong performance on the field on Saturday with several nice catches.

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“There’s limited opportunity and you got to make the most of that,” said Wiebe. “You’re not getting the ball every play, so if you’re not getting the ball, you better be blocking good.

“If it’s thrown your way, you better catch that, because you don’t know when it’s coming back. So, you’ve just got to make the most of the moment and just really dial in.”

For defensive back Ethan Ball, a Regina product who suited up for the University of Calgary Dinos last season following four years at the University of North Dakota, he also said it’s important to make the most of your opportunity when your number gets called.

“We haven’t really competed and played football on a field since November when the season ended but felt good to get back out here and get the pads on,” said Ball. “Even in the (individual) drills, you get to two reps of things, and if you mess up a rep, it’s like, there goes one of your chances to show what you can do.

“You’ve got to kind of just go and show out. I think the big thing is having a short memory; if you do have a bad rep or a bad play, erase it, next play and let’s go.”

Ball also trusts that teams have been doing their homework on prospects all season and the combine is just a small sample size of what each guy can bring to the table.

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“I think this weekend is important, but it’s one of those debates,” said Ball. “I don’t know if you can really hurt yourself all that much this weekend, unless you put up an abysmal performance.

“But I think these coaches want to get their eyes on you in person, see what kind of guy you are, what kind of character you are on and off the field. So yeah, I don’t think you can really hurt yourself this weekend; I think you can help yourself, if anything.

“Coaches, they do their homework. They’ve been doing their homework for a month or a year already on us. And this is just kind of the icing on the cake to top it all off.”

For Roughriders general manager Jeremy O’Day, he said his team will evaluate prospects on their entire body of work through the season and into the combine.

“We’ll come up with pre-combine grades for the players, and then they kind of change as you go through the process,” said O’Day. “They could get better, they could drop, or they could stay the same.

“I think the testings are important. But I think really, you’re just looking for them to fit into the mold of a professional football player.

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“So as long as they have the physical capabilities and their testing and their strength is what we expect it to be, a lot of it is, and what we rely on, is watching them on tape.”

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