University of Waterloo Warriors’ Tre and Tyrell Ford illustrate the conundrum of modern Canadian Football League scouting and team building.
The twin brothers, Tre, a quarterback, and Tyrell, a defensive back, are tremendous athletes whose physical measurements match up with some of the very best prospects anywhere coming out of college football this spring.
A little more than a week after impressing NFL and CFL scouts as special guests at the University of Buffalo’s pro day, the pair are expected to put their assets on display alongside dozens of other top prospects for this year’s draft at this weekend’s CFL Combine, which runs Friday through Sunday in Toronto.
The fact that they come from a school not known for producing pro talent, and that they play positions not typically played by Canadians at the professional level, hasn’t diminished interest on either side of the border.
The dilemma for CFL teams is trying to decide when a player with NFL interest is worth the risk. That debate has always been part of the process, and there are many examples of teams drafting a player who winds up making it in the NFL, leaving them with nothing.
Those bets have largely been restricted to Canadians who played NCAA football, and usually along one of the lines of scrimmage.
But that line has been blurring of late, with more and more Canadian players from what are considered the speed and skill positions – receiver, running back, quarterback and defensive back – starting to get traction from NFL scouts and teams.
That brings us to the Ford twins.
A generation ago, CFL teams could select a defensive back or quarterback from the Canadian university ranks without a worry in the world about the NFL, as those positions were tough to crack for Canadians in the CFL, never mind in the NFL.
The fact that young Canadians are now excelling at those positions while holding onto their NFL dreams is quite the evolution.
The Ford twins’ athleticism helps open the door, as demonstrated in Buffalo where Tre ran a 4.45 40-yard dash, had a 36-inch vertical jump and broad jumped 10 feet, 5 inches, marks that were each slightly bested by his brother. Both run track at Waterloo as well as playing football.
Tre’s athleticism could result in teams wanting to move him to another position, but he’s drawn raves for the way he can throw the football and move with the ball in his hand.
He won the Hec Crighton Trophy last season as the outstanding player in Canadian university ball, finishing his career at Waterloo with 64 touchdowns and 24 interceptions over four seasons, while also rushing for more than 2,800 yards.
Tyrell is a two-time all-Canadian at defensive back and accomplished returner as well.
Both have firmly set their sights on the NFL, even though the path for either of them is not well-worn.
When it comes to Canadian university quarterbacks transitioning to the NFL, there’s a very limited body of work.
Three years ago, UBC’s Michael O’Connor was invited to Seattle’s minicamp but never made it further before signing a contract with the Toronto Argonauts. (O’Connor is now a member of the BC Lions, his third team in three seasons.)
In 1980, Western quarterback Jamie Bone signed with the Dallas Cowboys, but was cut early in training camp.
The University of Toronto’s Dan Feraday was selected by Cincinnati in the 12th round of the 1982 NFL draft and only saw limited preseason action before being released (the draft was shortened to seven rounds in during the 1990s).
Another Western quarterback, Steve Samways, drew some NFL interest in the mid-80s. A decade later, Acadia’s Larry Jusdanis became the first and only Canadian university quarterback invited to the NFL Combine.
And that’s about it.
In terms of defensive backs going from Canadian university ball to the NFL, it’s also a short list. There was Concordia’s Mark Montreuil, a seventh-round pick of the San Diego Chargers who played three NFL seasons from 1995-97. And former Regina Ram Tevaughn Campbell, who spent four seasons in the CFL before landing an NFL job with the Chargers in 2019.
Both Fords face mountains to climb before reaching their NFL goals and will have to overcome the doubts teams may have about the ability of players to transition from the speed of the Canadian university game.
That’s why, regardless of NFL interest, both are expected to be high selections when the CFL Draft takes place on May 3.
Whether they ultimately make it or not in the NFL or not, the Fords will have moved the line for who can be considered an NFL prospect and perhaps open doors for those who come after them.
In the meantime, they’ve given every CFL team something to chew on leading up to draft day.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
