CFL DECEMBER SCOUTING BUREAU RANKINGS
Mississippi State offensive lineman Justin Senior retains first-overall ranking
Thursday, December 8, 2016 — TORONTO (December 8, 2016) – The Canadian Football League (CFL) Scouting Bureau has released its second of three rankings of the Top 20 eligible prospects for the 2017 CFL Draft.
The full ranking can be found at the link:
TORONTO (December 8, 2016) – The Canadian Football League (CFL) Scouting Bureau has released its second of three rankings of the Top 20 eligible prospects for the 2017 CFL Draft.
Here is the full ranking:
| December Scouting Bureau Ranking | ||||
| Rank | Name | Position | School | Hometown |
| 1 (1) | Justin Senior | OL | Mississippi State | Montreal, QC |
| 2 (10) | Antony Auclair | TE | Laval | Notre-Dame-des-Pins, QC |
| 3 (5) | Eli Ankou | DL | UCLA | Ottawa, ON |
| 4 (7) | Rashaun Simonise | REC | Calgary | Vancouver, BC |
| 5 (11) | Geoff Gray | OL | Manitoba | Winnipeg, MB |
| 6 (2) | Kwaku Boateng | DL | Laurier | Milton, ON |
| 7 (4) | Danny Vandervoort | REC | McMaster | Barrie, ON |
| 8 (6) | Christophe Mulumba | LB | Maine | Laval, QC |
| 9 (13) | Junior Luke | DL | Montreal | Montreal, QC |
| 10 (15) | Mason Woods | OL | Idaho | Port Coquitlam, BC |
| 11 (14) | Faith Ekakitie | DL | Iowa | Brampton, ON |
| 12 (8) | Nathaniel Behar | REC | Carleton | London, ON |
| 13 (9) | Qadr Spooner | OL | McGill | Brossard, QC |
| 14 (18) | Jean-Simon Roy | OL | Laval | Quebec, QC |
| 15 (-) | Dariusz Bladek | OL | Bethune-Cookman | Kissimmee, FL |
| 16 (-) | Jordan Herdman | LB | SFU | Winnipeg, MB |
| 17 (12) | Robert Woodson | DB | Calgary | Calgary, AB |
| 18 (16) | Nakas Onyeka | LB | Laurier | Brampton, ON |
| 19 (17) | Kay Okafor | DL | St. FX | Enugu, Nigeria |
| 20 (-) | Mitchell Picton | WR | Regina | Regina, SK |
TOP 3 PROSPECTS
For a second consecutive time, Mississippi State’s Justin Senior is ranked the top prospect. The Montreal, QC native appeared in all 12 games for the Bulldogs this season and started all of those games at right tackle. Since joining Mississippi State he has appeared 48 games (starting in 38). He will play one last game this season when the Bulldogs play in the St. Petersburg Bowl on boxing day versus Miami (Ohio) University.
Climbing eight spots into the second position is Laval’s Antony Auclair. The 6’5” 254-pound tight end was a part of the Rouge et Or squad that won the Vanier Cup in Hamilton in late November over the Calgary Dinos. In the championship game he recorded six receptions including a touchdown and accumulated 70 yards. Since the first Scouting Bureau was released in September, Auclair moved up eight spots from his original tenth-place ranking.
Defensive lineman Eli Ankou from UCLA jumped up two spots to retain the third slot. The Ottawa, ON native appeared in ten games for the Bruins and started in eight of those games. He compiled 46 tackles (29 solo, 17 assisted) including three sacks and a total of five tackles for a loss. In his career with UCLA he has notched 87 tackles including 15 tackles for a loss.
BY THE NUMBERS
The December rankings include six offensive linemen, five defensive linemen, four receivers, three linebackers, a defensive back and a tight end.
There are 17 universities represented on the list with three schools featuring multiple selections: Calgary (2), Laurier (2) and Laval (2). 10 U Sports schools and seven NCAA schools are represented on the list.
Three new prospects joined the Scouting Bureau rankings in December: Dariusz Bladek (No. 15), Jordan Herdman (No. 16) and Mitchell Picton (No. 20).
Josiah St. John, the first overall selection at the 2016 CFL Draft, was ranked third in the December rankings a year ago.
19 of 20 players from last season’s December’s CFL Scouting Bureau rankings were selected in the 2016 CFL Draft including six of eight first round draft selections.
ABOUT THE CENTRAL SCOUTING BUREAU
The CFL Scouting Bureau releases its rankings three times each year: in September, December and April.
The CFL’s Scouting Bureau is comprised of CFL scouts, player personnel directors and general managers from the league’s nine teams.