UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA’S DAVID ONYEMATA TOPS FINAL CFL SCOUTING BUREAU RANKINGS
Josiah St. John, Charles Vaillancourt and Brian Jones will be made available via conference call at 1:00 p.m. ET today
Monday, April 25, 2016 — TORONTO (April 26, 2016) – The Canadian Football League Scouting Bureau has released its third and final rankings of the top-20 eligible prospects for the 2016 CFL Canadian Draft that’s taking place on May 10, 2016.
Today at 1:00 p.m. ET the CFL will host a conference call with OL Josiah St. John, OL Charles Vaillancourt and WR Brian Jones.
Below is the April Scouting Bureau Rankings:
| April Scouting Bureau Ranking | ||||
| Rank | Name | Position | School | Hometown |
| 1 (2) | David Onyemata | DL | Manitoba | Lagos, Nigeria |
| 2 (1) | Tevaun Smith | WR | Iowa | Toronto, ON |
| 3 (4) | Mehdi Abdesmad | DL | Boston College | Montreal, QC |
| 4 (5) | Arjen Colquhoun | DB | Michigan St. | Windsor, ON |
| 5 (3) | Josiah St. John | OL | Oklahoma | Toronto, ON |
| 6 (6) | Charles Vaillancourt | OL | Laval | Coaticook, QC |
| 7 (-) | Alex Singleton | LB | Montana St. | Thousand Oaks , CA |
| 8 (8) | Trent Corney | DL | Virginia | Brockville, ON |
| 9 (13) | Philippe Gagnon | OL | Laval | L’Ancienne-Lorette, QC |
| 10 (18) | Brian Jones | WR | Acadia | Enfield, NS |
| 11 (9) | Taylor Loffler | DB | UBC | Kelowna, B.C. |
| 12 (12) | Juwan Brescacin | WR | Northern Illinois | Mississauga, ON |
| 13 (7) | Mercer Timmis | RB | Calgary | Burlington, ON |
| 14 (11) | Dillon Guy | OL | Buffalo | Hamilton, ON |
| 15 (15) | Anthony Thompson | DB | Southern Illinois | Montreal, QC |
| 16 (-) | Michael Couture | OL | Simon Fraser | Burnaby, BC |
| 17 (14) | Jason Lauzon-Seguin | OL | Laval | Pointe-Claire, QC |
| 18 (16) | Elie Bouka | DB | Calgary | Laval, QC |
| 19 (17) | Llevi Noel | WR | Windsor AKO | Toronto, ON |
| 20 (19) | Doug Corby | WR | Queen's | Burlington, ON |
Please note: The number in parentheses is the player’s ranking from the last CFL Scouting Bureau published in December 2015.
Top-5 Prospects
J.P. Metras Trophy winner and Manitoba Bison, David Onyemata overtook the first ranked position in the April edition of the CFL Scouting Bureau. The All-Canadian at the defensive tackle position racked up 46 tackles (31 solo) as well as five sacks and 7.5 tackles for a loss. Onyemata also participated in the 2016 East-West Shrine game earlier this year in Florida.
Following Onyemata, is Toronto, Ontario native Tevaun Smith. The Iowa Hawkeye receiver finished second on the team with 32 receptions and 564 yards while scoring three touchdowns including an 85-yard reception versus Michigan State in the Big 10 Championship game. In the previous two rankings, Smith topped the list.
Boston College defensive lineman, Mehdi Abdesmad moved up one spot to the third position in the top prospects rankings. The Montreal, QC native tallied 49 total tackles (35 solo) and 5.5 sacks during his senior year with the Eagles. His impressive season with the Eagles was recognized with an invite to the NFL Combine.
Arjen Colquhoun climbed up a spot into fourth on the April prospect rankings. The Windsor, ON native finished his career at Michigan State compiling 62 tackles (39 solo), 15 pass deflections, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Rounding out the top-5 is Oklahoma Sooners offensive lineman, Josiah St. John. The 6’6” 308 pound tackle, played two seasons in Norman, OK playing in 15 games and starting in four (all in 2015). The Toronto Native was ranked third in the December rankings.
Rounding out the top-10 are Laval offensive lineman Charles Vaillancourt, Montana State linebacker Alex Singleton, University of Virginia defensive lineman Trent Corney, Laval offensive lineman Philippe Gagnon, and Acadia receiver Brian Jones.
By the Numbers
The April rankings include six offensive linemen, five receivers, four defensive backs, three defensive linemen and one linebacker and running back.
There are 16 universities and one Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) team represented on the list with two schools featuring multiple selections: Laval (3), and Calgary (2). Ten NCAA schools and six CIS schools are represented on the list.
In the April rankings, two players joined the top-20 list; Alex Singleton (No. 7) and Michael Couture (No. 16). Acadia’s receiver, Brian Jones saw on of the largest climbs post-CFL Combine, where he went jumped from No. 18 in the December rankings to No. 10.
Alex Mateas, the 2015 CFL Draft first overall selection, was ranked third in the 2015 April rankings.
All 20 players from last season’s April CFL Scouting Bureau rankings were selected in the 2015 CFL Draft including eight first round 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.
The 2016 Canadian Football League season kicks off Thursday June 23 when the Toronto Argonauts host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at their new home at BMO Field in Toronto. It culminates Sunday November 27 with the playing of the 104th Grey Cup, also in Toronto.