CFL Scouting Bureau:13 U SPORTS standouts make final Top-20 prospect list for 2017 CFL draft

By Scott Harrigan -
265
2017 CFL draft
Geoff Gray, an offensive lineman from the University of Manitoba, is the top-ranked U SPORTS player on the third and final prospect list released by the CFL’s Scouting Bureau in advance of the league’s 2017 Canadian Draft.

In total, 13 U SPORTS standouts cracked the rankings unveiled on Thursday – matching the Dec. 8 total – including four in the Top 10.
Gray was listed at No. 11 in the initial rankings published back in September before moving up to No. 5 in December. In his fourth campaign with the Bisons last fall, the 6-foot-6, 310-pound guard from Winnipeg was named a Canada West all-star, the conference’s most outstanding down lineman, a national nominee for the J.P. Metras Trophy and a First Team All-Canadian. After starting all eight league games for Manitoba, the engineering student was one of two players selected to represent Canadian university football at the prestigious East-West Shrine Game in Florida, in January.
The only players ranked higher than Gray on the Scouting Bureau’s April list are NCAA products Justin Senior, an offensive lineman from Mississippi State, and Eli Ankou, a defensive lineman from UCLA. Senior, who hails from Montreal, had also topped the September and December rankings.
The other U SPORTS stars named to the new Top 20 are McMaster receiver Danny Vandervoort (No. 4 / up three), Laval tight end Antony Auclair (No. 7 / down five), Carleton receiver Nate Behar (No. 9 / up three), Montreal defensive lineman Junior Luke (No. 11 / down two), Wilfrid Laurier defensive lineman Kwaku Boateng (No. 12 / down six), McGill offensive lineman Qadr Spooner (No. 13 / no change), Calgary defensive back Robert Woodson (No. 14 / up three), St. Francis Xavier defensive lineman Kay Okafor (No. 15 / up four), as well as previously unranked offensive lineman Braden Schram from Calgary (No. 16), running back Johnny Augustine from Guelph (No. 17), defensive lineman Fabion Foote from McMaster (No. 18) and defensive lineman Connor McGough from Calgary (No. 20).
Boateng and Auclair were the highest-ranked U SPORTS players on the September and December lists, respectively, both reaching the No. 2 spot.
Last May, Laval offensive lineman Philippe Gagnon was the first U SPORTS player selected in the CFL Canadian Draft when the Montreal Alouettes called his name at No. 2. Gagnon had been ranked 15th, 13th and ninth, respectively, on the three prospect lists released over the course of the season.
Fifty-three U SPORTS players were selected in the 2016 CFL Draft (out of 70 total picks), including four in the first round.
NOTES: The CFL Scouting Bureau releases its rankings three times each year: in September, December and April. The Bureau is comprised of CFL scouts, player personnel directors and general managers from the league’s nine teams.
CFL SCOUTING BUREAU APRIL 13, 2017 LIST:
Rank   Name                           Pos.     University       Hometown                  Ht.       Wt.      Dec. 8 

1.         Justin Senior                OL       Mississippi St.  Montreal, Que.          6-5       310      1
 2.         Eli Ankou                       DL       UCLA               Ottawa, Ont.                6-3       325      3
 3.         Geoff Gray                   OL       Manitoba         Winnipeg, Man.           6-6       310      5
4.         Danny Vandervoort   REC     McMaster         Barrie, Ont.                  6-2       204      7
5.         Faith Ekakitie                DL       Iowa                Brampton, Ont.              6-3       290      11
 6.         Christophe Mulumba  LB        Maine              Laval, Que.                  6-1       245      8
 7.         Antony Auclair           TE        Laval               Notre-Dame-des-Pins, Que. 6-6    254      2
8.         Mason Woods             OL       Idaho               Port Coquitlam, B.C.   6-9       320      10
 9.         Nate Behar                 REC     Carleton           London, Ont.               6-0       195      12
10.       Dariusz Bladek           OL       Bethune-Cookman  Kissimmee, Fl.  6-4       308      15
 11.       Junior Luke                DL       Montreal          Montreal, Que.             6-3       288      9
12.       Kwaku Boateng        DL       Laurier             Milton, Ont.                   6-2       250      6
13.       Qadr Spooner             OL       McGill             Brossard, Que.             6-4       314      13
14.       Robert Woodson        DB       Calgary          Calgary, Alta.               5-11     197      17
15.       Kay Okafor                 DL       StFX                Enugu, Nigeria             6-4       275      19
16.       Braden Schram         OL       Calgary          Manning, Alta.               6-5       290      NR
17.       Johnny Augustine     RB       Guelph             Welland, Ont.              5-10     200      NR
18.       Fabion Foote               DL       McMaster         North York, Ont.           6-2       285      NR
19.       Dondre Wright             DB       Henderson St.  Ajax, Ont.                    5-11     210      NR
 20.       Connor McGough      DL       Calgary               Medicine Hat, Alta.   6-2       251      NR

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