CIS football: Concordia’s Greenwood top CIS prospect for 2010 CFL Draft

OTTAWA (CIS) – Fourth-year Concordia linebacker Cory Greenwood is the top CIS prospect for the 2010 CFL Canadian Draft according to the ranking of amateur players published Wednesday by the CFL’s Amateur Scouting Bureau.

Greenwood of Kingston, Ont., is ranked second overall and is one of nine CIS players included on the Top 15 list along with Queen’s linebacker Shomari Williams at No. 4, Concordia wide receiver Cory Watson at No. 6, Guelph kicker Rob Maver at No. 7, Montreal linebacker Joash Gesse at No. 8, St. Francis Xavier wide receiver Akeem Foster at No. 9, Manitoba defensive tackle Eddie Steele at No. 12, and Wilfrid Laurier teammates, defensive back Taurean Allen and defensive end Chima Ihekwoada, who are ranked No. 13 and 14, respectively.

Rounding out the list are six NCAA players. Nevada’s John Bender, a 6-foot-8, 325-pound offensive lineman from Cochrane, Alta., moves up four spots to No. 1 after behind ranked fifth on the first Amateur Scouting Bureau list released back in September.

Greenwood, who was No. 3 in September, is the 2009 Presidents’ trophy recipient as the best defensive player in CIS football. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Stingers captain led the Quebec conference and was third in the nation with 62 regular-season tackles, including five for losses and a pair of quarterback sacks. A first-team all-Canadian this past season, he is a three-time QUFL all-star.

Williams of Brampton, Ont., makes the biggest jump on the new list moving all the way up from 15th to fourth place. The 6-foot-2, 236-pound senior helped the Gaels capture their first Vanier Cup in 17 years this fall and was named player of the game when Queen’s upset top-ranked and defending national champion Laval in the Mitchell Bowl.

Watson, a 2009 second-team all-Canadian from Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., and Maver of Brampton also see their stock rise significantly as they were ranked 14th and 12th, respectively, in September.

Gesse of Montreal was also ranked eighth on the original list. Foster, a first-team all-Canadian from Ajax, Ont., drops four spots. Steele, a second-team CIS all-star from Winnipeg, was unranked. Allen of Etobicoke, Ont., remains in his previous position, while Ihekwoada of Burlington, Ont., is down seven places.

The Amateur Scouting Bureau is comprised of CFL scouts, player personnel directors and general managers from the league’s eight teams.

The Toronto Argonauts hold the first selection for the 2010 CFL Canadian Draft. Winnipeg will talk second, followed by B.C., Saskatchewan (via Edmonton), Calgary, Saskatchewan and Montreal. Hamilton forfeited its first-round pick.

The date of the draft will be announced in the coming months.

CIS players have been selected first overall three years running, each time by Hamilton, including Alberta offensive tackle Simeon Rottier in 2009, Saskatchewan defensive back Dylan Barker in 2008 and Regina wide receiver Chris Bauman in 2007.

CFL AMATEUR SCOUTING BUREAU LIST (#2) – December, 2009

Rank (prev.) - Player - University - Pos. - Ht. - Wt.

1 (5) John Bender Nevada OL 6-8 325
2 (3) Cory Greenwood Concordia LB 6-2 235
3 (2) Danny Watkins Baylor OT 6-4 310
4 (15) Shomari Williams Queen’s LB 6-2 236
5 (9) J'Michael Deane Michigan St. OL 6-5 312
6 (14) Cory Watson Concordia WR 6-2 204
7 (12) Rob Maver Guelph K/P 6-0 195
8 (8) Joash Gesse Montreal LB 6-0 225
9 (5) Akeem Foster StFX WR 6-5 215
10 (1) Brian Bulcke Stanford DL 6-4 281
11 (4) Joe Eppele Washington St. OL 6-8 306
12 (NR) Eddie Steele Manitoba DT 6-2 280
13 (13) Taurean Allen Laurier DB 5-11 195
14 (7) Chima Ihekwoaba Laurier DE 6-4 255
15 (11) Nasser Jamal Lou. Lafayette OT 6-6 286


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