May 11, 2016

CFL Canadian Draft: Laval’s Gagnon selected second overall, 53 CIS players drafted

OTTAWA (CIS) – Philippe Gagnon, an offensive lineman from Laval University, was the first CIS player selected in the 2016 CFL Canadian Draft when the Montreal Alouettes called his name at No. 2, on Tuesday evening.

May 10, 2016

OTTAWA (CIS) – Philippe Gagnon, an offensive lineman from Laval University, was the first CIS player selected in the 2016 CFL Canadian Draft when the Montreal Alouettes called his name at No. 2, on Tuesday evening.

For all the information on the CFL Canadian Draft: www.cfl.ca

The first overall selection, by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, was offensive lineman Josiah St. John from the University of Oklahoma, marking the second straight year than an NCAA player topped the charts after an eight-year CIS stranglehold on the first pick from 2007 to 2014.

Overall, 53 CIS standouts were selected out of 70 total picks (75.7%). The tally is the second best in league history, trailing only the whopping 59 CIS stars chosen in 2014 out of 65 total selections (90.8%). A year ago, CIS players made up 71% of draftees (44 out of 62).

Gagnon was one of four CIS players who went in the opening round on Tuesday, with four more following in the second, seven in the third, seven in the fourth, eight in the fifth, nine in the sixth, seven in the seventh, and seven in the final round.

Other CIS representatives to go in the first round were Acadia wide receiver Brian Jones at No. 4 (Toronto), as well as two more members of the dominating Laval offensive line, Charles Vaillancourt at No. 5 (British Columbia) and Jason Lauzon-Séguin at No. 7 (Ottawa).

“I didn’t want to be disappointed so I was trying to keep my hopes and expectations in check. I wanted this to be a positive experience, and it turned out that way,” said Gagnon. “It’s nice to go second overall but the draft is not the end of the process, it’s only the start. I’m happy to know where I’m heading to and to be able to focus on football moving forward.

“Pretty much all the teams showed interest, but everyone was keeping their cards close to their vest. I couldn’t tell whether the Alouettes were more interested than other teams.”

Gagnon, a 6-foot-4, 311-pound guard from L’Ancienne-Lorette, Que., was ranked 15^th on the first CFL Scouting Bureau list of the season back in September but moved up to 13^th in December before cracking the top 10, at No. 9, on the final list released on April 26. Named a second-team all-Canadian in each of his last two campaigns with the Rouge et Or, he was part of a unit that allowed a CIS-low seven sacks in eight league games last fall and topped the Quebec conference with 211 rushing yards per game.

Jones (No. 10), Vaillancourt (No. 6) and Lauzon-Séguin (No. 17) were also ranked in the Scouting Bureau’s top 20 going into the draft.

Also of note, the top-ranked player on the April 26 list, Manitoba defensive lineman David Onyemata, was chosen in the fourth round by Saskatchewan. The 2015 CIS down lineman of the year dropped to 35^th overall after he was drafted by the NFL’s New Orleans Saints on April 30.

Led by Gagnon, Vaillancourt and Lauzon-Séguin, the Rouge et Or topped all CIS programs with an impressive eight selections. Western was a close second with seven, followed by Vanier Cup champion UBC, Guelph and McMaster, who had five apiece.

The 11-team OUA league was the most prolific of the four CIS conferences with 25 draftees, followed by the six-team Canada West (15), the six-team RSEQ (13) and the four-team AUS (1).

Offensive linemen proved the most popular CIS players (13), followed by receivers (12), linebackers (10), defensive backs (8), running backs / fullbacks (5), defensive linemen (4) and kickers (1).

The 2016 CFL regular season gets underway on June 23^rd when Hamilton visits Toronto.

NOTE: Selected in the sixth round by British Columbia, wide receiver Shaquille Johnson played for two CIS schools, including one season at Western (2014) and one at McGill (2012). He is included in both the OUA and RSEQ totals, and both Western and McGill’s totals.

CIS players selected in 2016 CFL Canadian Draft (53):

First Round (8 total selections)

2. Philippe Gagnon, Laval, OL (by Montreal)

4. Brian Jones, Acadia, WR (by Toronto)

5. Charles Vaillancourt, Laval, OL (by British Columbia)

7. Jason Lauzon-Séguin, Laval, OL (by Ottawa)

Second Round (9 total selections)

3. (11^th overall) Wayne Moore, McMaster, RB (by Montreal)

5. (13^th overall) DJ Sackey, Toronto, OL (by Toronto)

6. (14^th overall) Mercer Timmis, Calgary, RB (by Hamilton)

8. (16^th overall) Mikaël Charland, Concordia, DB (by Ottawa)

Third Round (9 total selections)

2. (19^th overall) Taylor Loffler, UBC, DB (by Winnipeg)

3. (20^th overall) Sean Jamieson, Western, OL (by Montreal)

4. (21^st overall) Terrell Davis, UBC, LB (by Hamilton)

5. (22^nd overall) Jamal Campbell, York, OL (by Toronto)

6. (23^rd overall) Brett Blaszko, Calgary, WR (by British Columbia)

7. (24^th overall) Elie Bouka, Calgary, DB (by Saskatchewan)

9. (26^th overall) Quinn van Gylswyk, UBC, K (by Saskatchewan)

Fourth Round (9 total selections)

1. (27^th overall) Declan Cross, McMaster, RB (by Toronto)

2. (28^th overall) Shayne Gauthier, Laval, LB (by Winnipeg)

3. (29^th overall) George Johnson, Western, WR (by Montreal)

5. (31^st overall) Llevi Noel, Toronto, WR (by Toronto)

6. (32^nd overall) Shaquille Johnson, Western, WR (by British Columbia)

7. (33^rd overall) Roman Grozman, Concordia, OL (by Calgary)

9. (35^th overall) David Onyemata, Manitoba, DL (by Saskatchewan)

Fifth Round (9 total selections)

1. (36^th overall) Alex Ogbongbemiga, Calgary, LB (by Saskatchewan)

2. (37^th overall) Zachary Intzandt, McMaster, OL (by Winnipeg)

3. (38^th overall) Jean-Philippe Bolduc, Laval, DB (by Calgary)

4. (39^th overall) Félix Faubert-Lussier, Laval, WR (by Hamilton)

5. (40^th overall) Curtis Newton, Guelph, LB (by Toronto)

7. (42^nd overall) Pierre-Luc Caron, Laval, LB (by Calgary)

8. (43^rd overall) Randy Beardy, Windsor, OL (by Ottawa)

9. (44^th overall) Josh Woodman, Western, DB (by Edmonton)

Sixth Round (9 total selections)

1. (45^th overall) Kyle Fraser-Audit, Guelph, OL (by Ottawa)

2. (46^th overall) Rupert Butcher, Western, DL (by Winnipeg)

3. (47^th overall) A’dre Fraser, Guelph, WR (by Montreal)

4. (48^th overall) Brennan Van Nistelrooy, Alberta, DB (by British Columbia)

5. (49^th overall) Kris Kolankowski, York, OL (by Toronto)

6. (50^th overall) Emmitt Tims, Saskatchewan, WR (by Montreal)

7. (51^st overall) Michael Kashak, McMaster, DL (by Calgary)

8. (52^nd overall) Alex McKay, Manitoba, OL (by Saskatchewan)

9. (53^rd overall) Doug Corby, Queen’s, WR (by Edmonton)

Seventh Round (8 total selections)

1. (54^th overall) Arto Khatchikian, Concordia, LB (by Ottawa)

2. (55^th overall) Alex Vitt, Manitoba, SB (by Winnipeg)

3. (56^th overall) Maïko Zepeda, Montreal, DB (by Montreal)

4. (57^th overall) Nathan O’Halloran, Windsor, FB (by British Columbia)

5. (58^th overall) Johnathan Ngeleka Muamba, McMaster, DB (by Toronto)

6. (59^th overall) Mitch Barnett, UBC, LB (by Hamilton)

7. (60^th overall) Jamal Kett, Western, WR (by Ottawa)

Eighth Round (9 total selections)

2. (63^rd overall) Frank Renaud, Windsor, LB (by Winnipeg)

3. (64^th overall) Matthew Toppan, Guelph, OL (by Montreal)

4. (65^th overall) Boyd Richardson, UBC, DL (by British Columbia)

5. (66^th overall) Ryan Nieuwesteeg, Guelph, RB (by Toronto)

6. (67^th overall) Matt Uren, Western, WR (by Hamilton)

8. (69^th overall) Guillaume Tremblay-Lebel, Laval, LB (by Ottawa)

9. (70^th overall) DJ Lalama, Manitoba, LB (by Edmonton)

CIS players selected by round (53):

First round: 4

Second: 4

Third: 7

Fourth: 7

Fifth: 8

Sixth: 9

Seventh: 7

Eighth: 7

CIS players selected by regional association (53):

OUA: 25

Canada West: 15

RSEQ: 13

AUS: 1

CIS players selected by university (53):

Laval: 8

Western: 7

UBC: 5

Guelph: 5

McMaster: 5

Calgary: 4

Manitoba: 4

Concordia: 3

Windsor: 3

Toronto: 2

York: 2

Acadia: 1

Alberta: 1

McGill: 1

Montreal: 1

Queen’s: 1

Windsor: 1

CIS players selected by position (53):

Offensive linemen: 13

Receivers: 12

Linebackers: 10

Defensive backs: 8

Running back / fullbacks: 5

Defensive linemen: 4

Kickers: 1

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