The Toronto Argonauts have bolstered their front lines in a big way by signing 2001 NFL first round draft pick and Super Bowl champion OT Kenyatta Walker, as well as 1996 first round NFL draft pick DL Duane Clemons.
The Argonauts also announced the return of imports DL Daryl Whittington, DL Darrell Lee and DB Will Poole and welcome the arrival of imports DL Walter Curry, S/OLB Matt Hewitt, OT Brandon Joyce, and non-import OL Chris Van Zeyl.
A former first round (14th overall) selection out of Florida, Kenyatta Walker was taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2001 NFL Draft. He played six seasons with the Bucs and won Super Bowl XXXVII over the Oakland Raiders as their starting right tackle. Walker started 73 of 75 games in Tampa Bay and is acclaimed for his exceptional balance, size and strength. The 29 year old most recently attended training camp with the Carolina Panthers (NFL).
Duane Clemons was taken in the 1st Round (16th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1996 NFL Draft. Clemons played 10 seasons with Minnesota, Kansas City and Cincinnati. He made 337 tackles and 49.5 sacks, including four seasons when he had at least seven sacks in each campaign. Clemons is a workhorse style lineman who at 6’5″, 273 pounds, was an imposing force up front.
A product of Missouri, Daryl Whittington spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL and the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe. The brainy defensive end left football in 2003 to pursue academics and completed his Masters in Environmental Design and Architecture. He applied his knowledge while working on various projects like architectural animation and sustainable building development. Whittington attended camp with the Argos in 2007 and was released as a final cut.
DL Darrell Lee attended training camp with the Argos in 2007 but didn’t quite fit into the Argos’ steadfast 3-4 defence at the time. A former college teammate of Kenyatta Walker at Florida, he has attended training camps with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles. Lee has also spent two separate seasons in NFL Europa where he played in World Bowl XIII.
DL Walter Curry was a two-time All-Conference Defensive Player of the Year in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference while at Albany State. The hulking defensive tackle attended training camp with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars, and spent two campaigns refining his skills in NFL Europa. Curry recently attended training camp with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
Recruited out of Arkansas and Alfred State Junior College, S/OLB Matt Hewitt is full of potential. He played two outstanding seasons for Alfred State then transferred to Arkansas where he was instantly inserted as a starter. After two good seasons for the Razorbacks, he was signed as an undrafted free agent the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
OT Brandon Joyce started 22 games over two seasons with Illinois State where he was named All-Gateway Newcomer of the Year in his first season. The 6’5″, 310 pound offensive tackle transferred to Illinois after two quiet seasons at Indiana. Joyce signed with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent on April 28 and was released as a final cut.
Originally drafted in the fourth round (102nd overall) by the Miami Dolphins in the 2004 NFL draft, DB Will Poole played in 15 regular season games with the Dolphins in his rookie year, making 31 defensive tackles (26 solo) and recorded 5 knockdowns. Before being drafted into the NFL, Poole was a star defender at USC after transferring form Boston College. In 2003, he recorded 80 tackles (52 solo) and 7 interceptions for 70 yards and 1 touchdown. He would help lead the Trojans, alongside RB Reggie Bush and QB Matt Leinart, to a National Championship later that year. The Argos originally signed Poole on October 3, 2007 and released him at the end of the season.
A former star for the McMaster Marauders, OT Chris Van Zeyl played four strong college seasons before being drafted by the Montreal Alouettes in the third round of the 2007 CFL Canadian Draft. Van Zeyl attended two training camps with the Als and has been on Montreal’s practice roster since the start of this season.
The Toronto Argonauts have also released IMP OL Mike Galassi and IMP LB Andre Maddox.