THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Growing up in Brampton, Ont., Shomari Williams fondly remembers watching the Toronto Argonauts dominate the CFL en route to consecutive Grey Cup championships in 1996 and ’97.
On Sunday, the Queen’s Golden Gaels linebacker hopes he’ll don the Double Blue and be able to do his part to lead the Argos back to CFL respectability.
Williams heads into the CFL’s Canadian college draft Sunday (noon ET) as the top-ranked prospect. The Argos have three picks among the first 11 – including first overall – and head coach Jim Barker has said Williams is among the players he’s considering to take with the No. 1 pick.
“I watched Toronto closely growing up and went to their games,” Williams said Thursday. “It would be pretty cool to play for Toronto.
“But if it doesn’t happen I do think the other teams all have great benefits as well. Saskatchewan (which has the second and fourth picks overall) has one of the best fan bases while the B.C. Lions (who have the No. 3 pick) are really good as well. I’d be happy playing anywhere.”
Toronto has taken an offensive player all four previously times it has held the first pick. Three of those selections have been offensive linemen, including the last time it held the No. 1 selection and used it on centre Chad Folk in 1997.
Toronto secured the No. 1 pick after posting a league-worst 3-15 record. Having won just seven games combined the last two years the Argos have many needs and it’s important they get a player who can start right away or at least make a positive contribution immediately.
One need is shoring up the offensive line. But the majority of top-notch prospects are either returning to school or have signed NFL contracts, delaying when they’d report to the Argos.
A top available prospect is Joe Eppele, a six-foot-six, 309-pound tackle from Washington State. Eppele has all the physical tools to dominate and at one time was regarded as the favourite to go first overall. But he fell back to the pack after having some trouble in 1-on-1 drills at the CFL evaluation in March.
Williams would offer value as the top pick. He could immediately contribute on special teams while learning the nuances of CFL offences from veteran linebackers such as Canadian Kevin Eiben and Willie Pile. Williams is also versatile, able to play either in the middle or on the edge as a rush end.
“I think I can excel at both positions,” Williams said. “A few months ago, I would’ve probably said I could only play linebacker but I think I’ve got better at defensive end.
“I understand it a bit more. I still think I have a lot to learn at both positions but I believe I can play both at a high level and be successful.”
Williams made a triumphant return to three-down football last year, enrolling at Queen’s after spending three seasons at the University of Houston. With Williams helping anchor the defence, the Gaels claimed their first Vanier Cup title in 17 years, rallying from an 18-point deficit to beat the Calgary Dinos 33-31.
CFL officials certainly took notice. Williams began the season ranked No. 15 by the league’s amateur scouting bureau but quickly skyrocketed to No. 1.
“I think 2009 was probably the greatest year of my life,” Williams said. “I came to the CIS and thought we’d be a good team but we ended up winning the Yates Cup, Mitchell Bowl and then the Vanier Cup.
“And I went from being ranked No. 15 in the CIS to being ranked No. 1. It’s been a crazy year but a really really good year too.”
Williams believes his quickness is his best asset and is striving to one day be as effective coming off the edge as former CFL stars James (Quick) Parker and Leroy Blugh were in their heyday.
“Those guys were great players and I really respect what they did,” Williams said. “I’ve watched a lot of film on them and what they were able to do off the edge is the level I’m trying to achieve.”
Williams certainly had a nose for the football last year, registering 32 tackles and four sacks, along with 8.5 tackles for losses in six regular-season game. Williams became a force in the playoffs, recording 26 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for losses in four post-season contests.
He was especially dominant in the Mitchell Bowl, recording seven tackles and 3.5 sacks as Queen’s beat defending Vanier Cup-champion Laval 33-30 to advance to the Canadian university football final.
“That was certainly a big game but I felt a lot better about us beating Western in the Yates Cup,” Williams said. “That was the game I was most nervous about the whole year because it seemed this was always where Queen’s season would end and we all thought if it happened again we’d hear about it for the rest of our lives.
“We were on top of the world when we won that because we finally got over that hump.”
But there’s more to Williams than just football.
He graduated early from Houston with an entrepreneurship degree and currently operates a recruiting service called StudentBlitz.com. It allows athletes to post videos, statistics and academic information for college coaches to view and Williams says over 70 per cent of his clients have received full scholarships.
Williams is also looking to expand the business to help Canadian athletes get recruited by Canadian schools. He says the idea for the business came as a result of what he went through while trying to attract attention from American universities.
“I stayed up every night and burned DVDs of my highlight tape, then in the morning I mailed them out to all the different college coaches,” he said. “It took a lot of time burning the DVDs and then mailing them all out and cost a lot.
“I just thought there had to be a way to make it more efficient and that’s what we’re try to do. We have a database that allows the athletes to contact any college coach they want and they’re also able to send those coaches highlight videos and their athletic profile. They can email up to 500 coaches a day and that would be a lot better than having to mail it out and just increases their chances.