THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — He came in as the second-ranked prospect for this year’s Canadian college draft and Ottawa’s Scott Mitchell didn’t disappoint at the CFL evaluation camp.
The six-foot-four, 295-pound offensive tackle from Rice University stood out from the crowd Sunday in 1-on-1 blocking drills on the final day of the camp at Varsity Stadium. He also showed his versatility – an important factor given the small CFL rosters – filling in at guard and centre.
“I think I showed I can kind of move around and play all over the place and can get physical,” Mitchell said.
“He helped himself out a lot. I thought he was just outstanding. He caught the ball very well, he played physical and in all of his testing he was where you would expect a top guy to be.”
– Argos GM & Head Coach Jim Barker on Calgary Dinos WR Anthony Parker.
Mitchell also wanted to prove he was a worthy of being selected as the second-ranked draft prospect by the CFL’s scouting bureau.
“I didn’t even know they had a scouting bureau, that I was even ranked that high,” he said. “I just wanted to prove I’m worth them investing that much hype and reputation around me.”
And Winnipeg GM Joe Mack, who has the first pick in the CFL’s Canadian college draft May 8, said Mitchell is indeed a player of interest for the Blue Bombers.
“He has good technique, he’s really enthusiastic and is versatile, he did all five spots and I think he did very well for himself,” Mack said. “He’s someone we think will be a great player in the league for a very long time and anyone we think will be a great player is someone we’d have an interest in.”
Another player who impressed was Calgary’s Anthony Parker, the top-ranked receiver for the draft at No. 3 overall. The six-foot-two, 215-pound Parker posted an impressive electronically-timed 4.54-second effort in the 40-yard dash, led all receivers with a broad jump of 10 feet seven inches and posted a camp-best 43-inch vertical.
And in the 1-on-1 pass drills, the son of former CFL player Anthony Parker showed great hands and an ability to create separation from defensive backs.
“He helped himself out a lot,” Argos head coach-GM Jim Barker said. “He had a nice career (at Calgary) but had a reputation as a guy who maybe took some plays off and things like that but acquitted himself very well.
“I thought he was just outstanding. He caught the ball very well, he played physical and in all of his testing he was where you would expect a top guy to be.”
St. Francis Xavier’s Henoc Muamba solidified his position as the top available linebacker in the draft. The six-foot, 230-pound native of Mississauga, Ont., had a 4.72 40-yard dash time but was especially solid in the 1-on-1 drills and really impressed with his on-field quickness and tenacity.
The 10th-ranked draft prospect captured the President’s Trophy last year as Canadian university’s top defensive player and is a potential first-round selection.
An interesting draft prospect is Ottawa quarterback Brad Sinopoli. The six-foot-four, 210-pound native of Peterborough, Ont., captured the Hec Crighton Trophy last year as Canadian university football’s top player and threw well Sunday. He also showed a surprising quickness for such a big man, posting a respectable 40-yard dash time of 4.8 seconds.
Toronto’s Phillip Blake, a centre at Baylor, is the top-ranked prospect for this year’s draft but it’s Mitchell who’s viewed as the first-overall selection because the six-foot-two, 315-pound Blake will return to school this fall. Mitchell was a four-year starter at Rice and appeared in 38 straight games before suffering a season-ending foot injury late last year.
Mack said it’s important for a Bombers squad that missed the CFL playoffs last year with a league-worst 4-14 record to select a player who can contribute immediately.
“That’s definitely going to be factored into anybody we decide to take . . . and yeah, I think he (Mitchell) can contribute,” he said. “The offensive line, they have to develop a little bit so I don’t know about right away but I think within a short period of time he would.”
“He was very balanced, seemed to be in control of what was going on and had a presence about him.”
– Jim Barker on prospect Scott Mitchell
Then again, that’s assuming Mack still has the first pick come May. Mack said he’d entertain trading the selection and moving down but only for a very enticing offer.
“There are three or four players for us that we think are probably on a little bit higher plateau than the rest of the guys who we think would have a chance to contribute for us anyways right away,” he said. “I don’t like to say never but it would have to be an extraordinary offer for us to do that and would probably entail us getting a quality Canadian that could come in and start for us right away.
“If that was in the package, we’d probably make the move.”
If there’s a knock on Mitchell, it’s his strength. He managed just 18 reps in the bench press, significantly less than the record 47 registered by Laurier offensive lineman Michael Knill on Saturday.
But strength can be developed with more time in the weightroom. As important to coaches are footwork, balance and blocking technique and Barker said overall Mitchell did more than enough to impress.
“It’s a tough environment to do all these things with people watching you and when you come in as Scott did as one of the top people it just adds to the pressure,” said Barker, named the CFL’s coach of the year last month after securing Toronto its first playoff birth since 2007. “He was very balanced, seemed to be in control of what was going on and had a presence about him.”
Mitchell can’t wait for the draft to be complete so he can get on with his life as a pro football player.
“I think about it all the time because this is my future,” he said. “The next two, three months are going to determine potentially the rest of my life . . . so it’s something that’s constantly on my mind.“I’m a college kid right now, I don’t have any money and I’m about to get some so I need to start being financially responsible. There’s a lot of stuff going on.”
Mitchell would readily welcome the opportunity to call Winnipeg his new home.
“That would be fantastic,” he said. “If Winnipeg likes me and wants me to play for them and I showed them everything I need to show them then I have no problem with that.”
NOTES — Regina quarterback Marc Mueller is the grandson of the late Ron Lancaster, the former Saskatchewan Roughriders star quarterback who later served as a CFL head coach with the Riders, Edmonton and Hamilton . . . The most interesting draft prospect at the camp was Saint Mary’s defensive lineman Chris Hodgson, a former minor pro hockey player who at six foot three and 260 pounds displayed impressive athletic ability. However, Hodgson has played football for just one year and is 26 years old . . . Also absent this weekend was former Western defensive lineman Vaughn Martin, the fourth-ranked prospect for this year’s draft. Martin has a good excuse. He’s under contract to the NFL’s San Diego Chargers.