DANIELE FRANCESCHI – Argos Admirals with files from Argonauts.ca
TORONTO – Canadian Football League teams are only as good as their Canadian talent. An old adage that Argonauts General Manager, Jim Barker, took to heart this past off-season when he went about strengthening the teams’ Canadian depth.
“This off-season we went out there trying to improve our Canadian depth in terms of giving us options, some ratio options, and things along those lines,” commented Barker during a CFL Season Preview Conference call.
The defending Grey Cup Champions have made several moves in an attempt to bolster their Canadian talent pool ahead of the 2013 season. In the CFL Draft, Barker selected four players from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) including highly touted offensive line prospect, Matt Sewell.
“We’re still working on a deal with his agent but we’re very close and he wants to be an Argonaut,” explained Barker in an interview with TSN Radio. “We’re excited that he wants to be an Argonaut and hopefully within the next few days we can consummate a deal.”
UPDATE: Sewell has since elected to return to McMaster to pursue his MBA and willl play out his final year of eligibility with the Maurauders.
|
Related: 2013 Off-Season |
|---|
|
> 2013 Draft Picks Ink Their Contracts > 2012 Pick Cleyon Laing Signed > Argos Acquire Khalif Mitchell |
With their second round selection, the Argonauts drafted Scarborough, Ont. native, Jermaine Gabriel, an athletic and versatile defensive back that Barker believes is “similar in terms of skill set to Matt (Black).” The Argos have also signed draft picks OL Michael Di Domenico and LB Paul Spencer, who will be at rookie camp when it opens May 29.
“We figure every year you have to change over 20-25% of your roster and there will obviously be some changes on defence for us,” stated Barker. “While we’ll be a little bit younger on defence, we’re excited about the direction we’re going. We’ve done some things that we feel improve our Canadian depth.”
In an attempt to shore up the Argonauts’ defensive line, Barker acquired non-import defensive lineman Jermaine Reid from the Edmonton Eskimos who has played both defence and special teams in his CFL career.
“I think the front four is going to be interesting. We brought in Jermaine Reid. We gave up a third round pick for Jermaine and we also acquired a pair of fifth round picks. We took those fifth round picks along with our fifth round pick to trade up to the third round from Saskatchewan (in the draft). It actually turned out to be a great thing for us,” said Barker during an interview with TSN Radio.
Along with acquiring defensive lineman Jermaine Reid, Barker also managed to reach an agreement with 2012 ninth overall draft selection Cleyon Laing.
“We have Jermaine and Cleyon inside now. How close Cleyon is to being ready to play, I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on a rookie,” stated Barker.
“We have Kevin Huntley back and we’ve acquired Khalif Mitchell. We’ve gone out and worked hard in the off-season to bring in some players to compliment them. Chris Jones does a masterful job. He knows when we need one non-import on the field. It could be a defensive lineman on one play, Matt Black the next play. It could be a lot of different people. He just does a great job of that and players buy into that. Everybody is involved, everybody has roles, different personnel groupings, and he does a great job for us.”
The Argonauts already boast one of the most dominant linebacking corps in the Canadian Football League which only improved this offseason with more incoming Canadian talent.
“When you have Marcus Ball, Robert McCune, and Brandon Isaac, a linebacking core like that, it’s easier to find those other pieces. We acquired Akwasi Antwi from Calgary and we think he can work into a rotation there,” said Barker.
In the secondary, the Argos signed former Wilfred Laurier defensive back, Shane Herbert, a young man who impressed many Argonauts coaches at the teams Florida mini-camp. Mississauga, Ont. native Jonathan Hood also signed with the Boatmen and is slated to be a key contributor on special teams.
“We signed Jonathan Hood and James Yurichuk to improve our Canadian depth and special teams,” commented Barker. “Shane (Herbert) was one that turned in an incredible performance (at mini-camp) and we signed him on the spot.”
The Argonauts now possess one of the largest contingents of Canadian talent in the CFL. There are currently 30+ non-import players on the roster and Barker credits a majority of his Canadian developmental success to Director of Player Personnel, Ted Goveia, and newly appointed Player Personnel Assistant, Chris Rossetti.
“We are excited this year to be able to promote within our personnel department two young Canadian guys. Ted Goveia was promoted to the Director of Player Personnel and has been working close with me. He is now ready to have that title and he’s involved in contract things. He’s a guy that’s been a head coach in junior football, a head coach in the CIS, he’s got contacts throughout Canada, and it’s great to watch a guy that started with the Burlington Braves work his way up to where he is now my right-hand man in the front office,” said Barker.
Barker is well aware of the importance of developing Canadian talent and assures that he is always searching for opportunities to improve the talent pool from north of the border.
“We’re excited about the young additions to our Canadian depth. The goal for us is to always increase our Canadian talent and we felt like we did that. We’re excited about the young players that we’re going to have coming in.”