EDMONTON — It’s late on a Friday night — not last-call late, but well into the evening — and the men collecting all the key intel for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the upcoming 2026 Canadian Football League Draft have all gathered in GM Kyle Walters’ hotel room for an information-sharing meeting.
Head coach Mike O’Shea is there, along with assistant coaches Mike Miller and Jake Thomas, Senior Director of Player Personnel Eric Deslauriers and Director of Football Operations Matt Gulakow along with Senior VP of Team Strategy and Public Relations Darren Cameron — all fresh from conducting over 40 one-on-one interviews with prospects in two separate rooms here at the CFL Combine.
There are more similar interviews planned for Saturday night but on Friday yours truly was invited to take in the meeting as part of a behind-the-scenes look at a critical part of the Combine process. Indeed, while a player’s film earns him an invitation to this national evaluation camp and his testing numbers and work on the field over three practices sessions this weekend are massive part in an overall ranking, the interview — something only the participants themselves witness — remains an important component.
A player can be an all-star in college and throw up great numbers in testing, but if red flags pop up in the interview, scheduled to run a maximum of 15 minutes, it can be crushing. The reverse is also true, with some players so impressing a coaching staff in their conversation their stock could then skyrocket.
“It’s a job interview,” explained Walters. It’s, ‘Are you trying to impress?’ because it’s more than just football. Are you going to try to be part of our team, or are you just going to be a football player? We really like to find the guys who are good football players who are going to be good teammates on top of that.
“You’re still looking at everything, but the interview is like a check — it’s, ‘This good football player is a good dude. Check.’ Or it could be, ‘This good football player is probably not, and would not be a good fit.’ Uncheck.”
The Blue Bombers have done hours upon hours of information gathering before the prospect interviews, from watching film, to networking with coaches. Included in the interviews are academic and injury-history questions, along with checking on a potential arrest history or legal issues.
There are then game clips brought up on a monitor to ask a prospect about certain situations — occasionally including mistakes or iffy effort plays. All of that can help provide the information about a player’s potential transition from college to the professional ranks.
“You want to absolutely hear some higher-level football IQ. You want to be able to hear them talk the game, see something, understand it and be able to regurgitate it,” said O’Shea. “If they teach you something about what they know about football, then they’re ahead of it.
“Nothing is the be all and end all, right? I don’t know if there’s anything you’re going to hear that is an absolute, where it’s, ‘This is the determining factor.’ It’s all a collection of data.”
Friday night’s meeting in Walters’ room involved a player-by-player post-interview breakdown. Who stood out and why? And who didn’t and why.
An example of some of the commentary — not including the prospect’s name or the Blue Bomber staffer uttering it — to protect the integrity of the meeting:
-“Serious guy, but a good dude.”
-“One of those guys who fishes, hunts and fights on the weekends.”
-“Seems look a good kid, I’m just not sure he’s a pro.”
-“He hasn’t played for long, but he’s a likeable guy. Super mature for his age. He’ll be successful in whatever he does. Big mitts — how about the handshake on that guy?”
-“He’s put on eight pounds since we saw him at CGS (College Gridiron Showcase). Added a Blue Bomber staffer: ‘Yeah, well, so have I.’”
-“He said he would definitely take a PR spot. He wants to play football and does not want to go back to school.”
-“I wrote ‘No’ in my book. Straight up. No chance.”
-“Love the kid. He’s amazing. Super smart.”
Just for the record, not every CFL Draft prospect is interviewed here by the Blue Bombers. Winnipeg products like Trae Tomlinson (Louisiana-Lafayette), Nathan Carabatsakis (Robert Morris University) or Gio Vaccaro (Purdue) and University of Manitoba Bisons like Nathan Udoh and Victor Olaniran, will get their interviews with the club in Winnipeg when the time constraints aren’t so limiting.
The team will also conduct Zoom interviews with all the NCAA prospects who opted to pass on the CFL Combine after attending — or planning to attend — their own Pro Days.
“I really enjoy this aspect of the CFL Combine — just talking football with these guys,” said Walters. “We like to find out things like is he a good dude? Will he fit in our room? Does he really, really know his football, which is key because it makes it less of an adjustment to pro football.
“I remember way back not long after we started this and we had Sukh Chungh in for an interview (he would be selected second overall by the club in 2015). We put some film on, and he jumped up out of his seat because he was so excited to talk football while we watched film.
“We had a couple like that last night where they popped out of their seats and you could see the excitement they had talking football. That’s fun.”
Again, as O’Shea said the CFL Combine interview is not the be all and end all.
Sure as hell can’t hurt to crush it though, either.
“There’s always a handful of guys that leave you feeling really good about being here,” O’Shea said with a wide smile. “They hammer home the fact that these young guys are in a good spot. There’s going to be a new crop of guys that come up and contribute and play to great teams and are going to be great teammates who are going to part of winning.
“There’s always a pile of guys every year that you interview that really make you feel good about what you’re doing. Some of these players have the world in their hands. They are on the cusp of doing something they’ve dreamed about. Witnessing their excitement as they are on this journey, that can fill the room.”