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<\/a><\/p>\nTo that end, Kramdi \u2014 the veteran Blue Bombers dime back \u2014 has returned to the Universit\u00e9 de Montreal this offseason to take computer science courses and this week he is also participating in the fifth annual Canadian Football League Mentorship Program \u2014 a joint CFL\/CFL\u00a0 Players\u2019 Association (CFLPA) initiative which sees players take part in professional development sessions \u2018to gain a deeper understanding of the business behind the game.\u2019<\/p>\n
Kramdi is one of seven CFL players in Toronto this week \u2014 and on Friday at the University of Waterloo for the CFL Invitational Combine \u2014 after applying for the mentorship program and then going through an interview process before being selected. He is the fourth Blue Bomber player to take part in the program after Sergio Castillo (2025), Jake Thomas (2024) and Pat Neufeld (2023).<\/p>\n
The group has had sessions with several league executives, including commissioner Stewart Johnston and Ryan Janzen and Eric Noivo in the league\u2019s football operations department and then spent Thursday at the TSN offices chatting with on-air talent like Henoc Muamba and Kate Beirness as well as those who work on the league\u2019s television production behind the seasons.<\/p>\n
On Friday, they were front and centre for the on field combine event at Waterloo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always said I don\u2019t know yet what I want to do after football, but I know there\u2019s a part of me that wants to stick around the game after I\u2019m done playing,\u201d said Kramdi. \u201cI was talking to Jake Thomas \u2014 he was in the program, too \u2014 and he said he learned a lot being in it. That helped me decide to hop in.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking to Jake, I thought doing something like this now to benefit me after my career was a good idea. I\u2019m in school which is helping me after career but if I want to stay in football I wanted to see what I can do in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if the experience has opened his eyes at all to the possibility of a future outside of scouting or coaching, Kramdi was his usual succinct self.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to be honest with you, it\u2019s \u2018F no,’\u201d he said with a chuckle. \u201cI want to stay around football. It\u2019s going to be scouting or coaching if I want to stay around football. I know myself and what I want to do. I want to stay around football, either in the scouting department or coaching. Lots of times we sit around the locker room and we talk s\u2013t and say, \u2018Why don\u2019t we do this?\u2019 because in our heads it\u2019s all so simple. Then after being in this program, I can say there\u2019s a lot behind every single decision.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI will say that listening to the people in marketing and finance \u2014 each and every one introduced themselves and how they got to where they are \u2014 but none of them played in the CFL. That opened my eyes a bit. To play football you\u2019ve got to go to university and so we\u2019ve got a bunch of people in our league who have degrees. When players are done playing football could they get jobs at the CFL office to bring that perspective?<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope this program to lead to more players who are qualified to have jobs are in a position to get those jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the most-intelligent men in the Blue Bombers locker room and a versatile member of Jordan Younger\u2019s defence, Kramdi has the chops to already begin trending toward a career in coaching. The mentorship program gave him a glimpse at other potential opportunities in the game, but his happy place is with both his feet on the turf participating or watching practice.<\/p>\n
And that will never change.<\/p>\n
\u201cFootball is a passion for me,\u201d he said. \u201cFootball puts food on my table, helps me pay my bills and my hope is I can keep it that way for as long as possible and then after I\u2019m doing playing too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve only seen myself in recent years that if I was to stay in football it would only be in coaching or scouting. Now, having the chance to talk to people and what they do with their day to day through this program it has had me thinking that if I was to get sick of the Xs and Os and with my degree and my background\u00a0 in management and administration and business and now in computer science I could maybe get a job in the office. Why not stay around sports, stay around football even if it\u2019s not in the Xs and Os? It has definitely opened my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe play football for six months but from December to mid-May we\u2019re not doing anything. It would be cool if there was an internship program now to use that time to build a foundation for our after-career whether it\u2019s in finance, marketing, coaching, scouting \u2014 the CFL is a business that touches all aspects, so it would be amazing to have something like that open up as future possibilities for players.\u201d<\/p>\n
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More notes and quotes in this week\u2019s edition of 1st & 10\u2026<\/p>\n
-We\u2019ve reached the combine season leading up to the CFL Draft on Tuesday, April 28th. Kramdi was there today to watch the league\u2019s invitational combine with the national event going later this month in Edmonton. On Friday, eight participants in Waterloo earned the right to advance to the Edmonton, including University of Manitoba offensive lineman Victor Olaniran.<\/p>\n
8 advance from Invitational Combine to CFL Combine<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n FYI\u2026 the latest on Blue Bombers QB prospect Taylor Elgersma, who was drafted by the club in the second round last year, attending training camp with the Green Bay Packers before earning looks from other NFL teams and then attending the NFL Combine in Indianapolis as a camp arm \u2014 he\u2019s now in training camp with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL.<\/p>\n The Stallions open the UFL season March 27th against the Louisville Kings with their last regular season game on May 30th against the Houston Gamblers. Elgersma is hoping to use this opportunity to get more NFL eyeballs on his work in the four-down game but should he stick around with the Stallions and not get an NFL look afterward, potentially wouldn\u2019t be able to join the Blue Bombers until June \u2014 after training camps are concluded and around the start of the CFL regular season.<\/p>\n Elgersma is battling with veteran Matt CZoral and rookie Michael Hiers in Birmingham.<\/p>\n A couple notes from the @UFLStallions<\/a> Quarterbacks today:<\/p>\n \u2013 Matt Corral taking QB1 reps. Looked very sharp, but characteristically had a couple terrible throws (i.e. an INT directly to Tae Crowder) \u2014 James Larsen (@JamesLarsenPFN) March 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n And finally\u2026 the Blue Bombers are everywhere in this province during the offseason. Here\u2019s a video put together by videographer Smart Rosales about a recent trip to Gillam:<\/p>\n This year we partnered with @RecycleMB<\/a> to inspire recycling efforts through a community-wide contest in Gillam, MB. \u267b\ufe0f<\/p>\n Through this initiative we are able to make an impact beyond the field and continue building a stronger, more sustainable community across Manitoba!\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/IFEhAYRy3q<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) March 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2013 Michael Hiers QB2, Taylor Elgersma QB3; but Taylor did just show up to camp.\u2026<\/p>\n