{"id":519923,"date":"2026-03-07T07:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T07:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/519923\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T07:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T07:36:11","slug":"pair-of-regina-rams-set-to-compete-in-cfl-combine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/519923\/","title":{"rendered":"Pair of Regina Rams set to compete in CFL Combine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Piper Sports Photography\/Regina Rams University of Regina Rams defensive back Carson Sombach returns an interception against the University of Alberta Golden Bears during the 2025 Canada West season. <\/p>\n

Taylor Shire<\/p>\n

Regina Leader-Post<\/p>\n

A pair of University of Regina Rams are hoping to take the next step in their football journey.<\/p>\n

Defensive back Carson Sombach and offensive lineman Ethan Graham have both been invited to the national CFL Combine from Mar. 27-29 in Edmonton; a showcase event for the top draft-eligible prospects ahead of the CFL Draft on Apr. 28.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Rams offensive lineman Riley Schick, defensive lineman Anthony Montas Leipert and linebacker Colin McKellar have been selected to attend the invitational CFL combine \u2014 which goes this Friday in Waterloo, Ont. \u2014 with the hopes of earning an invite to the national combine.<\/p>\n

There are 83 draft-eligible prospects heading to the invitational combine while more than 70 have already been selected to attend the national combine, including University of Saskatchewan Huskies defensive lineman and Regina product Charlie Parks. Last year, 11 prospects advanced from the invitational to the national while eight were selected in 2024.<\/p>\n

For Sombach and Graham, two Regina products, knowing they\u2019ve earned an invite to the main combine is a sigh of relief.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes off a lot of stress,\u201d Sombach said this week. \u201cBecause if you go the invitational, your goal is to get invited to the national so already having that takes off that stress.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I get to just go straight to the national and get to be in front of as many people as I possibly can to show them what I can do and my football knowledge and my football ability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a goal for me since I\u2019ve joined the Rams back in 2021 to make the CFL Combine,\u201d said Graham, a 6-foot-7, 315-pound Sheldon-Williams Collegiate grad. \u201cAfter the last two years, this was my expectation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve put in a lot of work since I\u2019ve joined the Rams to be where I am today, and it\u2019s great to be noticed by the CFL and finally get that recognition that says, \u2018Hey, we do notice the work you put in and we\u2019d like to you to show out in front of our clubs.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

While the combine is in Edmonton this year,\u00a0Regina hosted the annual event in 2025<\/a>\u00a0inside the AffinityPlex with both Sombach and Graham in attendance as observant spectators.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad I went and watched now I have a good idea of what those days look like,\u201d said Sombach. \u201cIt was really cool to see those athletes work and move.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of surreal that I\u2019ll be in that same spot that I was just watching last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty cool to see it in person for the first time,\u201d added Graham, who recently attended the College Gridiron Showcase in Texas in January. \u201cI had done the drills before the past, so I compared a lot of their numbers to my numbers \u2026 I imagined myself running the 40 (-yard dash) in front of all the scouts and whatnot so it\u2019s pretty cool that I\u2019ll be able to do that in three weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving it in Regina last year was actually a great tool to be able to not go in totally blind. I know how it works, and how they move from drill to drill, and the format of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A main component of the CFL combine is the individual testing where players perform a 40-yard dash, 20-yard short shuttle, three-cone drill, bench press, broad jump and vertical jump in front of scouts.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also one-on-one and team drills in the three-day event, along with meetings with each team where prospects can be asked a range of questions.<\/p>\n

While game-action reps are sometimes challenging to mimic in the off-season, Sombach and Graham \u2014 who each have one more season of U Sports eligibility \u2014 have been hard at work over the last couple of months trying to increase their times and reps in the individual drills so they can be at their best come Mar. 27.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust repping them over and over again,\u201d said Graham. \u201cWhen I get out there to run, say like the shuttle, I don\u2019t want to think about running the shuttle. I just wanted to feel like second nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since I started training, my numbers are getting better and better as the weeks go on here which is very exciting to see,\u201d added the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Sombach. \u201cAlso, just the fact that I just keep improving makes you want more time because the numbers just keep dropping.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sombach said he\u2019s compared his numbers to other defensive backs from previous combines and feels comfortable where he\u2019s at heading in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve looked at all the other combines, what DBs have gotten drafted, what times (they had) and what they ran when they went to the combine just kind of get a little baseline of what I need to do when I go down there,\u201d said Sombach, who was named a second-team All-Canadian and Canada West all-star safety in 2025. \u201cIt gives myself a goal to get to.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former Miller Marauder also picked the brain of his older brother Jackson Sombach, who attended the combine in 2024 before being drafted by the Calgary Stampeders.<\/p>\n

\u201cMainly about the interview process and stuff like that and what I might experience,\u201d said Carson. \u201cIt\u2019s nice having somebody who\u2019s done that in my own household give me tips and tricks on how to manage that day and how to manage the whole week.\u201d<\/p>\n

While teams will also evaluate game film, the combine can go a long way in determining where a player goes in the draft.<\/p>\n

For the Rams duo, they\u2019re just hoping to put their best foot forward at the combine in hopes of hearing their name called by any one of the nine CFL teams at the draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be a dream come true,\u201d said Graham. \u201cIt would be the coolest thing that\u2019s ever happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing into the season, my goal was to make it to the combine and give myself a good opportunity to be drafted,\u201d said Sombach. \u201cThat\u2019s something you dream about since you\u2019re a kid when you\u2019re in elementary school playing atom football.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have my name get called \u2026 I don\u2019t think I could put it into words on how I think it would make me feel. But I feel like I\u2019ll have a lot of emotions the day of if it does happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

tshire@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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