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CFL COMBINE PRESENTED BY ANYTIME FITNESS\u00bb 1 position group to watch for every team at CFL Combine<\/a>
\u00bb More CFL Combine insights and analysis<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0CFL Combine 101: The basics behind every drill<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Roster: CFL Combine presented by Anytime Fitness<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a03 players that went from CFL Combine to stardom<\/a><\/p>\n
RAW MATERIALS<\/p>\n
The numbers determine the fate for many prospective players \u2014 and some are completely out of an athlete\u2019s control.<\/p>\n
Height, weight, body mass index, hand size, arm length, wingspan \u2014 all matter, even if it seems unfair.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome guys are always just naturally inclined to be better than others, and that\u2019s just stuff that you can\u2019t coach,\u201d Cameron says. \u201cThey were just blessed by it. They picked the right parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drills such as the 40-yard dash, the 3-cone drill, shuttle, broad jump, vertical jump and bench press help measure speed, agility, power and upper-body strength.<\/p>\n
Participants also slip on the pads for two days of practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo play professional football, you have to meet a certain measurable or you\u2019re just not going to be able to compete at the level that we need,\u201d says Neil McEvoy, vice-president of football operations for the BC Lions. \u201cIf you\u2019re too small, you\u2019re just not worth bringing in, and if you\u2019re too big and too slow, it\u2019s just not worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
FOOTBALL INTELLIGENCE\/FBI<\/p>\n
This is another category that separates average players from superstars, and it\u2019s difficult to measure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to use the term FBI, because it sounds awesome, but it\u2019s not the Federal Bureau of Investigation,\u201d Cameron says. \u201cIt\u2019s football intelligence. What are this guy\u2019s natural instincts? Is this a guy that you have to teach everything to? Or is this a guy who just naturally understands and is predisposed to getting things?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have two guys who are the same size, and you can have two guys who run the same speeds in the athletic testing. But you have one guy that always consistently performs at a much higher level than the other, and it\u2019s not something you can measure.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s only so much coaches can teach, even to players who ooze athletic talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can have all the measurables and everything,\u201d McEvoy says. \u201cBut if you can\u2019t read a playbook or don\u2019t know where to go, then it\u2019s almost as detrimental as being slow or not big enough. You have to have the combination of it all to be able to compete at the professional level.\u201d<\/p>\n
DURABILITY<\/p>\n
The ability to play stellar football is one thing. The ability to play at that level throughout\u00a0an 18-game regular season plus the playoffs is something else entirely.<\/p>\n
Injuries are a fact of life in football \u2014 and often comes down to luck. But scouts can be wary of players with bulky medical charts detailing one injury after another or a chronic injury that just never seems to heal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get to the professional level, there are lots of practices,\u201d McEvoy says. \u201cIt\u2019s labour intensive on your body.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be as durable as possible, because we need you on the field and not just on the bike, riding on the sideline and watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not uncommon to see rookies start the season strong and then fade come September when their bodies start to tire.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s one of the biggest issues that I find with the young men \u2013 that they\u2019ve never had to play 18 weeks of games,\u201d McEvoy says. \u201cIf you\u2019re from a Canadian school, you play eight games. And if you\u2019re from an American school, usually they play 10. But no schools play 18.\u201d<\/p>\n
LOCKER ROOM FIT<\/p>\n
A football dressing room is much like any other workplace.\u00a0Sainthood is not a requirement of employment, but it\u2019s imperative\u00a0that the workers \u2014\u00a0in this case, the players \u2014\u00a0unite toward\u00a0a common goal, regardless of personal differences.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe worst part is drafting a kid or bringing someone in who disrupts the apple cart, who disrupts the team,\u201d McEvoy says, noting the vast majority of the players have already learned to play nicely with their teammates before reaching the professional ranks.<\/p>\n
CFL clubs conduct extensive background checks and seek references from college coaches before they risk drafting someone who might disrupt team chemistry.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need an entire locker room that\u2019s going to go out to the movies together every night,\u201d Cameron says. \u201cWith the locker room size that you have in the sport of football, it\u2019s highly unlikely that you\u2019re going to get 50-plus guys who are all best buddies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so it\u2019s really mostly about, are they respectful to each other as grown-ups and adults?\u201d<\/p>\n
These schools are showing UP at the 2026 #CFLCombine<\/a> presented by Anytime Fitness Canada! \ud83d\ude24<\/p>\n See the full list on https:\/\/t.co\/1mfD1u06kL<\/a>: https:\/\/t.co\/jRMrKUgoox<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/eAs643oolN<\/a><\/p>\n