The Mustangs pair competed among a pool of 100 athletes \u2014 ranging from U Sports all-stars to impact players in the NCAA \u2014 hoping to bolster their odds of being selected in the 2026 CFL draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
J\u00e9r\u00f4me Rancourt doing the broad jump at the CFL Combine in Edmonton, March 27, 2026.<\/p>\n
Karmel Clamor \/ GAZETTE<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI want to go against the best of the best, that’s why we’re here,\u201d said O\u2019Neil.<\/p>\n All nine CFL teams had front-office representatives in attendance to evaluate talent. Among them was Ryan Dinwiddie, head coach and general manager for the Ottawa Redblacks, who holds the first overall pick in the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to look at some of your needs, but we have to make sure we evaluate the best football player on the board. Obviously, there are some positions we’re looking to add to, but we’re gonna take the best player available at one,\u201d said Dinwiddie.<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s testing saw players complete the 40-yard dash, 3-Cone, short shuttle, broad jump, vertical jump and bench press.<\/p>\n Saturday and Sunday included practice drills with the pads on, giving teams a chance to see players up close in game-like scenarios such as one-on-ones and full-team scrimmages.<\/p>\n The combine also gives CFL front offices a chance to interview prospects one-on-one and gauge their personality.<\/p>\n \u201cThe football film never lies. But just to go see the drills and confirm this guy runs as fast as what you saw on film, it’s great for us to see them live. Personally, I love the interview process as I get to see who they are as a person,\u201d said Dinwiddie.<\/p>\n J\u00e9r\u00f4me Rancourt smiling after completing the bench press at the CFL Combine in Edmonton, March 27, 2026.<\/p>\n Karmel Clamor \/ GAZETTE<\/a><\/p>\n Despite serving as Western\u2019s versatile short-yardage backup quarterback<\/a> this season, Rancourt participated in the combine as a fullback and tight end.<\/p>\n \u201cWith my size, position, and athletic background, I have a good opportunity to go at tight end and also contribute as a short-yardage quarterback like I’ve done at Western,\u201d he said. \u201cIn today’s game, that’s more and more important, so I think that’s something that teams are looking for.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Rancourt described his versatility as better than a buy-one-get-one deal<\/a> \u2014 getting an athlete who can play tight-end, fullback, special teams and even quarterback.<\/p>\n J\u00e9r\u00f4me Rancourt blocking a bag that is being held up by another player during a fullback and running back drill at the CFL Combine in Edmonton, March 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Karmel Clamor \/ GAZETTE<\/a><\/p>\n Rancourt measured in at 260 lbs and 6′\u00a04 1\/8″, making him the second-tallest skill-position<\/a> player at the combine.<\/p>\n In eight games this regular season, Rancourt rushed for 12 touchdowns \u2014 the second most in all of U Sports. This rushing ability shone in the tests when he ran a 4.8 40-yard dash, the fastest among players 6′ 4\u201d or taller.<\/p>\n \u201cIt took a lot of hard work and sacrifices. I’m balancing civil engineering and football, both require a total of probably 70 hours a week in the fall. Even in the winter, if you don’t have games, combine prep mixed with the capstone [project] takes up a lot of time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Among the pool of giants his size, he also ran the fastest 3-cone at 7.16 seconds, and the third-fastest shuttle at 4.62 seconds.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Rancourt fell short on the bench press and vertical. He benched 19 reps and jumped 29 inches, both the weakest among the tight end\/fullback group.<\/p>\n Measuring at 6′ 3 1\/8″ and 313 lbs, O\u2019Neil projects himself as an interior offensive lineman at the next level \u2014 even saying that he\u2019s practiced snapping the ball to prepare for scenarios where he is needed to play at center.\u00a0<\/p>\n Keegan O’Neil running during an offensive line drill at the CFL Combine in Edmonton, March 29, 2026.<\/p>\n Karmel Clamor \/ GAZETTE<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI’m hoping to play wherever, whatever spot they need me at. If it’s tackle, guard or center, I’m ready to go for all of them. But, I definitely see myself as an interior guard or center,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Regardless of where he plays on an offensive-line, he\u2019s sure to make an impact with his top-tier strength \u2014 a skillset proven at the combine with his 30 reps bench-pressing 225 lbs, the most of any player this weekend.<\/p>\n This marks the second year in a row a Mustang led the combine in the bench press drill, with defensive tackle Max Von Muehldorfer<\/a> having 34 reps in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve always been known for having a strong bench,\u201d O\u2019Neil says. \u201cThe other side of it is I’ve really been working towards my quickness. That was something that I’ve truly focused on the most.\u201d<\/p>\n Although O\u2019Neil ran the fifth-slowest 40-yard dash at the combine at 5.44 seconds, he impressed with a 7.97-second three-cone drill \u2014 the third-fastest among offensive linemen. He also ran a 4.9-second shuttle, ranking fifth among offensive linemen.<\/p>\n Keegan O’Neil runs upfield during an offensive line drill at the CFL Combine in Edmonton, March 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Karmel Clamor \/ GAZETTE<\/a><\/p>\n Despite being the sixth heaviest player, O\u2019Neil excelled in jumping tests with a 26″ vertical and a 7′ 11″ broad jump.<\/p>\n Along with an impressive combine, O\u2019Neil earned himself a nod as a 2025 OUA-first-team all-star this past season. This marked a seamless bounce-back following a torn ACL<\/a> that sidelined him for the entire 2024 season.<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve had some injuries throughout my career, and I’m actually grateful for those. It showed me how to be tougher and showed me how to just persevere,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although neither Rancourt nor O\u2019Neil were projected to be selected in the top 20 in 3Down Nation\u2019s pre-combine mock draft<\/a>, the Mustangs both showed flashes to CFL front offices this weekend.<\/p>\n In the 2025 CFL draft<\/a>, six Mustangs were selected out of the seven that participated<\/a> in the combine.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’ve been a really good program, and Coach Marshall does a great job there. It’s the established culture, it just trickles down to the new players who are coming in. They learn how to work, they know how to be pros at a college level. I think that’s why they’ve had sustained success over the last two decades,\u201d said Dinwiddie.<\/p>\n The CFL draft takes place on April 28, with the Ottawa Redblacks officially on the clock at 7 p.m..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alberta\u2019s never seen a stampede quite like the Western Mustangs\u2019. This weekend, fifth-year backup quarterback J\u00e9r\u00f4me Rancourt and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":569933,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,203968,218441,219254,82,173385],"class_list":["post-569932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-cfl-combine","tag-jerome-rancourt","tag-keegan-o","tag-sports","tag-western-mustangs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/569933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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