Eskimos, Stampeders, and Tiger-Cats all pick from SFU’s Clan
On Thursday, May 3, the Canadian Football League held its annual Canadian College Draft. This day was particularly important for four SFU students who were drafted by CFL teams, tying SFU with the University of Calgary as the university with the most contributions for the draft this year.
Historically this trend is hardly an anomaly, with SFU being the Canadian university to have the most players drafted by the CFL at 189. This includes Luca Congi of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Doug Brown, a defensive legend with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who retired this offseason. In addition, SFU also holds the record for providing the most players to be chosen in the first round, at 31.
Although no SFU student was taken in the first round this year, where linemen such as first overall pick Ben Heenan dominated the selections, Justin Capicciotti was the first SFU athlete selected. The Edmonton Eskimos chose Capicciotti, a defensive lineman for the Clan, in the second round.
Last season Capicciotte tallied 30 solo tackles in nine games with the clan, along with 36 assisted, as well as 10 sacks, 16 tackles for a loss, and two forced fumbles. On special teams, he added a blocked kick.
In addition to Capicciotti, both offensive lineman, Bradley Erdos, and defensive back Adam Berger were both selected in the fourth round, 27th and 30th respectively. Erdos, slected by the Calgary Stampeders, played in all 10 games with the Clan. It is speculated that he will likely return to SFU next season to play in his senior year. The Calgary Stampeders also selected Berger, who played in nine games for SFU last season, while tallying 46 tackles and six for a loss, along with one sack. In addition to this, he led the team in interceptions with three, two of which were returned for touchdowns.
The final member of the Clan selected was running back Daronn “Bo” Palmer, who was taken by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the fifth round, 33rd overall. Palmer played in all 10 Clan games in 2011, with 1274 yards rushing, along with 8 touchdowns on the ground. In addition to this, he tallied 182 yards receiving.
Although no members of the Clan were selected in last year’s CFL draft, the results from this year make it clear that SFU is firmly on the radar of the scouts throughout Canada’s professional league.
