In 2013, there were no CFL draft picks out of SFU — this year, five SFU graduates will be taking the field for CFL teams in the fall.
Offensive lineman Matthias Goossen led the charge, drafted second overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He was followed by Casey Chin and Dylan Roper to the BC Lions in the third and sixth rounds. Accompanying Goossen to Winnipeg is defensive back Derek Jones. Rounding out the draft, was Tore Corrado, selected by the Toronto Argonauts in the sixth round; Corrado was the sole SFU draftee to be chosen in the Eastern Conference.
Only Laval and Montreal, two elite teams in terms of Canadian university football, produced more picks than SFU.
“It just speaks to how good our athletes are in this program,” stated SFU head coach and one-time fifth overall pick Jacques Chapdelaine. “SFU does have the ability to attract very, very skilled football players.”
Goossen is the first first-round draft pick to come out of SFU since Dean Valli in 2006. He is also SFU’s highest pick ever, since Obby Khan also went second overall in the 2004 draft to the now defunct Ottawa Renegades. Both Chin and Goossen were projected to be in the top 15 prospects in this year’s draft.
Chapdelaine also gave SFU’s NCAA status credit saying that “there’s benefits to being seen” and that the status puts SFU players in “a very favorable light in terms of competition, in terms of level of competition” with CFL scouts.
He pointed out that although a CIS team had the first overall pick, the player was on a championship team, Laval University, as compared to SFU, a team that has not yet had a winning record during its time in the NCAA.
“SFU does have the ability to attract very, very skilled football players.”
– Jacques Chapdelaine, SFU head football coach
Roper, who will be playing defensive linebacker for the Lions this fall, agreed, saying, “It proves that we play at a higher level here. SFU football is different than CIS and I think that CFL scouts see that as well and see that a lot of players are coming out well developed and ready to play in the pros.”
In addition to what the draft says about SFU’s current program, it also provides inspiration for new SFU players coming into the system, Roper said. He added, “It’s motivating for sure. When I came in as a freshman, I was sitting behind [Justin] Capicciotti and [Andrew] Marshall, they’re both with the Ottawa Redblacks now. It’s motivation for the younger guys, [it shows] they can do it as well.”
Future Lions teammate Chin stated, “I’d like to think it gives them a little more motivation, makes them want to work that much harder, maybe even get more guys drafted next year.”
With respect to being drafted by the BC Lions, the home team for the Greater Vancouver area, “It’s a dream come true [. . .] I would rather go in the third round — where I got picked — than in the first round to a different team,” said Chin, who was drafted 27th overall.
Roper added, “[When] it popped up on the TV that BC took me, words don’t describe [how I felt]. I’ve been a BC fan since I was born.”
The other three players will be travelling further: Jones and Goossen are off to Winnipeg, and Corrado to Toronto. Corrado mentioned that any “childhood allegiances” disappear after being drafted, as the Lions became just another team that decided not to pick him. Jones, on the other hand, is from Edmonton and was never a Lions fan.
Although Goossen was chosen second overall, others like Roper, had to play the “waiting game,” not being drafted until the sixth round, 50th overall. However, he sees this as more motivation. “I’ve always played with a chip on my shoulder, and I think waiting around and teams passing on me, I think it’s going to give me more of a chip on the shoulder and prove some people wrong,” said Roper.
Chapdelaine, who was both a player and coach in the CFL, believes his guys will adapt well to the CFL: “They’ve been prepared extremely well [. . .] I think they’ll be just great.”
He advises the draftees “to go into work, let the good days build and let the bad days be learning experiences.” He said, “There’s going to be some challenging days for these kids, it’s going to be extremely competitive, it’s going to be physically demanding [but] persevere through that. If you can do that, that’s all you can ask for.”
