The 2015 CFL Combine has come and gone this past weekend in Toronto and scouts were left impressed with a certain few who have high expectations heading into the May 12 draft. While other young Canadians made their mark and rose their draft stock with record-setting work outs.
The talk of the day was of course Tevaughn Campbell, setting the electronic record for a 40-yard dash of 4.36. The 5’10”, 186 lbs defensive back out of the University of Regina was the one player who brought his stock up the most on Sunday with the speedy run. CFL Insider Justin Dunk had expected him to beat the handheld 40-yard dash time of 4.31, set in 2010.
According to Dunk, nine NFL teams have contacted Campbell’s agent, inquiring about the Toronto native, including the Indianapolis Colts, who have a long history of CFL and Canadian connections. Henoc Muamba, out of St. Francis Xavier, is a member of the Colts, where he joins former CFLers Duran Carter and Jerrell Freeman.
Campbell’s time for the 40-yard dash would have ranked him the fourth fastest in this year’s NFL combine and 10th fastest since 2000. The amazing speed for a defensive back has scouts drooling both north and south of the border.
Chris Ackie, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks product raised eyebrows with his ability to play both defensive back and linebacker. At 6’0, 208 lbs, he is the second-biggest defensive back out of the eight that were in Toronto, and set an all-time record at the showcase with a 10’11.5″ broad jump. Ackie beat the record by a whole inch. He continued to show his athleticism with a 40″ vertical jump, the most out of all the prospects that were present on Sunday.
Ackie’s 4.67 40-yard dash put him fifth fastest out of all defensive backs but the fastest out of linebackers. The bench press was nothing spectacular for him either, his 14 reps were the fourth-most for defensive backs, 6 behind third-placed Dexter Janke. Blair Smith was the only linebacker to have less reps than Ackie, with 13.
His results show that Ackie is better suited as a defensive back, especially when he has to be compared with a beast-of-a-linebacker Byron Archambault. After leading his Montreal Carabins to a Vanier Cup this past November, the first in school history, Archambault went from being unranked to number 17 on Dunk’s prospect rankings this past December. His ranking might shoot upwards again in the final rankings this month as he benched an astonishing 41 reps, just six away from the all-time record. The next highest number of repetitions came courtesy of Ettore Lattanzio, with 32.
With a 5’11”, 243 lbs frame, any amateur would think Archambault isn’t very fast with his feet. Wrong. Despite posting a 4.86 40-yard dash, Archambault was tops in the combine with a 4.18 shuttle and placed fourth, second behind Ackie for defensive players, with a 7.16 three-cone drill. With a similar play style to fellow Canadian Shea Emry, any team would love to have this physical monster on their team. It’s not wrong to say that Archambault is one of the strongest players heading into the draft.
His team mate Anthony Coady, the defensive back invited to Toronto out of the Montreal regional combine, also made a name of himself with a 4.31 shuttle and 7.22 three-cone drill, good enough for fifth out of all positions in both. In fact, Montreal dominated the three-cone drill, with receiver Phillip Enchill placing second with a 7.09 time. Three players in the top five were from the Vanier Cup-winning Carabins.
One would be hard-pressed to find someone who would say that the offensive players dominated the scouts attention at the combine. Out of the six drills, five of them were led by a defensive players (Ackie and Archambault with two categories each, and Campbell with one). Receivers like Nic Demski and Lemar Durant certainly did impress nonetheless, while quarterback Jordan Yantz set a record of bench press reps at his position with 21, but it was the defensive players like Byron Archambault, Chris Ackie and Tevaughn Campbell who stole the headlines at the 2015 CFL combine.
For full results of the combine, click here.
