EDMONTON — With the testing portion of the CFL Combine presented by Anytime Fitness Canada completed, CFL.ca’s CFL Combine and CFL Draft expert Marshall Ferguson was impressed with what he saw.
A receiver, a quarterback and an offensive lineman all stood out amongst the group.
Here are Marsh’s 3 Stars from the testing day of CFL Combine week.
JESULAYOMI OJUTALAYO | RECEIVER | WILFIRD LAURIER
Jesulayomi Ojutalayo ran the fifth-fastest 40-yard dash on Friday with a 4.58-second time (CFL.ca)
Wilfird Laurier receiver Jesulayomi Ojutalayo had an impressive day on Friday, appearing in the top five in four of the six total drills during the first day of the CFL Combine.
He leapt 38 inches in the vertical jump, tying defensive back Patrick Cumberbatch for first place in the drill. The pass-catcher also ran the fifth-fastest 40-yard dash of the day, clocking in at 4.58 seconds, was tied for fourth in the 3-cone drill (6.97 seconds) and jumped the fifth-best broad jump (10′ 7 7/8″).
“I just love the way that he carries himself because he looks like so many highly drafted CFL players of the past at his position,” said Ferguson, following the testing. “He’s strong, he knows how to dominate a drill, he’s quick in and out of cuts. He’s this wonderful balance of speed and power. I think he’s a really intriguing package.
“Then the question becomes, what does he look like on the field? Actually getting reps here (at the CFL Combine), because there’s a lot of coaches who wish they would have seen a lot more of him at Laurier.”
ELOA LATENDRESSE REGIMBALD | QUARTERBACK | MCGILL
Eloa Latendresse Regimbald’s broad jump was the 10th best all-time in CFL Combine history (Paul Swanson/CFL.ca)
Eloa Latendresse Regimbald made Ferguson do a double take on Friday after the McGill quarterback secured the second-best broad jump of the day (10′ 10 1/2″). That broad jump moved Latendresse Regimbald into 10th all-time in CFL Combine history. The lower body strength wasn’t a surprise to Ferguson, however, after seeing what the six-foot-three, 213-pounder did in his U SPORTS career.
“For a quarterback to be top five in rushing in U SPORTS is obviously not the norm, but he is not a normal athlete,” said Ferguson.
“Since he came in from CEGEP, everybody knew he was an athletic monster that could basically play anywhere from running back to receiver to quarterback to linebacker to defensive back to returner. He’s kind of one of those special body types and I think that showed in his broad jump today, which was 10 foot, 10 inches.”
“Then he did 10 reps on the bench, which is the same as Brad Sinopoli and Andrew Buckley,” Ferguson continued, comparing Latendresse Regimbald to a pair of former CFL stars. “He’s a unique body type. He’s a great athlete. He’s here as a quarterback and I hope he gets every opportunity to prove that he can perform as a quarterback. But I’d also love to see him test his comfort level at a couple of different positions, because I think teams will start daydreaming about what he could do for them in the draft.”
NIKLAS HENNING | OFFENSIVE LINEMAN | QUEEN’S
Niklas Henning was one of CFL.ca’s Marshall Ferguson’s top three participants from Friday’s testing session (Paul Swanson/CFL.ca)
Niklas Henning looked every bit like a CFL veteran to Ferguson, even though he’s yet to be drafted to a CFL team. The Queen’s offensive lineman backed that up with an impressive showing in the testing, proving to evaluators that he’s worthy of joining their team come draft night on April 28.
“There’s something about an offensive lineman, for me, that I can watch them during testing in the on field drills at the combine and take away the combine uniform and put on a CFL uniform (in my eyes). Niklas Henning just looks like a 10-year pro to me immediately,” admitted Ferguson.
“I can imagine in any uniform across the CFL 10 years from now, and going, ‘oh yeah, he’s been great for a decade.’ He gives off that type of professionalism. He got 27 reps on the bench and was the best offensive lineman in the broad jump as well. He has upper body explosion with the bench press and lower body explosion with the broad jump. He carries himself well, has excellent movement skills for his former position. I think he has a bright future ahead of him and this is just the start.”
