Two graduates of Sydenham High School and four former Kingston Grenadiers juniors are among players selected to participate in three regional Canadian Football League scouting combines next week.
Sydenham grads Jay Dearborn, of Holland College, and Hayden Peters, of St. Francis Xavier University, both defensive backs and kickers, have been invited to the Montreal regional combine on March 9, where 44 graduating seniors will perform a series of drills and undergo a number of tests under the eyes of CFL scouts and general managers, ahead of the league’s annual draft May 10.
James Puffer of Verona, a defensive lineman at Simon Fraser, is among 42 invitees to the western regional combine March 7 in Edmonton.
All three are former Grenadiers, as is Ottawa Gee-Gees quarterback Derek Wendel of Shannonville. Wendel has also been chosen to attend the Montreal session.
Three Queen’s Golden Gaels, and one former Gael, have been given the opportunity to attend the final regional combine, March 10 in Toronto: wide receiver Curtis Carmichael, offensive lineman Erik Lessard and defensive lineman Allen Champagne.
Ex-Gael Boris Isakov, a receiver who ended his career with the Varsity Blues in Toronto, is also among the 44 players who have been asked to attend.
Players at the regional combines will be auditioning for a spot in the national combine, March 11-13 at the University of Toronto’s Goldring Centre.
Last year, 11 players from the regional combines were subsequently invited to attend the main camp, and seven of those players ultimately were selected in the 2015 draft.
So far, 35 players have been selected to attend the national camp, where players will undergo medical examinations, performance, strength and speed tests, on-field football drills and interviews with team personnel. Among them is Queen’s receiver Doug Corby, who was 19th on the last CFL Scouting Bureau ranking, released in December.
Also on that list is another former Grenadier, Brockville’s Trent Corney. A defensive lineman at the University of Virginia, Corney climbed from 17th to eighth from the previous ranking.