Nine of the top 20 CFL Scouting Bureau Prospects are national and provincial alumni
By Ameeta Vohra
With the CFL Draft only hours away, several national and provincial team alumni are on the verge of seeing their dreams of playing professional football become a reality.
On the heels of gaining NFL rookie mini-camp invites, David Knevel and Regis Cibasu are two of those top prospects that were members of the Junior National Team that won the gold medal at the 2012 IFAF Under-19 World Championships in Arlington, Texas.
Knevel, the 6’9, 319-pound offensive lineman from Brantford, Ontario received an invite this past weekend from the National Football League’s (NFL) New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders. He is ranked fifth in the CFL Draft and recently finished his career with NCAA Division 1 team Nebraska Cornhuskers. Additionally, the lineman represented his home province as a member of Team Ontario West at the Football Canada Cup in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Meanwhile, Cibasu has received an invite from the NFL’s Chicago Beats. The 6’3, 241-pound receiver who is a native of Kinshasa, Congo but calls Montreal home is ranked 15th on the CFL’s Scouting Bureau Scouting Rankings. Recently, he completed his fourth year with USports team Montreal Carabins.
Peter Godber is ranked fourth in the CFL rankings. The 6’3, 300-pound offensive lineman from Toronto, Ontario represented the World Team at the 2012 IFAF International Bowl in Austin Texas. Godber also represented Team Ontario East at the 2011 Football Canada Cup in Lethbridge, Alberta. He completed his collegiate career with NCAA Division 1 team, Rice Owls. He earned an invite with the NFL’s Houston Texans.
A pair of offensive lineman and a linebacker – Ryan Sceviour, Darius Ciraco and Micah Teitz are ranked 13th, 14th and 19th respectively in the rankings. The trio of players were part of the Junior National Team which earned a silver medal at the 2014 IFAF Under-19 World Junor Championships in Kuwait.
Sceviour represented his home province as a member of Team Alberta at the 2011 Football Canada Cup in Lethbridge. Ciraco was selected as a 2013 Football Canada Cup All-Star for helping Team Ontario win a bronze at the tournament in Moncton, New Brunswick. Meanwhile, Teitz was named Defensive MVP and selected as a tournament All-Star at the 2013 Football Canada Cup in Moncton, New Brunswick for helping Team Alberta earn a silver medal.
Sceviour and Teitz are from Calgary, AB while Ciraco is from Burlington, ON. Additionally, the trio of players are collegiate teammates on USports squad, Calgary Dinos.
The success continues to follow Mark Korte. The 6’3, 295-pound offensive lineman from Spruce Grove, Alberta received invite from two NFL teams – the New York Jets and New York Giants to attend their rookie mini-camp. He is sixth in the CFL rankings and played with USports team, University of Alberta Golden Bears.
In 2013, Korte helped Team Alberta win a silver medal at the Football Canada Cup in Moncton. For his performance in the championship game, the lineman was named Offensive Player of the Game for Alberta. Additionally, he was selected as a Football Canadas Cup All-Star.
Offensive lineman Andrew Pickett is ranked 12th by the CFL Scouting Bureau. The native of Kitchener, Ontario represented Canada at the 2014 International Bowl and earned a Football Canada Cup All-Star selection for helping Team Ontario earn bronze at the 2013 tournament in Moncton, New Brunswick. Most recently, he played for the University of Guelph Gryphons.
Finally, Dan Petermann is the 17th ranked prospect and impressed many at the National Combine this past March as he tied for first in the vertical jump (39”) and blazed to the top spot in the 40-yard dash (4.54). In 2012, he represented his home province as a member of Team Ontario West at the 2012 Football Canada Cup in London, Ontario.
Petermann, a native of Stoney Creek, Ontario, played at the collegiate level with USports team McMaster Marauders.
