For the first time ever, the CFL Combine came to Edmonton Alberta for the 2023 CFL Combine presented by New Era. We saw a sumo wrestler spin, a big body Britain with speed, and many Canadians flying around Commonwealth Stadium's indoor Recreation facilities. In this article, we're going to look at the test results, standouts, and give you our perspective from our outing at this year's CFL Combine.
Test Results
This year, the CFL rolled out a new format that saw testing on days 1 and 2, with practices and drills on days 3, 4 and 5. Here are the Top 5 of every test, courtesy of CFL.ca
Standout Prospects
With Canadian and Global prospects being mixed in testing and on the field, the stats are actually split between the two categories. We will be looking at some of the Media's top prospects as a whole. Media members that influenced this list are Showtime Digital and the CFL.
National WR Clark Barnes was turning heads with his cuts, speed, route running and magnetic hands for the ball. He had a fantastic showing and was highly regarded for his performance at the Combine.
Global DL Hidetora Hanada is a Japanese sumo wrestler that was pulling off some of the best spin moves and QB attacks that the 2023 Combine would see.
National DL Lake Korte-Moore had huge power and speed on the turf. From our perspective, he was doing almost everything right during the joint practices, and other media members agree.
National DB Harrison Bagayogo was also opening eyes with his hustle to the line of scrimmage and his reach. He will be a name to keep an eye out for in the CFL Draft.
National DB Jacob Taylor from the University of Alberta impressed many with 3 Top 5 test results, including a 1st overall in the Broad Jump test. Alberta builds great athletes and Jacob is no exception, with high praise from the media as well.
Our eyes were turned to Global DL Max Parkinson, as his impressive tie for first in the Bench Press test piqued our interest. We saw his swift moves and power put to the test in drills and practices. While he didn't have a perfect showing, it was still a very impressive Combine for Max as a Global prospect.
Our Experience at The CFL Combine
Kathy Schraeder and I had circled March 24th on our calendar for quite some time now. On Friday morning we woke up, contacted the CFL and was able to run coverage from the other side of the glass. Previously, we had planned to do external coverage, but good guy Lucas was able to accommodate us on the fly, so shout out to Lucas and the CFL for getting us access. Once we made it in, we were greeted by Andrew of The Turf District, Sarah of Homestand, and Avry of Avry's Sports Show. We caught Offensive Line, Defensive Line, and other drills which can be found on our YouTube channel Shotgun Sports Network Ltd. Our favorite part of the Media appearance was when the CFL allowed us onto the turf to film and observe the Offensive Line versus Defensive Line practices which displayed how well each pair of players performed in their roles. Near the end of our media slot, we had the pleasure of interviewing Global prospect Max Parkinson. We picked Max due to his performance in the Bench Press test, his Global status, and because of how fast he was on the field. Those players from Europe sure can ball, and we liked what we saw from him.
Overall, the 2023 CFL Combine was very successful in it's debut in Edmonton, Alberta. It saw new practices and drills, players flying high, and prospects representing many parts of Canada and the World. We're big fans of what the CFL has done this year, and we can't wait to attend another Combine in another part of Canada. For a league that takes a fair amount of flack, the CFL made positive changes to start 2023 and with that, we're hopeful that more positive changes are coming for the Canadian staple known as the Canadian Football League.
We'd like to thank New Era, The CFL, Showtime Digital, The Turf District, Homestand, Avry's Sports Show, Brent Stephen and the Edmonton Elks for making the 2023 Combine a memorable, successful event.