Asking about hobbies, sizes, agencies, and qualifications, not about trees.
Jeremy O’Day and Corey Mace spent some time online on Tuesday afternoon answering deep, fascinating, and, admittedly, foolish and rephrased questions from sports journalists.
For the next few days, it is their time to ask questions. During the CFL Combine in Winnipeg, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ seasoned general manager, O’Day, and rookie head coach, Mace, get the opportunity to question potential draft picks.
“We ask them everything,” said O’Day, whose team will choose third overall in the Canadian college draft on April 30. “How they became involved with football. Is football their favorite sport? What do they do in their free time?
“We will get specific about the position they play. If they are a defensive back, have they ever played cornerback? Have they ever played halfback or safety, depending on who they are and their measurements?”
There are numerous skill workshops scheduled for the next three days in Winnipeg: Timing 40-yard sprints, measuring vertical and horizontal jumps, calculating the number of times they bench-press 225 pounds, and seeing one-on-one exercises between offensive and defensive linemen, receivers and defensive backs, and linebackers shadowing running backs. Their height and weight are measured. And recorded.
Regardless of how a prospect performs, all of that data is made public and posted on a CFL website. The responses given throughout each team’s interrogation sessions will be kept confidential and examined by the inquisitors.
Almost every CFL coach and general manager appearing in that virtual media conference Tuesday said the same thing — Canadian football talent continues to improve dramatically and they’re looking forward to visiting with many of the players who are attending the combine.
Mace was asked how he expects to view the athletes for his first time as a head coach, 17 years after he participated as a draft-eligible player.
“It’s not to say you’ve got a ton of empathy for whether it goes good or bad,” said Mace. “But you understand the situation. It’s really neat to see it from both sides.
“Coming into it as a player, you’ve got your nerves around. You’re walking into some intimidating room, so to speak, for the first time with a bunch of coaches and GMs and staff and you don’t know what kind of questions are coming at you, although these guys are trained pretty good these days.”
The Roughriders intend to set up two rooms to quadruple the number of players they can interview. O’Day joked about sharing an interrogation room with offensive co-ordinator Marc Mueller, whose conversational disposition could restrict the answers the Riders get during each 12-minute session.
Of course, scouts and personnel directors have evaluated the players in person and on film. So the following two days are an opportunity to “get behind the helmet,” as Mace put it, and discover more about character, charisma, drive, and enthusiasm. Mace and O’Day believe they are striving to create a family-like atmosphere in their locker room. This allows them to determine whether the boys are a good fit.
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