FB: Four CW players ranked by CFL Scouting Bureau ahead of 2018 Draft

Calgary offensive lineman Darius Ciraco is the top ranked CW player ahead of the 2018 CFL Draft.
Calgary offensive lineman Darius Ciraco is the top ranked CW player ahead of the 2018 CFL Draft.
Posted: Dec 13, 2017
U SPORTS Communications
 
TORONTO – Godfrey Onyeka, a defensive back from Wilfrid Laurier University, is once again the top-ranked U SPORTS player on the second prospect list released by the CFL's Scouting Bureau in advance of the league's 2018 Canadian Draft.
 
 
Fourteen U SPORTS standouts cracked the latest top 20 published on Wednesday, compared to 15 on the Aug. 30 list.
 
Onyeka, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior from Brampton, Ont., is ranked sixth overall after opening the season at No. 4. The arts student was simply dominant in his fourth campaign with Laurier, tallying a team-high 42.5 tackles in eight league games, in addition to a pair of forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one sack and one interception. He was named a first-team all-Canadian for the third straight season after helping the 2016 OUA champion Golden Hawks make a return trip to the Yates Cup final.
 
The five players ranked higher than Onyeka on the second Scouting Bureau list are all NCAA linemen, including top prospect David Knevel of Nebraska, an offensive lineman whose brother Michael has been Laurier's starting quarterback for the past two years.
 
The other U SPORTS stars named to the new top 20 are former Calgary receiverRashaun Simonise (No. 7 / up five positions), Montreal receiver Regis Cibasu (No. 8 / up one), Calgary offensive lineman Darius Ciraco (No. 9 / down four), UBC offensive lineman Dakoda Shepley (No. 11 / up three), Alberta offensive lineman Mark Korte (No. 12 / previously unranked), Ottawa defensive back Jackson Bennett (No. 13 / up six), Carleton defensive lineman Kene Onyeka (No. 14 / down six), Guelph offensive lineman Andrew Pickett (No. 15 / down two), Western running back Alex Taylor (No. 16 / down one), Queen's linebacker Nelkas Kwemo (No. 17 / up three), Calgary offensive linemanRyan Sceviour (No. 18 / down two), Laval running back Christopher Amoah (No. 19 / down eight) and Western offensive lineman David Brown (No. 20 / previously unranked).
 
Last May, McMaster receiver Danny Vandervoort was the first U SPORTS player selected in the CFL Canadian Draft when the British Columbia Lions called his name at No. 3. Vandervoort had been ranked fourth, seventh and fourth, respectively, on the three prospect lists released over the course of the season.
 
Fifty-six U SPORTS players were selected in the 2017 CFL Draft (out of 71 total picks), including six in the first round.
 
NOTE: The CFL Scouting Bureau releases its rankings three times each year: in August, December and April. The Bureau is comprised of CFL scouts, player personnel directors and general managers from the league's nine teams.
 
CFL SCOUTING BUREAU LIST (DECEMBER 13, 2017):

Rank / Name / Position / Current team / Hometown / Height / Weight / Previous ranking  

  1.  David Knevel / OL / Nebraska / Brampton, Ont. / 6-9 / 315 / 1

  2.  Trey Rutherford / OL / Connecticut / Markham, Ont. / 6-5 / 312 / 2

  3.  Ryan Hunter /  OL / Bowling Green / North Bay, Ont. / 6-4 / 325 / 3

  4.  Peter Godber / OL / Rice / Toronto, Ont. / 6-3 / 300 / 6

  5.  Julien Laurent / DL / Georgia State / Toronto, Ont. /  6-4 / 295 / 10

  6.  Godfrey Onyeka / DB / Laurier / Brampton, Ont. / 6-2 / 200 / 4

  7.  Rashaun Simonise* / REC / Okanagan Sun / Vancouver, B.C. / 6-5 / 200 / 12

  8.  Regis Cibasu / REC / Montreal / Kinshasa, Congo / 6-2 / 230 / 9

  9. Darius Ciraco / OL / Calgary / Burlington, Ont. / 6-4 / 295 / 5

  10. Mark Chapman / REC / Central Mich. / Port Huron, Mich. / 6-0 / 180 / NR

  11. Dakoda Shepley / OL / UBC / Windsor, Ont. / 6-5 / 295 / 14

  12. Mark Korte / OL / Alberta / Spruce Grove, Alta. / 6-4 / 285 / NR

  13. Jackson Bennett / DB / Ottawa / Cumberland, Ont. / 6-0 / 214 / 19

  14. Kene Onyeka / DL / Carleton / Brampton, Ont. / 6-3 / 235 / 8

  15. Andrew Pickett / OL / Guelph / Kitchener, Ont. / 6-4 / 300 / 13

  16. Alex Taylor / RB / Western / Winnipeg, Man. / 5-10 / 205 / 15

  17. Nelkas Kwemo / LB / Queen's / Montreal, Que. / 6-3 / 226 / 20

  18. Ryan Sceviour / OL / Calgary / Calgary, Alta. / 6-4 / 305 / 16

  19. Christopher Amoah / RB / Laval / Montreal, Que. / 5-10 / 206 / 11

  20. David Brown / OL / Western / London, Ont. / 6-4 / 315 / NR

* Simonise played for the University of Calgary from 2013 to 2015. He currently plays for the Okanagan Sun in the CJFL.