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Mustangs impress at CFL Evaluation Camp

CFL/J.P. Moczulski

When you appear in four Ontario football championships in a row, people start to take notice.

Like the CFL, for instance, who invited four Western Mustangs — the second most from any single team in the nation — to take part in the CFL’s annual Evaluation Camp this past weekend in Toronto.

The E-Camp is the final chance for Canada’s top-ranked football prospects to work out in front of CFL coaches and scouts before the May CFL Entry Draft.

The weekend includes physical testing, live one-on-one drills and individual interviews with team representatives who grill the players on every aspect of their game and character.

John Surla was by far the highest-profile Mustang attending the weekend’s festivities — a CFL camera crew followed his every move. It’s the kind of fanfare that comes with a resume listing three All-Canadian selections and the 2009 President’s Trophy as the top defensive player in Ontario.

The Niagara Falls native spent the better part of 2011 in Bradenton, Florida training at Athletic Edge Sports, a combine-specific training facility that produced last year’s CFL first overall pick Shomari Williams of Queen’s.

But despite his hard work, Surla — a traditionally low tester — finished in the bottom half of the six-man linebackers group in all of the tests except for the vertical jump where his 32 inches put him in a three-way tie for third.

“The testing is just something that I’ve always struggled with. But as long as I’m trying my best I think the scouts will see what kind of person I am and the numbers won’t affect me too much,” Surla said.

It was a much different game once Surla got to strap on pads and do what he does best — hit people really hard — in Sunday afternoon’s on-field drills.

Surla and the rest of the linebackers took part in one-on-one drills against the running backs, rushing the quarterback and trying to cover the backs on passing routes.

Surla thought his on-field performance would convince the scouts he was ready for a shot in the CFL.

“That’s where I make my money,” Surla said of the on-field drills. “I’m a football player and I like being on the field. Those are the type of things I excel at.”

The testing can be your worst enemy as Surla found out but it can also be your best friend as was the case with Mustangs offensive lineman Brendan Dunn.

Dunn was relatively unknown to CFL scouts coming into E-Camp, having only started on the Mustangs for one year. But the six-foot-seven, 280-pounder quickly changed that by finishing in the top two among the dozen offensive linemen at the camp in four out of the six physical testing categories.

“That was the goal — to make people notice me. I’m trying to get drafted and that’s what you have to do,” Dunn said.

Dunn’s most impressive number was his 40-yard dash time, which came in at a brisk 5.14 seconds. Despite being an absolute mountain of a man, Dunn rumbled down the track nearly two hundredths of a second faster than any of the other offensive linemen.

For the Burlington, ON native, it was all in the cleats.

“I wear these cleats all the time — they’re the lightest cleats I’ve ever had in my life,” Dunn said of his black and white Under Armour boots. “I love them. I use them here, I use them in games. They’re lightning fast.”

On the other side of the line was Mustangs defensive end Alexander Robinson, who is coming off an impressive CIS second team All-Canadian season that saw him record 29.5 tackles and lead the Mustangs in sacks with 6.5.

Robinson was especially deft in his one-on-one drills, beating his man on all of his repetitions and showing explosive speed off the line of scrimmage. Most scouts and pundits called Robinson the biggest surprise of the linemen group.

“It’s a big part of football at Western, one-on-ones. We practice it a lot so that definitely came through today,” Robinson said.

Another Mustang who seized the opportunity to leave a lasting impression on scouts was defensive back Craig Butler who stole the show during the one-on-one drills between defensive backs and wide receivers.

Like Surla, Butler’s testing numbers have never blown anyone away. Rather, Butler saves his show-stopping performances for the field.

The fourth-year King’s student drew a round of applause from the crowd at E-Camp pulling down two interceptions during the live drills and frustrating receivers with tight coverage.

“I feel great right now. I knew that the on-field stuff was going to be my time to shine. I feel like I did pretty well,” Butler said after the drills. “At Western, we’re football players. It all comes down to working hard on the field. This is a game of football, not a game of bench press or 40-yard sprints.”

Butler ran the gauntlet of team interviews on the weekend, sitting down with representatives from six of the CFL’s eight teams on Friday and Saturday.

“The first meeting I had was pretty nerve wracking. I was probably talking a little too fast,” Butler admitted. “But by the end of it you calm down and I ended up really enjoying it.”

The next two months for the four Mustangs amount to a lot of waiting until the draft on May 8 when they’ll find out if they are headed for a CFL training camp or back to the Mustangs for another season.

Not that Butler has any doubts about how he’ll pass the time.

“I’ll be back in the gym [Monday]. It’s time to get after it and get ready.”

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