March 11, 2016

CFL Combine Tests Strength, Skill & Soul

The scouting combine is unlike any other step in a CFL player’s journey. Just ask Anthony Coombs.

“It’s cool, weird, awkward and exciting,” he said. “Those are just some of the emotions you’re going through as a prospect.”

The three-day event brings together the country’s top draft-eligible players for thorough mental and physical evaluations by CFL coaches, general managers and scouts.

Coombs, the Argos third-year slotback, remembers his experience well.

“I was so nervous,” he said. “I remember before the last day I got about three or four hours of sleep. Going through the day and thinking about if I answered questions right or tested well.”

The first day is an interview process, as each team conducts 10-15 minute interviews with a large percentage of the participating prospects.

As a qualitative study, these meetings prove extremely valuable.

“It gives us a little bit of light into their personality,” said Argonauts General Manager Jim Barker.

Maïko Zepeda (93) Montréal during the CFL regional combine in Montreal, Wednesday March 9, 2016. (Photo: Johany Jutras / CFL)

 

“I think (Calgary Flames President) Brian Burke said it best when you talk about analytics. You can’t measure whether a guy’s going to take a puck in the face, and I think that’s applicable here too. Part of what the interview process is is finding those football players that’ll take a puck in the face.”

Each staff has their own unique approach to examining a player’s personality. Ensuring his temperament fits in with the team’s culture while also identifying and exploring character flaws is tricky, especially in such a short time frame.

“Part of what the interview process is is finding those football players that’ll take a puck in the face.”

“A lot of them are coached up,” said Barker.

“The agents take them and coach them on what to say. Sometimes that makes the interviews a little more difficult….We try to do enough background on them that we have enough idea of their strengths and weaknesses.”

Coombs learned that first hand, and it caught him off guard.

“(Teams) call your university coaches and maybe the athletic director to get an idea of what kind of person you’re like,” said Coombs.

“Each team has a reputation on how they interview. I was told which would try to grill me and which would be friendly.”

Concordia Stingers defensive back Kristopher Robertson runs the 40 yard dash during the CFL Combine evaluation camp in Toronto on Sunday March 24, 2013. Robertson had the day's best 40-Yard Dash time clocking in at 4.423. The Canadian Press Images PHOTO/Canadian Football League - Pawel Dwulit

Coombs remembers concluding his interview with the Argonauts doubting how well he presented himself, but they assured him he excelled after trading up to draft him third overall in 2014. In the moment, it’s all a matter of perception.

“You try to prepare for this stuff. Coaches are very good at judging people because they work with so many athletes,” he said.

Day two is focused on athletic measurements, as each prospect’s size, strength and speed is recorded and archived. The bench press and 40-yard dash are among the drills.

Linemen are out to prove they have the strength to dominate in the trenches. Wide receivers want to show they can burn any DB that lines up across from them in the open field. Simply put, these tests help show who’s athletic enough to play.

They also shine light on who’s really putting in the effort to get better.

“(The bench press) isn’t a direct correlation to (success in the CFL) but it shows you who cares,” said Barker.

“A player who’s playing in our league now did 12 reps at the East-West Bowl and I told him after the game ‘if you don’t bench press over 18 (at the CFL combine) we won’t even put you on our board’.”

Jim Barker free agency web

But they’re not the be-all and end-all, and in some ways, they do more bad than good.

“One of the downsides now is that the training to run the 40 is so great that they train to win the combine,” said Barker.

“That’s not preparing them to play football. There’s certain guys who are going to test really well and you have to look through that and combine what you see on film to figure out who’s truly going to be a good football player.”

Coombs doesn’t disagree.

“You definitely train to win the combine,” he said. “I know I definitely did, but if a guy runs a 4.4 (second) 40 but also can’t beat a DB off the line in a deep ball drill, it indicates he’s not that fast.”

Day three is when everything gets turned up a notch. Pads are strapped on, and the best draft-eligible players in the country tee off on one another in a variety of one-on-one drills.

Combine Linemen

“It’s pretty fierce,” said Coombs.

“Having all the coaches and GM’s there looking at you and you’re going against guys who are ranked ahead of you, there’s lots of personal battles that go on. But it’s great competition because you get to see who really shines under pressure and who folds.”

Pass coverage drills pitting receivers with linebackers and defensive backs get heated, though it’s nothing compared to the competition in the trenches between linemen.

A “me vs. you” scenario to determine who’s better in front of every major scout in the CFL makes for high stakes. Reputations are tested and a chance to make it to the pros is on the line.

No pressure.

After free agency, the combine is the next significant event in the 2016 CFL calendar. The Argos’ home opener is just over 100 days away, and making the right reads at the combine will help set the tone leading up to it.

“You win in this league by having great Canadian players,” said Barker.

“This is an important time for us.”