Five members of the Concordia Stingers football team have received invitations to CFL combines where general managers, scouts and coaches will evaluate their skills and ability to move onto the professional level.
The combines help the CFL teams prepare for the annual draft that will take place May 2.
As top-rated draft prospects receiver Jeremy Murphy and quarterback Olivier Roy will attend the principal CFL Combine taking place March 22-26 in Edmonton.
Last season, Murphy was named to the U Sports first all-Canadian team. It was the wide receiver’s second national award. In 2019, he was named the U Sports Rookie of the Year.
In 2022, he had 29 receptions for 589 yards and two touchdowns in seven games. He averages 20.3 yards a catch which is tops in the Quebec conference.
Roy just wrapped up his second consecutive 2000-yard season. He completed 138 of 229 attempts for 2067 yards with 10 interceptions and 11 TDs in eight games.
In 2021, he completed 163 of 265 passes for 2470 yards with 18 majors and nine interceptions. He was the RSEQ MVP and a second team U Sports all-Canadian.
Linebacker William Benoit, defensive back Louis-Philippe Leclerc and defensive lineman Maleek Desir will participate in a supplementary invitational combine in Waterloo, Ont. on March 3. The top performers at this event will earn invites to the Edmonton workout.
Benoit played eight games last season, picking up 24 solo tackles and nine assists.
Desir had 17 solos and six assists in eight games. Included in his totals are a sack and three tackles for losses.
Leclerc had 12 solos and nine assists in six games. He also hauled in one interception.
The CFL introduced secondary combines in 2013. Since then, several Stingers have benefitted from the process.
In 2019 defensive tackle Michael Sanelli was selected to attend the national showcase after a strong showing at an Ontario regional combine. He was drafted in the fifth round by the Montreal Alouettes and made their 2019 roster.
Fullback Tanner Green parlayed his regional experience into a national invite and has been with the Edmonton Eskimos, who drafted him in 2018, for five years.
Defensive back/returner Kris Robertson in 2013 and linebacker Travis Bent in 2014 also went from the supplementary combines to the national showcase to being drafted. Robertson was selected in the second round by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, while Bent was picked in the sixth round by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
