Four members of the University of Guelph Gryphons were selected in Thursday night's Canadian Football League Draft.
Leading the way was Coulter Woodmansey, a six-foot-five, 325-pound offensive lineman who was chosen in the first round, fifth overall, by the Hamilton Tiger Cats.
Woodmansey, a Toronto native, was the first Canadian university player selected, following four players who played NCAA football last season.
"Coulter is an amazing young man who has always had a very professional approach to his position," says Gryphons head coach Ryan Sheahan, who served as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats running backs coach during the 2012 season, in a news release. "He's strong, athletic, intense and very coachable. The Ticats have made an excellent selection in Coulter."
Woodmansey becomes the highest-drafted Gryphon product in a decade, following in the footsteps of two-time Grey Cup champion Rob Maver, who also went 5th overall (to the Calgary Stampeders) in the 2010 CFL Draft.
The highest a Gryphon player has ever been selected is Mike O'Shea, who went 4th overall to Edmonton in the 1993 Draft.
The other Gryphons drafted Thursday night were:
- Kian Schaffer-Baker, receiver, 4th round, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- A.J. Allen, linebacker, 4th round, Saskatchewan Roughriders,
- Dotun Aketepe, defensive back, 4th round, Edmonton Eskimos
All four players just finished their fourth year of university eligibility and have one year of eligibility remaining.
There were 73 total selections made in the 2020 CFL Draft, 57 were from U SPORTS programs (28 from the OUA, 14 from Canada West, 11 from RSEQ and 4 from the AUS).
There are currently 12 former Gryphons on CFL rosters:
Royce Metchie (Calgary Stampeders)
Job Reinhart (Calgary Stampeders)
Jake Reinhart (Toronto Argonauts)
Eric Starczala (Toronto Argonauts)
Cam Walker (BC Lions)
Alex Charette (Edmonton Eskimos)
Curtis Newton (Hamilton Tiger-Cats)
Luke Korol (Hamilton Tiger-Cats)
John Rush (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
Johnny Augustine (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
Andrew Pickett (Ottawa Redblacks)
Gabe Ferraro (Ottawa Redblacks).
