Jamie Howieson
Laurier Athletics

TORONTO (December 8, 2016) – Wilfrid Laurier University men’s football players Kwaku Boateng and Nakas Onyeka were among the Top 20 Canadian prospects for the 2017 CFL Draft as the league’s Scouting Bureau announced its second rankings of the year on Thursday.

Boateng, a defensive lineman from Milton, Ont., dropped four places from the first rankings of the year and finds himself ranked sixth, the fourth-highest rated U Sports prospect on the list while Onyeka, a linebacker from Brampton, Ont., sits 18th on the list, down two spots from the original rankings in September.

Both players are coming off outstanding 2016 campaigns for the Golden Hawks and were key players in leading the purple and gold to a Yates Cup Championship.

Boateng was named a U Sports Second Team All-Canadian for the second consecutive year after posting the best numbers of his career. The 6-2, 250 lbs. defensive end recorded career-highs for tackles (22), sacks (6.5), knockdowns (6) and forced fumbles (4). His 6.5 sacks moved him into first place all-time at Laurier for career sacks with 20.5.

Meanwhile, Onyeka, a U Sports First Team All-Canadian and finalist for the President’s Award as top defensive player in the country, also had an outstanding season for the purple and gold. He finished second in the country in solo tackles with 51 and tackles for a loss with 15. He also ranked fifth in Canada in total tackles with 59.5 and 12th in the country in sacks at 5.5. Onyeka’s performance left him third on the Hawks’ all-time tackles list with 155 for his career.

The Golden Hawks are one of two University teams in Canada to have multiple players on the second CFL draft rankings, joining the Vanier Cup Champion Laval Rouge et Or, who also have two.

CFL SCOUTING BUREAU DECEMBER 8, 2016 LIST:

Rank    Name            Pos.    University    Hometown        Ht.    Wt.    Sept 15    

1.     Justin Senior        OL    Mississippi St.    Montreal, Que.        6-5    310    1
2.     Antony Auclair    TE    Laval        Notre-Dame-des-Pins, Que.    6-6    254    10
3.     Eli Ankou        DL     UCLA        Ottawa, Ont.        6-3    325    5
4.     Rashaun Simonise    REC    Calgary        Vancouver, B.C.    6-5    190    7
5.     Geoff Gray        OL    Manitoba    Winnipeg, Man.        6-6    310    11
6.     Kwaku Boateng    DL    Laurier        Milton, Ont.        6-2    250    2
7.     Danny Vandervoort    REC    McMaster    Barrie, Ont.        6-2    204    4
8.     Christophe Mulumba    LB    Maine        Laval, Que.        6-1    245    6
9.     Junior Luke        DL    Montreal     Montreal, Que.        6-3    288    13
10.     Mason Woods        OL    Idaho        Port Coquitlam, B.C.    6-9    320    15
11.     Faith Ekakitie        DL     Iowa        Brampton, Ont.        6-3    290    14
12.     Nate Behar        REC    Carleton    London, Ont.        6-0    195    8
13.     Qadr Spooner         OL    McGill        Brossard, Que.        6-4    314    9
14.     Jean-Simon Roy    OL    Laval        Quebec City, Que.    6-3    285    18
15.     Dariusz Bladek        OL    Bethune-Cookman    Kissimmee, Fl.        6-4    308    NR
16.     Jordan Herdman    LB    Simon Fraser    Winnipeg, Man.        6-2    235    NR
17.     Robert Woodson    DB    Calgary        Calgary, Alta.        5-11    197    12
18.     Nakas Onyeka        LB    Laurier        Brampton, Ont.        6-0    210    16
19.     Kay Okafor        DL    StFX        Enugu, Nigeria        6-4    275    17
20.    Mitchell Picton        REC    Regina        Regina, Sask.        6-2    205    NR

* Simonise played for the University of Calgary from 2013-2015 but was not on the Dinos’ 2016 roster.