
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.