While the U Sports football season officially ended with the Vanier Cup game on Nov. 23, a number of Carleton athletes are back in the gym getting ready for a shot at the Canadian Football League draft combine.
Combines are a form of ‘tryouts’ where CFL coaches watch players go through a series of skills. There are six events in each combine: bench press, vertical jump, 40-yard dash, broad jump, L drill and the five-10-five.
Each player has personal goals for each event in the combine, and this contributes to the setup of their training in the months prior.
Brandon Forcier, Carleton’s kicker, said each event focuses on a different skill, such as agility, strength, or speed and each player works on developing those skills based on the requirements for their position.
“The training we do has to encompass each event, and touch different aspects of what you need to excel in that specific event,” he said. “When you think of my position, it’s kicking. So being able to be composed and having the ability to generate power within your lower body. So the demand is different, the training will be a little different.”
In his training, Forcier said he prioritizes the L drill and the five-10-five, which put the most emphasis on a player’s speed and agility.
Aiden Arnott-Smith, a fourth-year fullback and one of the team’s captains, said he and his teammates work out seven or eight times a week for up to three hours a day while they prepare.
“We have three lifts a week that all the players do. The fourth-year guys, trying to participate in the combine, on Tuesday, we’ll do a sled, push and pull, mainly for speed development. Then on Thursday, we have our bench press, which is specific for the bench training, so as many reps as you get with 225 pounds,” he said.
Outside training with Carleton’s football coaches, Arnott-Smith said players will take on additional training on their own. He and some teammates go for three-kilometre runs twice a week, and some players choose to train with specialized coaches.
Tristan Ready, a fourth-year wide receiver, works with former CFL player Eddie Brown to develop his skills. Brown trains young athletes in the Ottawa area, and joined Carleton’s football staff in 2021 as receiver coach.
Ready says Carleton’s indoor football field and in-house athletic therapy services are a big asset when it comes to training for the combines.
“It’s snowing here … and with the receiver training you want to have as much time running routes and doing stuff like that as you can. Compared to some of the players from other teams that don’t have this, it’s a step up for us to have the field house,” he said.
There are two combines: regional; and national. Interest from three CFL teams gets players an invite to a regional combine, where there’s a chance to qualify for the national combine. But interest from six teams garners an invite directly to the national combine.
However, a combine invite is not the only way to make it into the CFL. Arnott-Smith said he’s seen players without an invite get drafted.
“If I don’t get invited, there’s still other opportunities. I’ve seen old teammates of mine that didn’t get drafted work their way to a contract. So there’s definitely plenty of opportunities and avenues that you can take. So I don’t think it’s the end of the world,” he said.
Invitations typically go out in February, and the combines are usually held in the spring so players have ample time to prepare. The 2024 combines were held in Winnipeg from March 19-24 in 2024 and are scheduled to be held in Regina in 2025. According to CFL rules, teams can have a maximum of 45 players, at least 21 of whom need to be “National” players.
During training, Ready said the most important thing is to take it day by day.
“I try to not worry about the invites and, ‘how am I gonna perform?’ all that stuff. I feel like, if you take care of what you’re doing every day, it’ll all take care of itself.”
