Kay Okafor drafted 21st overall by Hamilton in CFL Canadian Draft

X-Men defensive lineman Kay Okafor was selected 21st overall by the Hamilton Tiger Cats in the third round of the 2017 CFL Canadian Draft. 

CFL Canadian Draft: McMaster's Vandervoort selected third overall, 56 U SPORTS players drafted

TORONTO (U SPORTS) – Danny Vandervoort, a receiver from the McMaster Marauders, was the first U SPORTS player selected in the 2017 CFL Canadian Draft when the B.C. Lions called his name at No. 3, on Sunday evening.

For all the information on the CFL Canadian Draft: www.cfl.ca 

The first overall selection, by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, was defensive lineman Faith Ekakitie from the University of Iowa, marking the third straight year than an NCAA player topped the charts after an eight-year U SPORTS stranglehold on the first pick from 2007 to 2014.

Overall, 56 U SPORTS standouts were selected out of 71 total picks (78.9 per cent). The tally is the second-best in league history, trailing only the whopping 59 U SPORTS stars chosen in 2014 out of 65 total selections (90.8 per cent). A year ago, U SPORTS players made up 75.7 per cent of draftees (53 out of 70).

Vandervoort was one of six U SPORTS players who went in the opening round on Sunday. A complete round-by-round breakdown is below. 

Other U SPORTS representatives to go in the first round were Calgary Dinos defensive lineman Connor McGough at No.4 (Hamilton), Carleton Ravens receiver Nate Behar at No.5 (Edmonton), Montreal Carabins defensive lineman Junior Luke at No. 7 (B.C.), Manitoba Bisons offensive lineman Geoff Gray at No. 8 (Winnipeg) and Saskatchewan Huskies offensive lineman Evan Johnson at No. 9 (Ottawa).

Vandervoort, a 6-foot-2, 204-pound receiver from Barrie, Ont., was ranked fourth on the first and final CFL Scouting Bureau list of the season in September and April, respectively, dropping to No.7 on the second list December. A three-time U SPORTS All-Canadian, including a first-team honour in 2015, Vandervoort was fifth in the nation last season in yards per catch (18.6), ninth in touchdowns (5) and 10th in yards per game (78.9).

Behar (No. 9), Luke (No. 11) and McGough (No.20) were also ranked in the Scouting Bureau's top 20 going into the draft.

Gray (No.3), the top-ranked player on the April 13 list, was chosen in the first round by Winnipeg, dropping to No.8 overall after signing with the NFL's Green Bay Packers on April 29, while Laval tight end Antony Auclair (No.7) fell to the fourth round at No. 30, after inking with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both as undrafted free agents.

The 2017 CFL regular season gets underway on June 22, when the Montreal Alouettes host the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The 2017 U SPORTS Valero East-West Bowl Week, showcasing the top prospects heading into to the 2018 CFL Draft begins Tuesday with the CFL Combine at 9 a.m. ET. Kick-off is set for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET at Laval University's TELUS-UL Stadium.

U SPORTS players selected in 2017 CFL Canadian Draft (56):

Pick/Overall, Name, School, Position, (CFL Team)

First Round (6 selections)
3. Danny Vandervoort, McMaster, WR, (B.C.)
4. Connor McGough, Calgary, DL, (Hamilton)
5. Nate Behar, Carleton, WR (Edmonton)
7. Junior Luke, Montreal, DL (B.C.)
8. Geoff Gray, Manitoba, OL (Winnipeg)
9. Evan Johnson, Saskatchewan, OL (Ottawa)

Second Round (7 selections)
3/12. Fabion Foote, McMaster, DL (Montreal)
4/13. Braden Schram, Calgary, OL (Hamilton)
5/14. Jean-Simon Roy, Laval, OL (Edmonton)
6/15. Qadr Spooner, McGill, OL (Winnipeg)
7/16. Jeremy Zver, Regina, OL (B.C.)
8/17. Julan Lynch, Saskatchewan, WR (Calgary)
9/18. Anthony Gosselin, Sherbrooke, RB (Ottawa)

Third Round (4 selections)
1/19. Evan Foster, Manitoba, DL (Toronto)
3/21. Kay Okafor, StFX, DL (Hamilton)
6/24. Frederic Chagnon, Montreal, LB (B.C.)
7/25. Tunde Adeleke, Carleton, DB (Calgary)

Fourth Round (8 selections)
1/27. Robert Woodsoon, Calgary, DB (Toronto)
3/29. Alex Morrison, UBC, WR (Montreal)
4/30. Antony Auclair, Laval, TE (Saskatchewan)
5/31. Jordan Hoover, Waterloo, DB (Edmonton)
6/32. Eddie Meredith, Western, OL (Saskatchewan)
7/33. Nathaniel Hamlin, Carleton, DB (B.C.)
8/34. Felix Menard-Briere, Montreal, K (Winnipeg)
9/35. Louis-Philippe Bourassa, Montreal, RB (Ottawa)

Fifth Round (6 selections)
1/36. Nakas Onyeka, Wilfrid Laurier, LB (Toronto)
2/37. Mitchell Picton, Regina, WR (Saskatchewan)
4/39. Zach Annen, Carleton, OL (Montreal)
6/41. Kwaku Boateng, Wilfrid Laurier, DL (Edmonton)
7/42. Edward Godin, Laval, DL (B.C.)
9/44. Mathieu Dupuis, Montreal, DL (Ottawa)

Sixth Round (9 selections)
1/45. Malcolm Carter, Carleton, WR (Montreal)
2/46. Danny Sprukulis, Toronto, OL (Saskatchewan)
3/47. Jacob Scarfone, Guelph, WR (Hamilton)
4/48. Denzel Radford, Calgary, WR (Montreal)
5/49. Kwabena Asare, Carleton, OL (Edmonton)
6/50. Ian Marouf, Guelph, DL (Winnipeg)
7/51. Dakota Brush, Mount Allison, WR (B.C.)
8/52. Alexandre Gagnon, Sherbrooke, DL (Calgary)
9/53. Austen Hartley, Calgary, WR (Ottawa)

Seventh Round (7 selections)
2/55. Alexandre Chevrier, Sherbrooke, LB (Saskatchewan)
3/56. Ty Cranston, Ottawa, DB (Montreal)
4/57. Emmanuel Adusei, Carleton, DT (Saskatchewan)
5/58. Brett Golding, Wilfrid Laurier, OL (Hamilton)
6/59. Brendon Thera-Plamondo, Calgary, WR (Winnipeg)
8/61. Adam Laurensse, Calgary, DB (Calgary)
9/62. Ed Ilnicki, Alberta, RB (Ottawa)

Eighth Round (9 selections)
1/63. Matthew Carson, Calgary, DL (Toronto)
2/64. Marc Glaude, Montreal, OL (Saskatchewan)
3/65. Oumar Toure, Sherbrooke, TE (Montreal)
4/66. Sean Thomas-Erlington, Montreal, RB (Hamilton)
5/67. Mark Mackie, McMaster, DL (Edmonton)
6/68. Tylor Henry, Alberta, WR (Winnipeg)
7/69. Mitchell Hillis, Saskatchewan, WR (B.C.)
8/70. Richard Sindani, Regina, WR (Calgary)
9/71. Jordan Filippelli, Calgary, OL (Ottawa)

Active U SPORTS players selected by conference (54)*:

Canada West: 19*
OUA: 18*
RSEQ: 15
AUS: 2

*Note: Regina's Richard Sindani and Western's Eddie Meredith did not play during the 2016 season

Active U SPORTS players selected by school (54)*:

Calgary: 9
Carleton: 7
Montreal: 7
Sherbrooke: 4
McMaster: 3
Wilfrid Laurier: 3
Saskatchewan: 3
Laval: 3
Guelph: 2
Regina: 2*
Manitoba: 2
Alberta: 2
Waterloo: 1
Toronto: 1
Ottawa: 1
UBC: 1
McGill: 1
StFX: 1
Mount Allison: 1

*Note: Regina's Richard Sindani and Western's Eddie Meredith did not play during the 2016 season

About U SPORTS

U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national  championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:

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