Julien-Grant named to CFL top 20 prospect list

CFL Scouting Bureau
Eleven U SPORTS standouts crack initial Top 20 prospect list

TORONTO (U SPORTS) – Mathieu Betts, a defensive end from Laval University, is the top-ranked U SPORTS player on the initial prospect list released by the Canadian Football League's Scouting Bureau in advance of the 2019 Canadian Draft. 

Official CFL announcement

Of the 11 U SPORTS standouts who cracked the first Top 20 rankings of the season, the first three all come from the highly-successful Rouge et Or program as receiver Alexandre Savard and offensive lineman Samuel Thomassin earned the No. 10 and No. 12 spots, respectively.

The Laurier Golden Hawks, with two, were the only other Canadian-based program to merit multiple selections.

Betts, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound senior in his fourth campaign with Laval, has been rewriting the record books since the day he arrived on the Quebec City campus. Named a first-team all-Canadian in each of his first three seasons, the physical education and health student notched national rookie-of-the-year honours back in 2015 before becoming only the second player in U SPORTS history to claim back-to-back J.P. Metras Trophies as the country's best down lineman.

Despite being double-teamed more often than not, the Montreal native has already tied the school record with 26.5 career quarterback sacks and is only five shy of the Quebec conference mark set over five seasons by Queen's Jim Aru in the mid-1990s. The product of CEGEP Vieux-Montréal burst onto the university scene back in 2015 with 12 sacks, a national record for a freshman and only 0.5 off the overall single-season U SPORTS standard.

"It's obviously an honour for our program to see Mathieu being scrutinized by CFL teams already, but the credit is all his," said Laval head coach Glen Constantin. "He's the one who has earned this reputation over his first three seasons with us. He's a special player with immense talent, but he remains humble and very down to earth. His infectious enthusiasm makes all his teammates better."

The only player ranked higher than Betts on the Scouting Bureau's August list is Jonathan Kongbo of Surrey, B.C., a defensive lineman from the NCAA's Tennessee Volunteers.

In addition to the trio of Laval teammates, the U SPORTS stars named to the initial top 20 are Laurier receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. (No. 13), St. Francis Xavier receiver Kaion Julien-Grant (No. 14), Laurier defensive lineman Robbie Smith (No. 15), Manitoba running back Jamel Lyles (No. 16), Ottawa defensive back Jamie Harry (No. 17), Concordia offensive lineman Maurice Simba (No. 18), Western linebacker Fraser Sopik (No. 19) and UBC quarterback Michael O'Connor (No. 20).

Last May, offensive lineman Mark Korte from Alberta was the first U SPORTS player selected in the CFL Canadian Draft when the Ottawa REDBLACKS called his name at No. 4. After being left off last season's initial prospect list, Korte was ranked 12^th in December before rising all the way to No. 6 in April.

Fifty-six U SPORTS players were selected in the 2018 CFL Draft out of 69 total picks (81.2 per cent), including four in the first round.

NOTE: The CFL Scouting Bureau releases its rankings three times each year, usually in August, December and April. The Bureau is comprised of CFL scouts, player personnel directors and general managers from the league's nine teams.

CFL SCOUTING BUREAU LIST (AUGUST 30, 2018):