5 things to keep an eye on at the CFL Combine

[IMPORTANT: Make this 4 times longer with much more detail]

Marshall Ferguson CFL.ca @TSN_Marsh CFL Combine week is upon us in Regina. As the best players with CFL Draft eligibility from around the globe descend upon the prairies, there are plenty of elite playmakers and intriguing individual stories to be told. Those will come and I look forward to sharing the daily summary with you here on CFL.ca, but this piece is all about the overarching themes going into the league’s official off-season evaluation week. Let’s dig in. CFL COMBINE » View the full 2025 CFL Combine roster » 5 prospects to watch at the 2025 CFL Combine » 3 things to know about the CFL Combine » 10 interesting facts about 2025 CFL Combine participants » Subscribe to the CFL’s newsletter STAT STUFFERS Montreal’s Jeremiah Ojo tallied seven sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss in 2024 (Montreal Carabins) It should be no surprise that the CFL Combine has several players with eye catching statistics. After all, these are the best of the best. But the single season production of a few players at various positions is truly staggering when held up against the relative average of the last couple years worth of combine invitees. Take Montreal Carabins defensive lineman Jeremiah Ojo, for example. The six-foot-three, 236-pound graduate of John Abbott College posted seven sacks this past year along with 7.5 tackles for loss, a pair of forced fumbles and twenty total tackles. He was the 2024 RSEQ Down Lineman of the Year with good reason. He will have plenty of talented company alongside him in the always competitive defensive line group which includes names like Liam Reid (Calgary) Silas Hubert (Queen’s) and arguably the most pro ready player at the position Darien Newell (Queen’s). Oh and yes, and that’s just one positional group. STAR POWER DB Jackson Findlay made 182 total tackles in his career with the Mustangs (Brandon VandeCaveye/Western Mustangs) Even amongst the stars of tomorrow there are a few who stand above. The annual U SPORTS East-West Bowl is always a good indication of what’s to come the following year. If last year’s event in Waterloo is a sign on who to keep a close eye on between now and the CFL Draft on April 29, it’s Western Mustangs defensive back Jackson Findlay. With a deep familial history in the CFL, this medical sciences standout will test amongst the best and adds notes like being the 2024 OUA Defensive Player of the Year, a 2023 U SPORTS First-Team All-Canadian nod and has won three straight Yates Cup championships. EMBARRASSMENT OF CANADIAN QB RICHES QB Keagan Hall advanced from the Invitational Combine in Waterloo to the CFL Combine in Regina (Thomas Skrlj/CFL.ca) Last year in Winnipeg the quarterback contingent was solid, but this year the invitees just hit different with a variety of arm angles, mobility and a ton of arm talent. All of that without Laurier’s Taylor Elgersma or Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke in attendance! Montreal’s Jonathan Senecal and Laval’s Arnaud Desjardins have been locking rival helmets in Quebec for a while now, but they’ll be aiming to raise each others performance this week in Regina playing a combine game of shot for shot. McMaster alum Keagan Hall advanced from the Invitational Combine and will fit right in amongst the nation’s top passers while Manitoba’s multitalented Jackson Tachinski will take reps at receiver as well as quarterback in a group that is deep, talented and shows the consistent forward momentum of the position in Canada. CATCHING THE GLOBE Hassane Dosso is one of three Global receivers who will be attending the CFL Combine (Montreal Carabins Athletics) The 2025 Global Draft also takes place April 29 and the combine gives eligible players a chance to make their statement against the top Nationals. This year there are just four Global players expected to attend with three coming in the receiver group. Alongside nine Nationals, Hassane Dosso (Montreal) Louis Geyer (Stuttgart Surge) and Tommy Wilson (Potsdam Royals) will do their best to earn a first round pick in the double dose of selections with Calgary holding the top selection right now followed by Hamilton and Edmonton. With new general managers in place for each of the later and needing to upgrade their Global roster spot talent, expect a receiver to go somewhere in the first round and the three names above should be firmly in contention. WHAT’S ON TAP As always, I’ll be on the ground in combine heaven as players switch seamlessly from testing uniforms to padded practices to dress clothes for individual team meetings and everything in between. The combine always looks on paper like a long week, but the second players start getting measurements completed it really is the weekend off-season equivalent of drinking from a firehose. To help make the weekend more consumable, I’ll be picking three stars each day alongside the great CFL.ca content team and filming a daily recap of the ups and downs that will inevitably follow. Get all the top stories from across the league delivered to your inbox.