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While it wasn’t the first round selection feeding frenzy of a year ago, the BC Lions added some talented Canadian depth with seven selections during today’s 2007 Canadian Draft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The
reigning Grey Cup champions selected wide receiver Adam Nicolson from the University of Ottawa
with their first pick (8th overall) and then followed up with linebacker Josh Bean from Boise State with their
second-round pick (16th overall). The
Lions had two selections in the third round including the first pick (17th overall) which they used to pick
up safety Tad Crawford from Columbia University. With their fourth
selection (3rd round, 24th overall) the Leos selected
running back Andre Sadeghian from McMaster. The
Black and Orange followed up with three more picks including another McMaster
product in defensive lineman Andrew Jones (4th round, 32nd overall) as well as Kyle Kirkwood from the University of Ottawa (5th round, 40th overall). The Lions closed the
2007 Canadian Draft with Nic
Edgson from Idaho
State (6th round, 48th overall). “Overall I am pleased with
the selections we were able to make,” said GM and head coach Wally Buono. “A big part of our
success today is due in large part to the work of coach Mike Benevides and
assistant director of player personnel Neil McEvoy.” Nicolson, who was a conference all-star in
both 2005 and 2006 was also selected as the team’s offensive player of the year
in 2006 after hauling in 45 passes for 727 yards and three touchdowns. He was
also Ottawa’s leading receiver in the playoffs averaging 69 yards per game and
recorded a six-catch, 109 yard performance versus Saskatchewan in the 2006
Mitchell Bowl. Bean was a backup linebacker and
special teams standout for the Broncos and finished the 2006 season with 18
tackles and one fumble recovery. Bean is a graduate of Bishop Carroll High School in Calgary
(2001) where he earned All-Prairie Football Conference honours as well as an
All-Province selection. Bean has one year of eligibility
remaining at Boise State. Crawford finished up a brilliant four-year
career at Columbia University (2003-2006) earning First-Team All-Ivy honours
last season after leading the team in tackles and finishing third in the
conference. The Burlington, Ontario native was the only freshman in 2003 to
play in all 10 games for Columbia and averaged more than 100 tackles in each of
his last three seasons. Sadeghian
enjoyed a
productive final season at McMaster where he averaged almost six yards per
carry over eight games (165 attempts, 983 yards) and scored 10 TD’s. A threat
out of the backfield, Andre also chipped in 12 receptions for 198 yards and two
more touchdowns in 2006. Jones is both a gifted student and
athlete with numerous academic and athletic honours to his credit. A
Second-Team OUA All-Star in 2006, Jones racked up 18 tackles, two sacks in five
games. Jones was a First-Team OUA All-Star in
2004 and 2005 and a Second-Team CIS selection in 2004. Kirkwood, a noted student of the game,
started in each of his four years at Ottawa playing both right and left tackle positions on
a dominant OUA offence. He caught the Lions’ eye at the Laval University
combine in March. Edgson has two years remaining to play
at Idaho State after redshirting in 2003 and participating in an LDS Mission in
2004 and 2005. He attended West Vancouver High School where he played wide
receiver. Nic is the son of Art Edgson, a college and pro teammate of Lions GM and head coach Wally Buono.
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