Wednesday, May 11, 2016
TORONTO, Ont. – Two-time First Team All-GNAC selction Michael Couture of Simon Fraser topped the list of three conference football players taken by teams in the Canadian Football League’s annual amateur draft, which was conducted on Wednesday.
Couture, an offensive lineman, was selected in the second round with the 10th pick overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Teammate Quinn Horton, a defensive lineman, was drafted in the eight round by the Calgary Stampeders while Western Oregon linebacker Doug Parrish was taken in the seventh round by the Edmonton Eskimos.
A First Team All-GNAC selection at center in 2014 and at tackle in 2015, Couture played every position along the offensive line during his four-year career. He started 36 consecutive games for the Clan and missed just three of a possible 41 games.
“Mike is a great person and his hard work has paid off,” Simon Fraser head coach Kelly Bates said. “He has been drafted into an organization in Winnipeg that will give him a tremendous opportunity to play and grow into the game at the next level.”
“I’ve been mentally preparing for this opportunity since my first year at SFU,” Couture said. “I can’t wait to get camp started.”
In Winnipeg, Couture will be joining a former teammate, Matthias Goossen, who was the second overall pick by the Blue Bombers in the 2014 CFL Draft.
Horton, the 68th pick overall, was a First Team All-GNAC selection as a defensive lineman in 2015. He was the Clan’s top tackling defensive lineman, finishing with 37 tackles, including 22 solo tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He had a season hig six tackles, including two tackles for loss, in the Clan’s season finale at Azusa Pacific on Nov. 14.
Parrish was the 61st pick in the draft. He played in 10 games in 2015 for the Wolves and finished the season with 23 tackles, including 17 solo tackles, five tackles for loss and a sack. His season high of five tackles came in the Wolves’ game against Division I-FCS Portland State in Portland on Sept. 26.
Parrish was drafted by the same team his father, Doug Sr., played for in the CFL. The elder Parrish was a member of the Eskimo’s 1993 Grey Cup championship team.