Wednesday, May 14, 2014

BURNABY, BC - Five Simon Fraser football players were chosen in the 2014 Canadian Football League Draft Tuesday, led by former Clan offensive lineman Matthias Goossen (Richmond, BC) who went second overall to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Two Clan players went to the BC Lions as the Lions picked linebacker Casey Chin (Coquitlam, BC) in the third round, 27th overall and defensive lineman Dylan Roper (North Vancouver, BC) in the sixth round, 50th overall.

Joining Goossen in the Blue Bombers organization is Derek Jones (Edmonton, AB) as the defensive back was chosen in the fourth round, 29th overall.

The final Clan player chosen was Tore Corrado (Vancouver, BC), the only player chosen by an Eastern Division team as Corrado went to the Toronto Argonauts in the sixth round, 51st overall, one spot after Roper was chosen.

All five players spent their entire four-year career of collegiate football with the Clan, joining the program in 2010 for the team's first season in the NCAA.

Goossen anchored the Clan's offensive line, serving as a captain for the last two seasons. He entered the draft as the ninth ranked prospect by the CFL's Scouting Bureau.

The 6-4, 294-pound Goossen played every position on the offensive line during his four years with the Clan and was named a Great Northwest Athletic Conference first team all-star three times. Prior to the 2012 season, he was named a pre-season All-American by Beyond Sports Network.

At the CFL Combine in March, Goossen did 29 reps in the bench press, the fifth best total among all prospects.

In Chin, the Lions get a player who has led the GNAC in tackles for the past three seasons and was second in the conference in 2013 in interception return yards. The linebacker recorded 338 tackles during his university career. He was named a conference all-star three times during the course of his Clan career. Chin came to the Clan out of the Hyack football program.

Joining Goossen in Winnipeg is Jones, who played in 41 games with the Clan. The only CFL draftee from the Clan who was born outside of British Columbia, Jones was named to the all-conference team twice. In 41 games with SFU, Jones recorded 159 tackles.

Defensive lineman Roper will stay at home in BC and head to BC Place to join the Lions with Chin. Roper played in 36 games during his Clan career. He recorded 33 tackles and 18.5 sacks during his time at SFU, finishing second on the team in sacks in 2013.

Wide receiver and kick returner Corrado will head east to join the Toronto Argonauts to begin his CFL career. Corrado earned all-conference honours for the first time in 2012 and as a senior in the GNAC, was named to the first team as a kick returner.

In 36 games with the Clan, Corrado hauled in 58 catches for 748-yards and four touchdowns. Corrado returned 34 kicks for 813-yards and a touchdown for the Clan, as well as 21 punt returns for 264-yards.

The players will now set their sights on CFL training camp where they will try to make the roster of their respective CFL clubs while the current Clan players will gather atop Burnaby Mountain in August to prepare for the 2014 GNAC season.