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You are here: Home / Archives for Matt McGarva

Will the next BC Lions Safety please stand up?

May 21, 2015 By Brian Wawryshyn

Two seasons ago the BC Lions began to overhaul their secondary. It started with Kory Banks being traded to Winnipeg. At the end of 2014, Dante Marsh was told he wouldn’t be back. As we told you a couple of weeks ago, Ryan Phillips is the last man standing of a group that gave CFL quarterbacks and receivers fits for years.

Chris Rwabukamba - JASON FRANSON, THE CANADIAN PRESSChris Rwabukamba – JASON FRANSON, THE CANADIAN PRESS

But for the last few seasons, and really since the retirement of Barron Miles, the Lions have been looking to upgrade at the safety position. The Lions didn’t offer a contract to J.R. LaRose and they signed Chris Rwabukamba as a free agent in the off-season. Injuries derailed the development of 2012 draft pick Matt McGarva and the Lions cut him loose last week.

The club made an honest effort to secure DB Garrett Waggoner in Wednesday’s supplemental draft, offering up their first round pick in 2016, but Winnipeg swooped in with the same offer and won his services based on the fact they finished worse than the Lions in 2014. Waggoner had previously been on the Lions negotiation list.

The Lions likely would have loved to get their hands on Wilfred Laurier’s Chris Ackie in the draft but that was thwarted by Jim Popp and the Montreal Alouettes who took the talented DB one spot ahead of the Lions in the first round.

Ideally the Lions would love to start a Canadian at safety, so for now the position is Rwabukamba’s to lose. If he does impress enough to start there, BC will need to have a backup national behind him, or at least one that can slide into the secondary if you need to move someone else over and not affect the ratio in other areas.

2014 draft pick Josh Brinkworth could be that player. The DB from Pacific, who the Lions selected in the sixth round, played mostly safety in college and was likely one of the reasons that the club cut ties with McGarva. Brinkworth signed a two year deal with the Lions on Wednesday and will be thrown into the fire when rookie camp begins on May 28th in Kamloops.

Another option could be third year Lion Keynan Parker, son of former Lions great James “Quick” Parker. In fact Parker is the only player on the Lions roster that they list as a safety if you believe in foreshadowing at all.

If the Rwabukamba audition fails the Lions could opt to start an international in that spot, which would in turn affect other things they would like to do with the ratio.

Overall, the Lions have done a nice job finding players to restock the secondary. Cord Parks and Ronnie Yell have become mainstays, while T.J. Lee, Josh Johnson and Torri Williams will look to break into starting roles. There is also Derrick Morgan and Jerimiah Johnson  who were signed at a free agent camp in Washington D.C., Steven Clarke (2014 free agent signing) and the veteran savvy of Phillips is there to keep it all together as the leader of the group. Another signing or two could be announced within the next few days, a result of the Lions final free agent camp in Seattle last weekend.

While their search for a safety hasn’t yet ended, the Lions at least appear to have some options to look at in Kamloops. Here’s hoping they find one that will be a solution for years to come.

Defensive Backs currently on the Lions roster:

6 Lee, T.J. DB International 5.09 190 1990-03-20 Eastern Washington
9 Rwabukamba, Chris DB National 5.11 192 1987-01-05 Duke
13 Williams, Torri DB International 6.02 208 1986-08-29 Purdue
20 Parker, Keynan S National 6.00 183 1989-11-17 Simon Fraser
21 Phillips, Ryan DB International 5.10 195 1982-11-15 Eastern Washington
23 Johnson, Josh DB International 5.10 200 1989-09-10 Purdue
25 Yell, Ronnie DB International 5.10 185 1991-04-15 San Jose State
26 Parks, Cord CB International 5.11 180 1986-11-12 Northeastern
28 Brinkworth, Josh DB National 6.01 205 1993-01-18 Pacific
29 Clarke, Steven DB International 5.10 195 1991-04-19 Vanderbilt
34 Johnson, Jeremiah DB International 5.11 195 1992-08-25 Maryland
37 Morgan, Derrick DB International 5.11 210 1990-03-05 Stony Brook

 

Filed Under: BC Lions Den, Featured Tagged With: Barron Miles, BC Lions, BC Lions Den, CFL, Chris Rwabukamba, Josh Brinkworth, Keynan Parker, Matt McGarva

Class of 2013: Recap Of The BC Lions Seven Draft Selections

May 6, 2013 By Brian Wawryshyn

Hunter Steward in action for Liberty University (Photo: Liberty University)

The 2013 CFL Canadian College Draft has come and gone and it will likely be sometime before the BC Lions see what they got from this year’s group of picks. Some are projects, some may look south of the border. Let’s take a look at the newest members of the Pride as we try and learn a bit more about them.

Hunter Steward – Offensive Lineman – Liberty University of Lynchurg, Virginia. (1st pick, 6th overall)

Heading into the draft, the Lions were looking to address their non-import offensive line depth. The club saw three of its top choices plucked by other clubs by the time their pick came up, and rather than take a risk on a player that was drawing interest from the NFL, the club went off the board somewhat to select Steward, a 6’7” 290 pound lineman from Liberty where he will return next season to complete his final year of collegiate eligibility. The Lions project that Steward; a converted defensive lineman, could develop into a tackle in the CFL, but they will have to wait until 2014 to make that assessment.

His coaches say:
• Very athletic
• Plays with a lot of energy
• Is still learning the position, but is going to be a great football player.

Liberty University Profile

Seydou Junior Haidara – Wide Receiver – Laval University (2nd pick, 12th overall)

Widely regarded as one of the best receivers available in the draft, the Lions selected Haidara with their second pick of the day. At 6’1” 215 pounds, he’s a big bodied receiver who the Lions feel can play multiple positions in the offense, be it wideout, slot or tight end. Head coach Mike Benevides added that Haidara was also at the top of the class in special teams where his career will likely begin with the Lions if he impresses enough at camp, giving him a chance to hone his skills under an already solid set of receivers. If that doesn’t work out, he still has another year of CIS eligibility left.

Haidara speaks about his experience at the CFL Combine.

Bo Lokombo – Linebacker – Oregon (3rd pick, 21st overall)

With their third pick the Lions certainly rolled the dice a little bit, taking Abbotsford native Bo Lokombo, who plays for a solid program in Oregon and is already drawing interest from NFL teams. It may be awhile if ever, before the Lions see Lokombo in black and orange,

Being a local product the Lions have seen a lot of Lokombo and the club simply felt that at that time in the draft, there was too much upside to pass up taking the chance.

With Adam Bighill and Solomon Elimimian in place, the Lions have time to watch the Lokombo story play out, and if it ends up in their favour, they probably drafted one of the best prospects in this year’s class. He and DL Stefan Charles (who was drafted by the Eskimos) were consistently at or near the top of the prospect rankings. Lokombo will be returning to Oregon for another season, with his sights set firmly on next year’s NFL draft when he will be eligible for selection.

Oregon Ducks Profile

Matt McGarva – Defensive Back – Windsor (4th pick, 33rd overall)

The Lions dipped into some family genes with their selection of DB Matt McGarva of Windsor. McGarva’s brother, Sean is a Community Relations coordinator for the club. With the loss of Cauchy Muamba in the off-season, an aging secondary and the departure of Byron Parker, defensive back was another area the Lions were hoping to address.

At 6’0”, 191 pounds, the Surrey native is a hometown product who lists himself on his Twitter account as an “avid BC Lions fan”, so he should be thrilled with today’s events. He was named a second team all-Canadian in 2011 after finishing the season with 48 tackles for the Lancers.  He went on to earn his second-straight OUA all-star nod last fall in his final year of eligibility with Windsor, despite playing just four games.

McGarva is a fitness nut and will “cut his teeth” on special teams according to Lions DB coach Mark Washington as the club tries to groom him for a non-import spot in the secondary one day.

CIS Profile

Matthew Albright – Offensive Lineman – Saint Mary’s (5th pick, 42nd overall)

The Lions went back to the offensive line with their 5th pick of the day; selecting 6’5” 295 pound Matthew Albright from Saint Mary’s. Winner of a Russ Jackson award in 2012, presented to the player best exemplifying the attributes of academic achievement, football skill & citizenship, Albright played tackle for the Huskies and was named a conference all-star in 2012. His offensive line with the Huskies gave up just 10 sacks last year in 8 games and averaged a league best 201.4 yards a game.

Matt Walker –Defensive Back – UBC (6TH pick, 50th overall).

The Lions stayed local with their next pick selecting UBC’s Matt Walker, who had an impressive invite camp with the Lions in April. Walker will get a taste of the CFL at training camp this season, but will likely return to UBC where at 21, he still has three years of eligibility left.

Walker played high school football in Vernon & from there went to University of Saskatchewan Huskies as a WR.  He played one season with the Bratislava Monarchs in Slovakia in the spring 2011  In the fall of 2011 he came to the Okanagan Sun about 4 games in as a WR but transitioned to DB in his 2nd game. Walker played in one exhibition & 1 regular season game in 2012 for UBC before an ACL tear ended his season.  He fully rehabbed the injury and is back at full speed (4.59 40 at April e-camp).

(Thanks to Heather Foster for the info on Matt).

UBC Profile

Cameron Thorn –Defensive Lineman – Guelph (7th pick, 58th overall)

With their final pick in the Lions added a natural defensive lineman who they hope to covert to the offensive line, selecting Guelph’s Cameron Thorn. The Ontario native also possesses ability as a long-snapper, a valuable commodity in the CFL.

This past season the 6-foot-5, 290lb fourth year player appeared in eight regular season games for the Gryphons and racking up 19 tackles, and one sack. In 2012, Thorn played in the East West Bowl at Western University on the West Team.

Guelph Profile

More Draft Coverage:

  • CFL.ca Draft Board
  • BCLions.com Draft Coverage
  • BC Lions getting good at rolling the dice. (Lowell Ullrich, The Province)
  • Linden Gaydosh selected first overall (TSN.ca)
  • Behind The Scenes At The CFL Draft (Kate McKenna – TSN.ca)
  • Looking Ahead: Recapping the CFL Draft (TSN.ca)

 

Filed Under: CFL/League, CIS Football, Drafts/Prospects, Featured, From The Stands, Uncategorized Tagged With: 2013 CFL Canadian College Draft, BC Lions, Bo Lokombo, Cameron Thorn, Hunter Steward, Matt McGarva, Matt Walker, Matthew Albright, Seydou Junior Haidara

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