Visions of quarterbacks dance through his head

HE is a talent scout by trade, but first and foremost Brendan Taman is a foot­ball fan. Always has been,  always will be.

And that's why this weekend -- with the first of the annual U.S. college football bowl games -- gets the Winnipeg Blue Bombers vice president of player personnel all fuzzy inside as visions of talented, mobile quarterbacks dance through his head.

"I love this time of year because there's so much football to watch," Taman said this week. "And because we have prospects in some games, it makes it that much more interesting. I mean, why else would you watch some of these games... the Bootback Bowl or whatever the hell some of them are called?"

Football junkies get a healthy dose with four games scheduled for today -- the Eaglebank Bowl, New Mexico Bowl, Magicjack St. Petersburg Bowl and the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, with Sunday serving up the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. It's all part of the smorgasbord of 34 bowls that lead up to the FedEx BCS National Championship Game between the Oklahoma Sooners and Florida Gators on Jan. 8.

As has become tradition at this time of year, we'd like to provide our 10th Annual CFL Fan's Guide to the Bowls as we look at some of the prospects on the Bombers' negotiation list -- meaning they hold a player's CFL rights -- and others who may one day line up north of the border.

And as always, we'll begin with the Bomber QB prospects, including two who are in action today: Matt Grothe of the University of South Florida Bulls, who will be featured in the St. Petersburg Bowl this afternoon, and University of Arizona pivot Willie Tuitama, who is in action tonight in Las Vegas. Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell (Cotton Bowl, Jan. 2) and Alabama's John Parker-Wilson (Sugar Bowl, Jan. 2) are also on the Bombers' neg list.

Interestingly, because of the recent collapse of the Arena League and the disappearance of NFL Europa, the CFL is now the clear-cut No. 2 choice for players after the NFL. And that means some stars who jump out at fans with bowl performances over the next three weeks won't just be long shots to play the three-down game, but could actually appear on the horizon come June and the opening of training camps.

"Maybe some of them are immediately on our radar screen now instead of down the road," Taman said. "There's always talk of new leagues springing up, but if somebody wants to get a chance to play... look, just getting into an NFL camp can be tough, but if it's free-agent signing day and you've got a choice of just being Player X at an NFL camp or coming to Canada to at least be a backup, then why not consider coming up here?"

The key for CFL GMs managing their 35-man negotiation list through the bowl-game season is this: It's one thing to be enamoured with players like Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford, this year's Heisman Trophy winner, or Gator pivot Tim Tebow. It's another altogether to find the prospect who may slip through the NFL cracks because he is undersized or not currently ranked high on draft boards. And those are the prospects CFL types covet.

"It's easy to watch a college game and say, 'Oh gawd, that guy's really good,' " said Taman. "But it doesn't do you any good to put him on your neg list if all you're going to be doing is watching him on Sunday (in the NFL) for the rest of his career. In the NFL they just go get the best guys. But we've got to think about the best guys that we can actually get. I can tell you that Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow are good, but let's get into reality here... why waste time even looking at those guys right now?

"It's really an interesting game you play here with quarterbacks. You want to get the guys ranked maybe 21st to 40th, because you know the Top 20 are going to get a look in the NFL. But then you have to ask yourself: Is he good enough?

"We look for guys who can throw, obviously, but we're also looking at guys who can move their legs and make things happen -- i.e., Henry Burris in the Grey Cup or Kerry Joseph in the Grey Cup the year before. It's a tricky science. But this is the part of my job I really love."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

OTHER FUTURE STARS?

Saskatchewan Roughrider prospects: QB Case Daniel, Missouri, Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29; QB Todd Reesing, Kansas, Insight Bowl, Dec. 31; QB Brian Johnson, Utah, Sugar Bowl, Jan. 2; WR Eric Morris, Texas Tech, Cotton Bowl, Jan. 2; WR Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss, Cotton Bowl, Jan. 2; Toronto Argonauts: QB Colt McCoy, Texas, Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 5

Calgary Stampeders: QB Max Hall, BYU, Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 20

THE HOMEGROWNS

A look at the Canadians expected to be on rosters in the bowl games (courtesy NFLCanada.com):

Jason Wagner (Lethbridge, Alta.), LB, BYU; Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 20.

Michael Atkinson (Windsor, Ont.), DT, Boise State; Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 23.

Jon Gott (Lethbridge, Alta.; drafted 35th by Calgary in 2008), OL, Boise State; Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 23.

Andrew Woodruff (Victoria), drafted 12th overall by Montreal in 2008), OL, Boise State; Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 23.

Eric Fraser (Burnaby, B.C.), DB, Central Michigan; Motor City Bowl, Dec. 26

Kito Poblah (Montreal, Que.), WR, Central Michigan; Motor City Bowl, Dec. 26

Greg Wojt (Mississauga, Ont.; drafted 11th overall by Edmonton in 2008), OL, Central Michigan, Motor City Bowl, Dec. 26.

Jamaal Westermann (Brampton, Ont.), DE, Rutgers, PapaJohns.com Bowl, Dec. 29.

Jawaan Westerman (Brampton, Ont.), WR, Rutgers, PapaJohns.com Bowl, Dec. 29.

John Bender (Cochrane, Alta.), OL, Nevada, Humanitarian Bowl, Dec. 30.

Michael Carter (Windsor, Ont.), DB, Maryland, Humanitarian Bowl, Dec. 30.

Scott Mitchell (Ottawa), LT, Rice, Texas Bowl, Dec. 30.

Arnaud Gascon-Nadon (Montreal), DE, Rice, Texas Bowl, Dec. 30.

Caleb Clark (Calgary), QB, Western Michigan, Texas Bowl, Dec. 30.

Fernand Kashama (Toronto); drafted 16th overall by Calgary in 2008), DE, Western Michigan, Texas Bowl, Dec. 30.

Shomari Williams (Brampton, Ont.), LB, Houston, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Dec. 31.

Tang Bacheyie (Windsor, Ont.), S, Kansas, Insight Bowl, Dec. 31.

Justin Sorensen (Vancouver Island, B.C.; drafted 5th overall by B.C. in 2008), OL, South Carolina, Outback Bowl, Jan. 1.

Trey Henderson (Vancouver), DL, USC, Rose Bowl, Jan. 1.

Ronald Hilaire (Laval, Que.), drafted 27th by Calgary in 2008), DL, Buffalo, International Bowl, Jan. 3.

Bruno Lapointe (Lennoxville, Que.), DL, Buffalo, International Bowl, Jan. 3.

Muhammad Petrus (St. Laurent, Que.), OL, Connecticut, International Bowl, Jan. 3.

Martin Bedard (Laval, Que.), TE, Connecticut, International Bowl, Jan. 3.

Tyler Holmes (Ottawa), LT, Tulsa, GMAC Bowl, Jan. 6.

-- Ed Tait

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 20, 2008 D1