Bombers pick up Tyson Pencer from Washington State

By: Gary Lawless Posted: 1:59 PM CDT Thursday, May. 3, 2012 Last Modified: 4:45 PM CDT Thursday, May. 3, 2012 | Updates

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Joe Mack didn’t see a lot of depth in the CFL draft this year and moved up to get one of three players he saw as a potential starter.

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Joe Mack didn’t see a lot of depth in the CFL draft this year and moved up to get one of three players he saw as a potential starter.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/05/2012 (4914 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Joe Mack didn’t see a lot of depth in the CFL draft this year and moved up to get one of three players he saw as a potential starter.

The Bombers GM traded his No. 8 and No. 13 pick to get to the three slot and then used it to select 6-8, 330-pound offensive lineman Tyson Pencer from Washington State.

The Cougars left tackle, born in Delta, B.C., missed last season due to academic ineligibility and last saw action in 2010.

Matthew Sherwood / Postmedia News Archives
Tyson Pencer seen here during the 2012 CFL Evaluation Camp, has been picked up by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. — Matthew Sherwood / Postmedia News Archives Tyson Pencer seen here during the 2012 CFL Evaluation Camp, has been picked up by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Bombers were looking to replace Canadian talents Brendon LaBatte, who moved on in free agency to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Doug Brown (retired).

Mack saw Ben Heenan (offensive lineman), Jabar Westerman (defensive lineman) and Pencer as impact players and potential starters. When the chance to move up and grab one of those three came open he took it.

“We talked a lot about the need for Canadian talent and you’re always trying hopefully to get a player that can be a starter. We had extra picks and we wanted to be aggressive which is what we did and we moved up to the third pick in the draft and for our needs there were three guys that could potentially fill them and they were the first three players picked,” said Mack.

“We got Tyson Pencer and he’s a big offensive tackle that did good things at Washington State as freshman and a sophomore and we think he has the chance to be a starter and maybe a tackle and ratio changer.”

“This is a dream come true and I can’t wait to get to Winnipeg and try to make the Bombers and help the team,” said Pencer.

The Bombers also selected receiver Johnny Aprile out of Queen’s University, defensive end Christo Bilukidi from Georgia State, linebacker Rene Stephann from Harding College and Acadia defensive lineman Jake Thomas.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @garylawless

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