Man of Steele top CFL prospect

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This article was published 11/12/2009 (6134 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He’s a Steele of a deal for the CFL.

University of Manitoba defensive tackle Eddie Steele has been ranked No. 12 among the top 15 Canadian college draft prospects by the CFL’s amateur scouting bureau.

Steele, a third-year player named a 2009 Canada West conference all-star and a 2009 Canadian Interuniversity Sport second team all-Canadian, achieved the lofty status based on his play in last spring’s 2009 East West Bowl, a CIS game featuring 90 draft-eligible players, and his performance in the 2009 season.

The Bisons did not qualify for the ’09 playoffs, due to three victories stripped for use of an ineligible player, but Steele’s impact was obviously noted.

The 6-foot-2, 280-pound Steele should now earn an invitation to the 2010 CFL Evaluation Camp, also called the CFL combine, set for March 12-14 in Toronto.

Next step

"That would be the next step for him. I think he’ll excel at those combines and when he gets there, he’s going to show who he is even more than he already has and take that to another level," said Bisons head coach Brian Dobie.

"Eddie always has been a really, really good athlete in a big man’s body. He combines strength, quickness and speed. The number of tackles that kid makes at an inside position on the D-line is really noteworthy and I think that has caught the attention of CFL people."

Steele increased his training over the past two years, dropping about 60 pounds and improving his fitness. A graduate of Kelvin High School, he started six games for the Bisons and recorded 27 tackles with one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

"I’m really excited about being in the top 15, I’ve put in a lot of work to get to this point, but I know I have a lot of work to put in to get down that (CFL) road," Steele said.

"I know that the East West Bowl was big for me.

"An agent I’m going to be working with told me that I went in there as pretty much a nobody, but left on a lot of people’s lists of top three players. It does feel like I’m right there, really close to that dream of the CFL, but it’s still so far. It (the top 15) is cool but I’ve been taught by my father not to get caught up in any hype and just get to work."

Former Bisons defensive lineman Don Oramasionwu, a good friend of Steele’s, was drafted in 2008 and made the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2009. If Steele is drafted next spring, he would be invited to a CFL training camp and could follow in Oramasionwu’s footsteps.

"That is a big boo-hoo for us but it would be just outstanding for him," Dobie said. "When you’re ranked that highly, there is a very, very good chance that you’re getting drafted somewhere and I know that Eddie will continue to do all the right things to ensure that does happen."

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca