I know I’m not alone when I say this, but I can’t remember a CFL Draft with this many draftable Canadian quarterbacks.
I’m sorry but unless these guys other than Rourke have a rocket for an arm and are very mobile, they’ll NEVER see the field in a regular season game.
I watched Elgersma vs Laval and I was not that impressed with his arm strength. it’s not strong enough to have any real chance in the CFL.
trust me CFL teams and their coaches want a QB who than throw a Rope to the sidelines on a Canadian sized field. Arm strength is the #1 importance for a Starting QB in the CFL and most of these guys do not have it.
Also the USports QBs have never faced NCAA defenses. They may have the arm strength and the ability to run away from Cdn DBs or Cdn D linemen but put them in a CFL game against defenses that are mainly ex-NCAA and ex-NFL players that are bigger, faster stronger and better football smarts than a Usports D player, and they are like deer in the headlights. It’s a huge learning curve and a CFL team would need to spend a lot of time developing a Cdn QB, it’s a big gamble to sign one.
Ford is the exception, this guy has to get a lot of credit coming out of a Cdn Uni and making the CFL.
Which of these wouldn’t want to come to Calgary? You have Huff and Dave D. 2 former QBs and 2 of the most successful figures in CFL history. However I feel its becoming too trendy to want a CDN QB. I don’t want one just for the sack of having one
Not really thinking Calgary needs another QB . They have Adams, Walker, and Bonner, they shouldn’t have let the 3rd down guarantee QB Tommy Stevens leave, to keep Bonner who was a dud when given a chance to play. Bonner is an interception king. I seriously doubt he will be any good as a 3rd down QB.
Agreed. I don’t see the hype behind Elgersma.
No question arm strength is a big deal, especially on a field 65 yards wide. But as attributes I would want in my QB, I rate it behind the ability to read defenses, get the ball out on time, and accuracy. Going back 25 years, I think Michael Bishop probably had the strongest arm in the CFL. But his accuracy and decision making were always iffy; he finished his career with a completion rate just over 50% and with more INTs than TDs. Contrast that with Ricky Ray, who by no means had a cannon for an arm, but who retired as the most accurate passer in CFL history (never seen another QB hit the deep corner route better than him), and who’s a first ballot hall of famer.
The problem is that Canadian QBs generally will take longer to mature at the pro level, and organizations who have a “win now” approach won’t have the patience to let them develop. We saw this to some extent with Chris Jones and Tre Ford. In Ford’s first year in Edmonton he was raw and looked awful, and had no business being on the field. But he had clearly improved by his second year, and yet Jones kept sending out Taylor Cornelius, who had a heavy arm but wasn’t particularly accurate and made terrible decisions game after game. And then in Ford’s third year Jones reached for MBT, which always felt like a move designed more to help Jones keep his job than to continue developing Ford and set up the Elks for longer-term success. And when Ford finally got in (after Jones was fired and the season essentially lost) he showed further development. If Ford is going to have a long and productive career - and I’m pulling for him - then it’ll come more from his ability to read defenses and his accuracy than from his arm strength (which I would rate as average, not unlike Ray) or his speed and athleticism (which Bishop had in abundance also).
I would really like to see more Canadian QBs drafted as longer-term projects, where the organizational plan is to develop them over 2-4 years, rather than expect short-term returns. The Canadian QBs available this year are definitely worth at least a middle to late round pick, in my opinion.
Welcome to the Forum!
Hufnagel has in the past adamently stated Canadian QB’s are not good enough.
he says he wants a QB who has played in front of 10’s of thousands regularly, not some guy who plays in front of 2,500+ people in a small Canadian Stadium.
I still think that Ford will be a backup by the mid season because everytime he has faced a winning team they shut him down. multiple examples in the past where he gets frustrated and makes big mistakes because he’s not completely able to play in the CFL.
he needs a lot of work.
That’s kind of short sighted don’t you think?
To not take a player because he hasn’t played in front of 10s of thousands of people? Personally I would think their talent and their potential would be better metrics to base that decision on. But that’s just me.
I think he means that an NCAA QB that plays in front of 10s of thousands obviously has the talent to lead that team he’s likely a Tier 1 QB.
Playing in front of 2,500 people means you are probably at a lower tier of football and playing against defenses that are not as good as a NCAA tier 1 football team.
well he’s been right on hasn’t he? look at the QBs he brought into Calgary?
Garcia, Dickenson, Burris, Levi-Mitchell. that’s a very high end group of QBs. I think he might just know what he’s doing?..
When did he say that, in 1994?
Ridiculous comment because Huff did have a Canadian QB in 2016/2017
Does wonders for the ratio though doesn’t it?
Ford will never perform well enough for you no doubt, for you have had it in for him as long as you have commented about him on this forum.
You are the same guy who welched on his claim about Ford prospects last season, so here’s another reminder we have not forgotten that you did not make good on your claim when Ford outperformed your perennial dire expectations.
Here was your dire, and incorrect, prognostication in October 2024:
And here you were later, when in defiance of your confident proclamation, the Elks with Ford at quarterback beat the Argos later in the month, and you welched on your claim to give him credit, which we know you won’t no matter what because you already lied once:
Or you can clean the slate and 'fess up for once one way or the other.
Either you don’t like Tre Ford no matter what, OR
Ford’s prospects now are better than they were one year ago, which he has proved, also in stark contrast to your proclamations and on a claim you made that you did not back up as you presented you would do.
Neither of those views crowns him for more than starter, which is a position he must now secure indefinitely not only with the Elks but in the CFL, which is progress from where Ford was a year ago.
Again, I’m not holding my breath for any integrity in this regard from you at the very least, for the evidence indicates much to the contrary.
You could be right here because he must lock in the starting job now.
But if he does lock in the starting job, I don’t expect you to appreciate it at all and just to continue with more of your dire dogging for Ford, such as also probably to make an excuse such as “yes but he has not earned it and should not be a starter” and the like trash after the fact when you welch on your claims.
He was quoted as saying a while ago that Nathan Rourke shouldn’t have been allowed to play in the league last year due to salary cap issues so he might just be against Canadian Quarterbacks generally speaking 
and what was his role?
I’ll tell you what… if he plays Winnipeg or Montreal or Toronto or any of the top teams in the CFL this season and defeats them I will gladly admit it. These games have to be meaningful games. so last game of the season that means nothing and backups are played does not count.
PRE SEASON GAMES DO NOT COUNT!
because of Salary Cap. IF this had not affected the Salary cap I wouldn’t have cared at all. I like that he’s a starter but the guy got a little cocky, a fat head after his NFL stint and everyone figured he’d step right in and be just like before he left. umm no.
I really hope he has a great season (except vs Saskatchewan) and rebounds for 2025.