Brampton linebacker #1 pick in CFL draft by Montreal Alouettes
Published May 3, 2022 at 8:51 pm
Brampton Tyrell Richards, who spent last fall coaching younger footballers at his old high school in Mississauga, hardly had to wait to hear his name called in the Canadian Football League draft tonight.
Richards, who played linebacker for the Syracuse Orange in the Atlantic Coast Conference, was chosen No. 1 overall by the Montreal Alouettes on Tuesday. The six-foot-four, 236-pound went into the draft as the No. 3-rated prospect after posting a 4.6-second 40-yard dash, 19 reps in the 225-pound bench press and a 37-inch vertical jump at the CFL scouting combine in March. Richards also some some work at defensive end during his three seasons at Syracuse.
The Alouettes traded with the Edmonton Elks to move up to the first selection. Edmonton dropped down to No. 4, along with the No. 8 choice that they acquired in a trade with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Monday.
Fellow Brampton native John Metchie III was the No. 1 prospect on the CFL’s draft list. But Metchie, a wide receiver from the Alabama Crimson Tide, was chosen by the Houston Texans in the second round of the NFL draft late week. The CFL’s second-rated prospect, linebacker Jesse Luketa of Penn State, was also a seventh-round choice of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.
Richards had 54 tackles (9½ for a loss) and six sacks across 31 career games at Syracuse from 2018 to ’20. According to an article from The Canadian Press, he had initiated proceedings to transfer for the 2021 season, but encountered issues with transferable credits.
That led to Richards returning to Peel Region. He spent last fall training and helping coach at Clarkson Secondary School, where he developed his skills as a teenager while playing for coach Larry Jusdanis, a one-time quarterback with the Tiger-Cats.
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Metchie’s CFL playing rights were claimed by the B.C. Lions in the seventh round (No. 59 overall).
The second, third and fifth choices were all from the Canadian university ranks.
The Ottawa Redblacks looked local with the No. 2 choice, selecting offensive lineman Zack Pelehos from the Ottawa Gee-Gees in Ontario University Athletics. At No. 3, the B.C. Lions chose D-lineman Nathan Cherry from the Saskatchewan Huskies in Canada West.
Edmonton used the No. 4 pick to add defensive back Enock Makonzo of Lachine, Que., and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers of the NCAA’s Sun Belt Conference.
At No. 5, the Calgary Stampeders chose University of British Columbia wide receiver Jalen Philpot. Philpot’s father, Cory Philpot, was a star CFL running back in the 1990s.
The Tiger-Cats, due to the trade with Edmonton, are not up in the draft order until the No. 17 pick late in Round 2. The Tiger-Cats added offensive lineman Kyle Saxelid and linebacker Grant McDonald, both national players, in that deal.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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