Hamilton Tiger-Cats add Niagara Falls’ Federico in CFL draft

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Published May 3, 2022 at 10:35 pm

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have invested their top draft choice in Anthony Federico, who developed his edge-rushing skills right in the city.

The Ticats, due to a trade on Monday, did not choose until No. 17 in the Canadian Football League draft. When their turn finally came up, they chose Federico, a defensive lineman from Niagara Falls who was one of the best in Canadian university football at sacking quarterbacks during his draft year with the Queen’s Gaels. Before joining the Gaels in Kingston, Federico played junior football with the Hamilton Hurricanes while studying sport management at Niagara College.

Last fall, when Ontario University Athletics restarted football competition after a year off due to COVID-19 pandemic, Federico led the conference with seven sacks in six regular-season games. He helped Queen’s reach the Yates Cup conference final for the first time since 2013, and earned second-team all-Canadian honours.

“You got a special one!” Queen’s head coach Steve Snyder wrote on Twitter in response to a post from from the Ticats’ account.

Federico was the third player from Niagara Falls taken within the first two rounds. The Ford twins, quarterback Tre and defensive back Tyrell, were taken earlier in the evening. Tre Ford was chosen No. 8 overall by the Edmonton Elks and Tyrell Ford was taken No. 13 overall by the two-time Grey Cup champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The football path for Federico started in the Niagara Minor Football Association. He also graced the gridiron with his school team at Saint Michael Catholic High School and played with the Ontario Varsity Football League’s Niagara Spears.

The Tiger-Cats had only one selection in the first 35 choices, after trading with Edmonton for offensive lineman Kyle Saxelid and linebacker Grant McDonald on Monday. The Tiger-Cats anted their first- and third-round choices and traded up in the CFL global draft.

Edmonton used that first-round choice to select Tre Ford, who became the first quarterback in recent memory to be taken in the first round.

Earlier in the day, the Ticats chose Australian punters Bailey Flint and Blake Hayes, and Latvian defensive lineman Ralfs Rusins in the global draft. Each CFL team is required to have two global players on the active roster.

Flint, 25, played for the Toledo Rockets in the NCAA’s Mid-American Conference. The Melbourne native was a back-to-back Ray Guy Award nominee as the U.S. college football’s top punter in 2020 and ’21.

Hayes, 23, who is also from Melbourne, played at Illinois in the Big Ten. He set seven school records at Illinois, including career punting average and most punts of 50 or more yards.

The six-foot-six, 325-pound Rusins played his college ball with the Liberty Flames, a Football Bowl Subdivision independent. In 37 games across four seasons, Rusins registered 141 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, six quarterback sacks and one forced fumble. Rusins is originally from Carnikava, Latvia.

The first McMaster Marauders player taken was defensive lineman Enoch Penney-Laryea, who went No. 26 overall to the Tornonto Argonauts.

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