TORONTO – The Saskatchewan Roughriders selected offensive lineman Josiah St. John first overall in the CFL draft Tuesday night. The six-foot-six, 300-pound St. John spent the last two seasons with the Oklahoma Sooners, starting four of the 15 games he suited up for.
He made all four starts at tackle last season after dressing for eight of the Sooners’ 15 contests in 2014.
The communications major was the top available prospect for the draft, ranked fifth overall by the CFL scouting bureau.
The top four prospects — Manitoba defensive lineman David Onyemata, Iowa receiver Tevaun Smith, Boston College defensive lineman Mehdi Abdesmad and Michigan State cornerback Arjen Colquhoun — were either drafted into the NFL or had signed contracts south of the border.
St. John, a native of Ajax, Ont., will also be heading south as he will participate in the Oakland Raiders’ mini-camp this weekend.
Saskatchewan posted a CFL-worst 3-15 record last season but is now being led by head coach/GM Chris Jones, who guided the Edmonton Eskimos to last year’s Grey Cup crown as their head coach.
Jones had said prior to the draft he’d entertain trade offers for the No. 1 pick but kicked off the proceedings by calling St. John’s name.
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The Montreal Alouettes, who’ve started five Canadians on their offensive line, took Laval guard Philippe Gagnon second overall. The six-foot-three, 317-pound native of Ancienn-Larette, Que., was a two-time CIS second-team all-star and had the most reps in the bench press (40) at the CFL combine in March.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who moved into No. 3 in a trade with B.C., continued the run of offensive linemen, selecting Brandon Revenberg of Grand Valley State. The native of Windsor, Ont., started 39 of 46 games in college but wasn’t named on the CFL scouting bureau’s final top-20 draft prospects list.
The Toronto Argonauts, at No. 4, took Acadia receiver Brian Jones. The six-foot-four, 233-pound native of Enfield, N.S., had 45 catches for 630 yards and four TDs last season but is recovering from a broken scaphoid bone in his wrist.
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