WINNIPEG — The general consensus seems to be that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers had a very successful draft night.
“It’s a big deal for these guys and we don’t take that lightly,” said Blue Bombers general manager Kyle Walters.
The Bombers made eight players dreams come true and they think they got a steal with University of Virginia defensive end Trent Corney at ninth overall.
“Trent Corney was a natural fit for us,” Walters said. “Loved his film at Virginia. He ran around for a couple years on special teams and made plays.”
“Once I heard them call my name, Winnipeg, I was extremely happy and it just feels amazing to be wanted,” said Corney.
Corney is a physical specimen at 6’3″, 255 pounds. He put up some staggering numbers at recent combines and pro days running the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds and posting a mind boggling 38 inch vertical.
“I feel like I got a lot to prove,” Corney said. “The production in college was decent but I feel like I’m a lot better than what my statistics show because I hadn’t played as much. So I’m gonna come into training camp with a chip on my shoulder. The chip on my shoulder might be so large that I might be even walking with a little bit of a limp cause I’m so excited.”
“One of those guys that runs around with a reckless abandonment and looks like he plays the game,” said Walters. “You can tell in his film and it was verified on his pro day what kind of an athlete he is.”
With the very next selection the Bombers bulked up their offensive line with Simon Fraser’s Michael Couture. He already has some family in Winnipeg. Couture believes he hasn’t played three down football since he was only five-years-old but his versatility might be what peaked the Bombers interest.
“I started seven or eight games as a true freshman at left guard,” Couture said. “Then I went to right tackle, then I played a spring camp at left tackle. My junior season I was a centre and then this past season I went back to right tackle, so I’ve been across the board a bit.”
“We really liked him. I know Bob (Wylie) and Paul (Lapolice) had him ranked as their number one offensive line,” said Walters. “The scouting department myself had him in the top three.”
RELATED: Blue Bombers select Trent Corney with their 1st pick of the CFL Draft while 4 Bisons were taken
In the seventh round the Bombers looked just across the hallway to grab Manitoba Bisons receiver Alex Vitt who will get a chance to crack his hometown Bombers after playing for the Winnipeg Rifles and going to high school at J.H. Bruns Collegiate.
“I already know my way to the stadium, just go down the elevator and turn right instead of left now,” Vitt said. “Yeah it’s good. I can stay in town obviously, stay where I’m living and watch the Bisons play.”
“Anyone that’s been around here and watched him play, he just plays a hundred miles an hour,” Walters said. “I think in those later rounds if you can find a guy that plays tough and physical. That’s Alex Vitt.”
The first chance to see the Bombers new crop of prospects will be at their rookie camp beginning on May 25.
WATCH: Blue Bombers G.M. Kyle Walters discusses the results of the CFL Draft
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