When teams in the Canadian Football League go looking for talent, the Western Mustangs roster always gets a long look.
According to the CFL’s count, since 2003 there have been 33 Mustangs drafted.
On Thursday night, that number grew by six.
The 2017 Vanier Cup champions watched as one by one, David Mackie, Jean-Gab Poulin, Jordan Beaulieu, Londoner David Brown, Alex Taylor and Harry McMaster were selected by four separate Canadian Football League teams.
Mackie was the first off the board going 16th overall to the B.C. Lions. He became an instant story, given that as a running back, he played in just five games last year and caught only one pass for six yards.
Mackie is proof that statistics don’t always tell the whole story. He made his name as a punishing blocker and was named an OUA First Team All-Star.
The heart and soul of the Mustang defence went next as the Montreal Alouettes chose linebacker Jean-Gab Poulin in the third round. Pulin was recruited by the Mustangs in 2014 from the province of Quebec. He grew up in St. Nicolas, just outside of Quebec City, so he gets to head home and try to win a spot on the Alouettes roster for 2018.
Defensive back Jordan Beaulieu was in that same recruitment class and was selected one pick after Poulin. Beaulieu is from Montreal, but he is headed west for training camp in a few weeks after being picked by the Edmonton Eskimos. It may be his job to try to find his way past Londoner David Brown someday during the Battle of Alberta. Brown was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders in the fourth round.
Running back Alex Taylor was rewarded for his outstanding U Sports career in the sixth round, joining that same Edmonton-Calgary rivalry, as property of the Eskimos. Taylor was named an All-Canadian and averaged 123.4 yards per game during the regular season and then exploded in the playoffs, rushing for 212 yards on 36 carries.
Wide receiver Harry McMaster rounded out the 2018 Mustang draft class. Edmonton selected the Niagara Falls native in the seventh round.
Just about all of them will have a shot at cracking their respective CFL rosters this summer.
The Mustangs will kick off the 2018 regular season on Aug. 26 at Carleton. Western’s home opener is on Sept. 8 against McMaster.