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Brannagan will have steep hill to climb

It’s great that Danny Brannagan has signed with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts.

Great for me because I called that the Argos would sign a Canadian QB here.

But somewhat more importantly, it’s great for the growth of the game in Canada and the emergence of Canadian Interuniversity Sport competition as a true proving ground for future pros. Nine of the top 15 CFL prospects as ranked by the CFL’s Amateur Scouting Bureau ply their trade in the CIS. That includes four from the OUA.

A host of other CIS players also made names for themselves at the CFL’s evaluation camp this weekend, including Bishop’s wide receivers Steven Turner and Sean Gore, Laurier running back Mike Montoya and Laurier defensive lineman Chima Ihekwoaba.

The Western Mustangs also had three players at the camp, offensive lineman Josh Buttrill, defensive lineman Chris Greaves and linebacker Conor Elliott. You can read my article with comments from the trio here.

Brannagan’s signing is by far the biggest news to come out of the evaluation camp this past weekend.

The Burlington native was very impressive, bench pressing more than some of the linemen and running a faster 40-yard dash than some of the running backs. He’s clearly stepped up his conditioning since the Vanier Cup and several onlookers thought he was throwing the hardest passes at the camp.

Add that to Brannagan’s proven ability to play well in high pressure situations — this year’s Yates Cup, Mitchell Bowl and Vanier Cup are excellent resume points — and you have a nice looking quarterback. It’s no surprise the Argos wanted to lock him up as soon as possible, not even waiting 24 hours after the evaluation camp wrapped to sign him.

Brace yourselves for a wave of human interest stories heavy on Canadian pride coming from our nation’s news outlets during training camp. Our media loves nothing more than a feel good story about a Canadian kid making it in the big leagues against all odds.

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