Als GM goes against the grain, surprises many with his picks in the college draft

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Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia was full of surprises Tuesday night when the CFL held its annual Canadian college draft.

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With two first-round picks, Maciocia went against the grain, surprising many who had predicted who he might select.

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With the fifth overall pick, the Als selected Jonathan Sutherland from Penn State. The 5-foot-11, 214-pound Ottawa native can play linebacker or defensive back, but he recently signed with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent. He is 24 years old.

Montreal lost little time before taking Lwal Uguak, a 6-foot-5, 271-pound defensive lineman from Texas Christian University, seventh overall. Uguak, a 23-year-old Edmonton native, will attend rookie minicamp with the New York Giants.

The Als acquired BC’s additional first-round pick with last season’s trade of former starting quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. to the Lions. Adams became redundant in Montreal’s plans when he was benched for Trevor Harris in the second game of the season before suffering an injury. Harris signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent last February, while the Als signed Cody Fajardo from the Roughriders as a free agent to replace him.

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“Our Canadian content on defense has improved with players who can affect ratio and production,” Maciocia told the Montreal Gazette on Tuesday night during a brief respite from the draft table.

While Maciocia didn’t have to elaborate, he was undoubtedly in touch this week with the Seahawks and Giants organizations before making two potentially risky first-round picks, and he should feel confident neither player is in the long run. term of those teams. plans

There was speculation heading into the draft that the Als could use their first-round picks on Francis Bemiy, a defensive lineman who played in southern Utah and is a Montreal native. It was also thought that they might draft Michael Brodrique, a linebacker who played at the Université de Montréal. Maciocia was hired by the Als in 2020 after nearly a decade as head coach of the Carabineros.

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Brodrique, however, was second overall on Tuesday night to Edmonton. With the first overall pick, Ottawa selected Dontae Bull, an offensive lineman from Fresno State. Meanwhile, Bemiy was ninth overall against the Lions, completing the first round.

Sutherland is one of only two four-time team captains in Penn State history; the other, quarterback Sean Clifford, was selected in the fifth round by the Green Bay Packers.

Sutherland played safety for the Nittany Lions before being moved to linebacker last season. In 13 games, he had 38 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack at quarterback. During his 58-game career, he produced 137 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception and one forced fumble. He is also serious about playing on special teams, having blocked two kicks. He is considered fast, with a 4.58-second 40-yard time on his pro day.

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“I’m very happy that Jonathan earned this opportunity to compete at the professional level,” Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said after Sutherland signed with Seattle. “The Seahawks are signing a guy who is versatile and can help the defense in a lot of ways. His leadership was tremendous, both for our defense and for the special teams unit.”

Sutherland was a former wide receiver during his minor football days in Ottawa. He is considered an all-around athlete, something that should serve him well in the CFL. And, assuming he does eventually make it to Montreal, he’s expected to endear himself to the coaching staff because of his affinity for special teams. That’s normally the ticket for rookies onto the field.

Nonetheless, it was considered a bold choice on Maciocia’s part.

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Uguak played at the University of Connecticut from 2018 to 2021, recording 69 tackles, four sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in 34 games. He transferred to TCU last season for more exposure. The move served him well as the Horned Frogs reached the NCAA national championship game, losing to Georgia. In 14 games, he had nine tackles and one fumble recovery.

The Als also selected Université Laval full-back David Dallaire in the second round (13th overall). Earlier Tuesday, the Als selected Swedish defensive lineman Simon Sandberg and Australian punter Rhys Byrns in the league’s overall draft.

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