Blue Bombers -- 2025/26 Offseason -- Discussion Thread

[JohnnyAbonny]

23 hours ago, WinnipegGordo said:

couple of new dudes

 

 

[wbbfan]

6 hours ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

Bogle is an interesting one. Highly recruited, unanimous 4-star recruit out of HS. Played a couple of years at Florida, then moved to Michigan State. Never became a regular starter or lived up to his potential out of HS. Very good athleticism and build, stronger than his weight would suggest, he's extremely lean, twitchy, good get off, has an excellent spin move, and a good motor. 

Boyd is similar. Polished, good frame that could hold more weight, excellent top-end speed, 3-star kid with polish who struggled to find a spot till his last year. 

Battle is pretty much the opposite. Instantly stepped in and started at the corner for NC state. tremendous size, mediocre measurables, but his speed plays better on the field than it tests. Quick twitchy, explosive type. Physical, very aggressive press corner type. Struggled more in zone, but his aggression is also going to be tough in man cover. Could be penalty-prone in any pro league. I think his wheels play much better in the CFL, and his fit could be good with JYs system if he can adjust. Played a ton of snaps, like 2400. If he can reign in his aggression and fit in with the system, he could be a very high-floor guy. 

Mayes has an interesting build for a wr, almost closer to a rbs build. Doesn't have great measurables, but a good track and basketball guy in Hs. Looks to have good hands. His qb, Ridder, was on our NL for a good while. They've seen a lot of him. He's got good polish, shifty runner.  Whenever I see guys at WR in that 6' and under, 200 and under range, I wonder if they have been over looked alot for not jumping off the stat sheet, or if they are an overachiever. Mayes hands and polish make me think he's the overlooked type. I wonder if they view him as a slot back. If he can master the waggle, he could go far up here, very quickly. 

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

Bogle is an interesting one. Highly recruited, unanimous 4-star recruit out of HS. Played a couple of years at Florida, then moved to Michigan State. Never became a regular starter or lived up to his potential out of HS. Very good athleticism and build, stronger than his weight would suggest, he's extremely lean, twitchy, good get off, has an excellent spin move, and a good motor. 

Boyd is similar. Polished, good frame that could hold more weight, excellent top-end speed, 3-star kid with polish who struggled to find a spot till his last year. 

Battle is pretty much the opposite. Instantly stepped in and started at the corner for NC state. tremendous size, mediocre measurables, but his speed plays better on the field than it tests. Quick twitchy, explosive type. Physical, very aggressive press corner type. Struggled more in zone, but his aggression is also going to be tough in man cover. Could be penalty-prone in any pro league. I think his wheels play much better in the CFL, and his fit could be good with JYs system if he can adjust. Played a ton of snaps, like 2400. If he can reign in his aggression and fit in with the system, he could be a very high-floor guy. 

Mayes has an interesting build for a wr, almost closer to a rbs build. Doesn't have great measurables, but a good track and basketball guy in Hs. Looks to have good hands. His qb, Ridder, was on our NL for a good while. They've seen a lot of him. He's got good polish, shifty runner.  Whenever I see guys at WR in that 6' and under, 200 and under range, I wonder if they have been over looked alot for not jumping off the stat sheet, or if they are an overachiever. Mayes hands and polish make me think he's the overlooked type. I wonder if they view him as a slot back. If he can master the waggle, he could go far up here, very quickly. 

If Khris Bogle has never been a regular starter in 4 years of college & hasn't lived up to expectations or potential then why should we believe that somehow a light bulb in his head is suddenly going to go off & he all of a sudden gets it? Generally by now at his age, a player either has it or he doesn't. 

Edited yesterday at 08:44 AM by SpeedFlex27

[wbbfan]

5 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

If Khris Bogle has never been a regular starter in 4 years of college & hasn't lived up to expectations or potential then why should we believe that somehow a light bulb in his head is suddenly going to go off & he all of a sudden gets it? Generally by now at his age, a player either has it or he doesn't. 

it’s pretty common in the cfl now to bring guys like this into camp. underachieving 4star or higher guys. If they adjust in camp to the canadian game it’s a very good chance you have a high end contributor. if they don’t they are easy cuts. The raw talent and athleticism helps raise the bar in drills for camp as well 

[HardCoreBlue]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

it’s pretty common in the cfl now to bring guys like this into camp. underachieving 4star or higher guys. If they adjust in camp to the canadian game it’s a very good chance you have a high end contributor. if they don’t they are easy cuts. The raw talent and athleticism helps raise the bar in drills for camp as well 

Ergo the extreme importance of who we have in all of our coaching positions. Work your magic on these guys.

[SpeedFlex27]

4 hours ago, wbbfan said:

it’s pretty common in the cfl now to bring guys like this into camp. underachieving 4star or higher guys. If they adjust in camp to the canadian game it’s a very good chance you have a high end contributor. if they don’t they are easy cuts. The raw talent and athleticism helps raise the bar in drills for camp as well 

I think it's a big ask for teams to think underachievers in their 20's who couldn't excel at lower levels will suddenly do so in the CFL. 

[Tracker]

14 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I think it's a big ask for teams to think underachievers in their 20's who couldn't excel at lower levels will suddenly do so in the CFL. 

Different athletes mature at differnt rates, so if the measureables are there, some may be worth a look-see.

[wbbfan]

7 hours ago, HardCoreBlue said:

Ergo the extreme importance of who we have in all of our coaching positions. Work your magic on these guys.

absolutely. 

 

4 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I think it's a big ask for teams to think underachievers in their 20's who couldn't excel at lower levels will suddenly do so in the CFL. 

it is. but you bring in 15-20 guys like this each camp and the ones who don’t cut it are first gone and gone in rookie camp. 

 Football is so intensely dependant on raw athleticism and talent, if you can add or develop one strong intangible like football iq, motor, etc you have a quick riser. 

 I mean this is why college teams are always all over track/basketball practices. 

 

4 hours ago, Tracker said:

Different athletes mature at differnt rates, so if the measureables are there, some may be worth a look-see.

very true. and the reality of falling out of the nfl window is a big learning opportunity. those guys always believe that their talent/athleticism will carry to a shot and they will win a spot. even though the reality is very different. Realizing that and facing the end of a career they thought would carry them can bring out a different animal. 

 

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

absolutely. 

 

it is. but you bring in 15-20 guys like this each camp and the ones who don’t cut it are first gone and gone in rookie camp. 

 Football is so intensely dependant on raw athleticism and talent, if you can add or develop one strong intangible like football iq, motor, etc you have a quick riser. 

 I mean this is why college teams are always all over track/basketball practices. 

 

very true. and the reality of falling out of the nfl window is a big learning opportunity. those guys always believe that their talent/athleticism will carry to a shot and they will win a spot. even though the reality is very different. Realizing that and facing the end of a career they thought would carry them can bring out a different animal. 

 

It's tough when a player reaches the end of the line but wants to keep playing especially college age kids. Usually a coach tells them it's over or injuries catch up.. Which is what happened to my son. An off season hammy tear was the end for him. He went from running a 4.6 forty as a junior &  taking off with the ball to being a pylon as a qb runninga 5.4 forty in his senior year at SFU. When he went to the combines after his final season in 2015, he couldn't run or cut. He knew it was over... He had to face that. It wasn't easy. His hammy still gives him trouble. Surgery at some point is down the line. 

[wbbfan]

2 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

It's tough when a player reaches the end of the line but wants to keep playing especially college age kids. Usually a coach tells them it's over or injuries catch up.. Which is what happened to my son. An off season hammy tear was the end for him. He went from running a 4.6 forty as a junior &  taking off with the ball to being a pylon as a qb runninga 5.4 forty in his senior year at SFU. When he went to the combines after his final season in 2015, he couldn't run or cut. He knew it was over... He had to face that. It wasn't easy. His hammy still gives him trouble. Surgery at some point is down the line. 

Yep, even more so for those 4* plus kids. those guys have grown up hearing they are going to be nfl stars since they are 12-14. If that doesn’t wake them up and get them playing like their career depends on it nothing will.

 Some super talented kids fall into a trap of doing all the small things coaches ask, at the expense of doing the things that will get them to the next level. 

Very nearly 100% of playing careers and in heart ache. No matter the level. And a huge portion of those have injuries driving them. 

[Deiter Fan]

On 2026-01-20 at 12:26 PM, Mike said:

You’re talking about his career like your feelings on the topic have any relevance.

What an odd thing to say on a discussion forum designed specifically for the expression of thoughts and feelings 

[SpeedFlex27]

On 2026-01-21 at 9:33 AM, Noeller said:

I think almost everyone is in agreement on this.... But nobody should slight the kid for trying. I'd be more than happy to see an honest to goodness Canadian, trained in the CIS, QB make it down south... If for nothing other than to show that the CIS is growing as a legitimate talent source. 

You just slapped every Canadian who has played CIAU, CIS or U Sports the past 70 years. As if, having some random Canadian qb "making it" onto a PR or even 3rd string on a roster (but will never actually play in the NFL on merit) suddenly legitimizes everything these players have/will  accomplish. BTW, tell Russ Jackson or Joe Poplawski they were never legitimate players. 

Edited 11 hours ago by SpeedFlex27

[SpeedFlex27]

7 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Yep, even more so for those 4* plus kids. those guys have grown up hearing they are going to be nfl stars since they are 12-14. If that doesn’t wake them up and get them playing like their career depends on it nothing will.

 Some super talented kids fall into a trap of doing all the small things coaches ask, at the expense of doing the things that will get them to the next level. 

Very nearly 100% of playing careers and in heart ache. No matter the level. And a huge portion of those have injuries driving them. 

Being a qb coach really helped the transition. He loves helping kids get to the next level at high school. A lot of his guys have got scholarships. The hamstring injury was serious. He didn't have surgery because the team doctor at SFU misdiagnosed the injury. If he had surgery, he might have recovered to play again at 100%. Maybe he would have redshirted.  It happened in January 2015 going into his senior year so he'd have had 9 months to recover. He'd have missed spring camp only. It was a hard thing for him to go through. Not being able to run at full speed. 

[17to85]

3 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

You just slapped every Canadian who has played CIAU, CIS or U Sports the past 70 years. As if, having some random Canadian qb "making it" onto a PR or even 3rd string on a roster (but will never actually play in the NFL on merit) suddenly legitimizes everything these players have/will  accomplish. BTW, tell Russ Jackson or Joe Poplawski they were never legitimate players. 

Methinks you missed the point and took that comment way more negatively than intended 

[GCn20]

On 2026-01-24 at 2:41 AM, SpeedFlex27 said:

If Khris Bogle has never been a regular starter in 4 years of college & hasn't lived up to expectations or potential then why should we believe that somehow a light bulb in his head is suddenly going to go off & he all of a sudden gets it? Generally by now at his age, a player either has it or he doesn't. 

Because it's very possible his physical size kept him out of the lineup, or that he has physical attributes that don't lend well to 4 down football but might translate well to our game. However, he is someone that would probably be a project.

[wbbfan]

32 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Because it's very possible his physical size kept him out of the lineup, or that he has physical attributes that don't lend well to 4 down football but might translate well to our game. However, he is someone that would probably be a project.

being a tweener definitely impacted his use at michigan. They used him as a jack, not a regular de

[SpeedFlex27]

5 hours ago, 17to85 said:

Methinks you missed the point and took that comment way more negatively than intended 

I think saying that U Sports would be more legitimate is an insult to every player who has ever played Canadian university football. How can any fan say that  a Canadian kid as a qb making a PR on an NFL team would make U Sports more legit? Look at the talent it has given the CFL since the 1930's. There have been many, many legendary players.

My son never played U Sports but he did play university football at SFU which was a Canadian based NCAA team on the Lower Mainland at the time. So, certainly there's a feeling of respect & a kindred spirit there between the 2 teams. There were players at UBC who could have driven over from West Van to the Burnaby, practice field, walked on & instantly made that team.

Personally, based on coaching & talent when my son was there from 2012-15, had the Schrum Bowl still have been played, SFU would have got its ass handed to it. 

Edited 2 hours ago by SpeedFlex27

[SpeedFlex27]

2 hours ago, GCn20 said:

Because it's very possible his physical size kept him out of the lineup, or that he has physical attributes that don't lend well to 4 down football but might translate well to our game. However, he is someone that would probably be a project.

We're talking college here.he had 4 years to adapt & change his game as he needed tio do. As wbbfan says, teams bring these guys in & most fail because they've been failing all along. I guess he's worth a look see. 

[GCn20]

23 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

We're talking college here.he had 4 years to adapt & change his game as he needed tio do. As wbbfan says, teams bring these guys in & most fail because they've been failing all along. I guess he's worth a look see. 

I consider him a longshot as well. I mean realistically only a few guys a years from the 30 or so new guys we bring to camp make it.