It’s that time of year again. As free agency has passed and the weather begins to contemplate warming up in various parts of the country, CFL fans are getting a better idea of what their team will look like come training camp in May.

Before we can hit the regular season or even training camp, it is first combine season with the best prospective talent eligible for the draft in May ready to jump, run, talk and play their way into the favour of as many CFL teams as possible.

This year there were 171 combine invites given out to players from 46 different schools.

McMaster and Laval lead the way with a total of 10 invited athletes each, while many familiar names follow close behind including Calgary, Saint Mary’s and more.

Ontario is once again this year called home by the vast majority of combined-invited players in 2018.

Combine Quick Slants

» CFL reveals 2018 combine participants

» Records | Historical Results

» Combine Refresher: A look at each drill

In a year when the Canadian quarterback took a quantum leap forward in the form of Brandon Bridge in Saskatchewan and Andrew Buckley in Calgary, receiving meaningful snaps for their given teams at various times, it makes sense to see the quality of Canadian quarterbacks continue to rise at the CFL combine level as well.

Christian Strong of Seton Hill and 2016 Hec Crighton trophy award winner Noah Picton of the Regina Rams should create a nice one-two punch of arm power when the pads go on at CFL Week in Winnipeg, while the regional combines have all the arm strength and accuracy at quarterback needed to create fireworks in the receiver and defensive back one-on-one drills in the form of Laval’s Hugo Richard, Saskatchewan’s Kyle Siemens, Saint Mary’s Kaleb Scott and Queen’s Nate Hobbs.

Dylan Bell of St. FX and Robbie Yochim of McMaster have starred at their respective programs over the last couple of seasons and could serve as eye-openers if they attack the ball at the regional combines with the same veracity they have each fall. Meanwhile, the early front-runners at defensive back this year attending the national combine in Winnipeg include Royce Metchie of Guelph, Will Maxwell of UBC and Godfrey Onyeka of Laurier.

All will have a tough time replicating the dominance of the 2017 national combine defensive backfield invites who went on to have great combines and even better rookie seasons such as Tunde Adeleke of Carleton (Calgary Stampeders) Jordan Hoover of Waterloo (Edmonton Eskimos, Dondre Wright of Henderson State (Montreal Alouettes) and Robert Woodson of Calgary (Toronto Argonauts).

If it’s the junior football underdogs you cheer for during this time of year, look no further than Mitch Norman of the Hamilton Hurricanes and Mitch McCoy of the University of New Brunswick.

The aforementioned Norman played junior ball in the Hammer while working and raising his first-born, while McCoy just completed his fifth season in the Atlantic Football League and told me he has been training for seven years just to get a regional combine invite and a chance to wake scouts up with his hidden Maritime talent. He will get that chance in the Eastern Regional Combine on March 7.

Stephen Fabian is one of five kickers invited to regional combines this year because kickers ARE people too. Fabian attended the 2015 East-West Bowl before spending 2016 with the Calgary Colts and 2017 with the Concordia Stingers. He has a strong leg and is hoping 2018 finally leads him to a CFL roster.

To the average Canadian football fan, there are plenty of NCAA unknowns again this year from offensive lineman Peter Godber of Rice to pass rush specialist Bo Banner of Washington State, Norvell McGlaun of Indiana State, Linebacker Mathieu Loiselle of Wagner College and interior run stuffer Julien Laurent of Georgia State. All could make an impression on fans and scouts alike in either their regional combines or the national show in Winnipeg March 23-24, but no recently unknown name is more intriguing than former Calgary Dinos and Okanagan Sun receiver Rashaun Simonise.

Simonise tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during his time in Cincinnati Bengals’ training camp. As a result, his CFL Draft status was deferred from 2017 to 2018 after reaching as high as fourth on the December 2016 CFL Scouting Bureau rankings. Simonise should test well and own one-on-ones. His largest hurdle to becoming a high draft pick will likely be behind closed doors with team executives getting to know the man behind the story.

Offensive linemen took a hit last year with only Geoff Grey of Manitoba and Evan Johnson of Saskatchewan going in the first nine picks. This year’s offering that could look to improve the big man draft stock includes Guelph’s Andrew Pickett, Calgary’s Ryan Sceviour and Alberta Golden Bears standout Mark Korte, who participated in the 2018 Shrine Bowl, an honour bestowed upon Gray in 2017 before being the highest drafted offensive lineman.

At the running back position a pair of traditional ground game powerhouses will be represented when Western Mustangs Alex Taylor and Laval Rouge et Or Christopher Amoah take to the combine field three months after their teams faced off in another epic Vanier Cup.

While Western only has five combine invitees in 2018, the school does have one of the best receiver prospects available to travel to Winnipeg with Taylor in Harry McMaster. His stellar play throughout the 2017 U Sports playoffs allows his reputation to proceed him but Dan Petermann of McMaster and Mark Chapman of Central Michigan will have something to say about this year’s top pass catcher come May’s draft.

Not to mention a classic late fall rivalry renewed when Laval’s Tyronne Pierre and Montreal’s Regis Cibasu represent their well-known institutional brands in hopes of reaching the next level.

It’s another crop of great talent at every level of the field in 2018. Players who stand out at one of the three regional combines are eligible to receive an invite to the big show in Winnipeg for a national audience online and a conversation with any or all of the nine member teams drafting this spring.

Plenty to prove in such a small amount of time makes for great drama to get you through the late winter football withdrawal.