Combine Notebook | UBC Pivot Ready To Show Stuff

Toronto, ON- As he continues in his quest to add more Canadian content to the CFL’s quarterback club, Michael O’Connor continues to use the guidance of a mentor he gained in Kamloops.

Flashback to 2016 BC Lions training camp when the UBC Thunderbirds pivot was fresh off an improbable Vanier Cup win and joined the Lions as part of the CFL’s Canadian QB internship program.

“It was amazing learning from Travis Lulay. He’s the ultimate professional,” said O’Connor of the recently retired signal-caller.

“I can’t say enough about him and what he taught me. Not just about playing football but how to conduct yourself off the field and be a great teammate. That’s the one thing that stuck with me. Getting to work with him, the rest of the players and the coaching staff really helped prepare me for the next level. I’m very grateful I was able to do that with the BC Lions.”

Along with the national championship in his first season on the Point Grey campus, O’Connor passed for over 3,000 yards in each of his four seasons and finished with a total of 87 touchdown strikes.

Now he looks forward to showing what he can do in front of all nine teams at this weekend’s CFL Combine presented by New Era.

“I just want to show that I’m prepared to play at the next level, I can make all the throws and have the requisite talent,” he said.

“As well, I want to show them I can be sharp in the meeting room and show them that I have the mind to play quarterback in this league. The main goal is demonstrating that aspect of it when I meet with all of the teams.”

The evaluation and self-improvement never stop. From here, O’Connor will travel to a pro day in Tampa for the NFL’s International Pathway program. Similar to commissioner Randy Ambrosie’s quest to make our league more global with his CFL 2.0 initiative, our neighbours to the south are starting to further evaluate players from other countries. O’Connor will be working out with players from Mexico and Australia.

As for the home and native land, O’Connor tries not to think of it as breaking a barrier when it comes to star Canadian quarterbacks. It’s more about landing on a few more teams’ radars prior to the May 2^nd CFL Draft.

“To be honest, I don’t think of it like that at all,” said the former Canada West passing leader.

“I definitely realize that a Canadian quarterback is good for the league as a whole but really I’m just focused on how I can improve my game on a daily basis. Hopefully, I can play the game that I love for a really long time.”

Thanks to O’Connor and the rest of head coach Blake Nill’s recruits, the T-Birds program was immediately put back on the map starting with their first year together when they hoisted the Vanier Cup. Now they are in the discussion every year. It’s safe to say the quarterback has no regrets about leaving Penn State to move to the west coast.

“That was very special,” explained O’Connor.

“It all happened so quickly. That first year we just had a magical run. Seeing the alumni support as well as the rejuvenation of a proud football program was special to be a part of and I will cherish that for the rest of my life.”

And wherever he lands on Draft night, the tall, athletic pivot will take all of the traits he learned from Lulay into the professional chapter of his career.

“Definitely. I don’t think I’ve heard anybody say a bad word about him and that just speaks to both the character he portrays and the type of person he is. It’s not only football with him. He’s a great person and that’s what I strive to be.”

Extra Yardage

 O’Connor can also take comfort in the fact a few of his friends are going through the testing with him. DL Connor Griffiths plus DBs Stavros Katsantonis, and Malcolm Lee round out the T-Bird contingent in Toronto. North Vancouver WR Brayden Dickey who transferred to the Washington Huskies from New Mexico in 2018 is also on hand and projected to be a high pick in Marshall Ferguson’s 1st Mock Draft done this week.

Western’s Chris Merchant is the other quarterback taking part in this weekend’s event. Merchant has drawn comparisons to the Ottawa Redblacks’ Brad Sinopoli as someone who may be drafted as a quarterback but whose playmaking skills can be used to play wide receiver.

The testing portion of the Combine begins Saturday morning at 8:30 AM PT with the bench press.

The league’s rules committee wrapped up meetings on Friday afternoon with a couple of significant changes proposed for 2019. As expected, one of them revolves around the never-ending debate of video replay where coaches may be granted a second challenge if successful on their first.

Also on the table is the ability of the Command Centre to increase roughing the passer penalties from 15 to 25-yards on plays where the quarterback is hit on the head.

A complete breakdown of the proposed changes can be found in a piece by CFL.ca’s Chris O’Leary HERE.

Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com