There is something about the Island and the most unheralded position in football with offensive linemen Phil Grohovac and Dontae Bull ranked for the 2023 CFL draft today (5 p.m. TSN) set to continue a tradition.
They follow in the cleat steps of Dave Kirzinger, the former Oak Bay basketball star and first overall selection in the 1979 CFL draft by the Calgary Stampeders and three-time time Schenley Awards nominee as best CFL offensive lineman, NCAA Outland Trophy winner, Super Bowl champion and former CFLer Mo Elewonibi of Victoria and legendary B.C. Lions centre Al Wilson from Duncan.
Former Belmont Secondary Bulldog and Westshore Rebels junior Bull played NCAA Division 1 for the Fresno State Bulldogs and is the seventh-ranked player in the final CFL Scouting Bureau rankings. Grohovac plays in U Sports for the Western Ontario Mustangs and is out of the Mount Douglas Secondary Rams and ranked No. 17 overall.
“I played every position coming up in the Saanich Wolverines but I love this position, even if it doesn’t get the recognition some other positions do. That’s why offensive linemen are the tightest-knit group on any football team,” said Grohovac.
And often the largest. Grohovac is six-foot-four and 310 pounds and Bull six-foot-seven and 326 pounds. They grew up playing against each other in Victoria.
“Dontae is a beast,” said Grohovac.
Bull was an all-rounder at Belmont as quarterback and tight end, and was also 2016 B.C. high school defensive player of the year, while also playing on the Bulldogs basketball team. The Islander broke his leg in a game against San Diego State in October and missed the rest of his final NCAA season. The sociology major appeared in 41 career games for Fresno State with 33 starts and is viewed as a can’t miss future pro in the CFL with a chance of one day landing a free-agent trial in the NFL. He was the 63rd-ranked offensive lineman for the 2023 NFL draft but not selected.
Bull played 13 games in 2021 for Freson State with three sacks, 12 quarterback hurries and seven quarterback hits. He played seven games this season before his injury with eight hurries and three sacks. Bull said he patterns his game after Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Tyron Smith and attributes much of his success on the field to the foundation laid at Belmont by head football coach and former CFL safety Alexis Sanschagrin.
Grohovac won the Vanier Cup U Sports championship with the Mustangs in 2021 and also attributes his high school playing days at Mount Douglas under head coach Mark Townsend as laying foundation for his rise.
“The base of my football knowledge came from the Mount Douglas program,” said Grohovac, who won a B.C. high school championship with the Rams.
Grohovac, 22, has two seasons of U Sports eligibility remaining but said his “priority is the CFL.” He is most proud of his run blocking, which allowed Western Ontario to be the top rushing team in U Sports, but he also knows that now it gets harder and what the next-level step will require.
“I will have to grow up quickly against pros, some from the NFL and others out of NCAA Division 1, who are all technicians and who know their craft,” he said.
Meanwhile, if the B.C. Lions are prioritizing the protection of quarterback Vernon Adams, they could take Bull if he falls to them or Grohovac to bring one or both of them back to their home province.
“My family would be happy,” said Grohovac.
“But I want to go where I’m wanted. I will be ecstatic with wherever I go.”
The top-ranked player for the CFL draft, Quebec-native Matthew Bergeron out of Syracuse University of the NCAA, is also an offensive lineman. Bergeron is followed by twin brothers from London, Ont. — No. 2-ranked Chase Brown, a running back, and No. 3-ranked Sydney Brown, a safety, both out of the NCAA Big Ten University of Illinois Fighting Illini. Bergeron went in the second round of the NFL draft last week to the Atlanta Falcons, Sydney Brown in the third round to the Philadelphia Eagles and Chase Brown in the fifth round to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Meanwhile, the site 3DownNation ranks Luke Burton-Krahn from Victoria, who plays for the UBC Thunderbirds, as the best long-snapper available for the CFL draft.
