Receiver Deslauriers happy, but Alouettes must wait

Matthew Sekeres
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, April 21, 2006

As Eric Deslauriers' Canadian Football League fate was being decided yesterday, the Ottawa native was in an Eastern Michigan University classroom, brushing up on material for next week's exams.

"I told one of our trainers to follow the draft for me. He came into the class and told me it was Montreal," said the record-breaking Eagles receiver, who taken by the Alouettes in the first round of yesterday's CFL Canadian draft.

Deslauriers was picked seventh overall, but there are two more pressing matters to clear up before he could see himself catching passes at Montreal's Percival Molson Stadium.

The 25-year-old has one more season of U.S. college eligibility remaining, after which he hopes to relive the draft experience and make it to the National Football League. Those interests kept him from spending more than a few seconds on the phone with Alouettes general manager Jim Popp.

Besides class, Deslauriers and his EMU teammates had a mandatory weight-training session yesterday.

"I had to let Popp go because I had to go lift weights," Deslauriers said. "I want to give myself a chance to play in the NFL. I realize those are high expectations, but I'm willing to put in the effort.

"(Popp) told me it was it was a future endeavour on their part, and that he respected my decision to pursue an NFL career. But I'm extremely happy that it was Montreal. They have a great team, and it is a great city. The Als have been my dad's favourite team forever. It really lifted my spirits."

DesLauriers, a former quarterback with the Myers Riders junior club, will be eligible for the 2007 NFL draft. The 6-4, 210-pounder is already the school record-holder for touchdown catches (20), and, by the end of his four seasons with the Eagles, DesLauriers will likely own every receiving mark in the Eagles' record book.

He has become the focal point of the EMU offence, averaging 80 catches and 10 touchdowns during the past two seasons.

Alouettes draft hot receiver
Deslauriers shows 'tremendous size, deceptive speed'

HERB ZURKOWSKY
The Gazette
Monday, April 24, 2006

Last November, on the eve of the Alouettes' division final at Toronto, general manager Jim Popp made a side trip to Buffalo to scout eric Deslauriers, a receiver out of Eastern Michigan.

It might turn out to be one of the most fortuitous excursions Popp has made.

The Als selected Deslauriers in the first round (seventh overall) of last Thursday's Canadian college draft. Although the 6-foot-4, 206-pounder was the second receiver taken, many insiders believe he's better than University of Western Ontario's Andy Fantuz, the Hec Crighton award winner, who went third overall, to Saskatchewan.

"He's a big guy who uses his body well," Popp said. "He has tremendous size and deceptive speed."

Deslauriers was unaware Popp was in the crowd five months ago, but the Ottawa native coincidentally had one of his most productive games, catching 10 passes for 105 yards in the Eagles' 38-14 win. He caught two touchdowns in the game, breaking the school's career record for touchdown receptions, with 22.

Deslauriers has become the focal point of EMU's offence the last two seasons, when he has averaged 80 receptions and 10 touchdowns. In 2004, he was fourth among all receivers in the NCAA, with an average of 114 yards per game. The Sporting News, in its pre-season college football publication last year, had Deslauriers ranked 20th among all NCAA receivers. He's considered a playmaker with great hands.

However, if Deslauriers plays for the Als, it won't be for another year. The 25-year-old communications major is heading into his senior year and expects to fulfill his obligation to the Eagles while completing his final three courses to obtain his degree. A year from now, if he's not drafted by an NFL team, he hopes to be invited to a club's camp.

"Being drafted in the first round definitely made me think," said Deslauriers, whose family now resides in Gatineau.

"I'm a senior now and I have a lot of guys dependent on me as a leader and to play. Plus, I want to finish my degree. That's a double obligation. I don't think a contract would change my mind, as excited as I am to be chosen in the first round."

Deslaurier's rise to prominence is all the more remarkable, considering he was recruited as a quarterback coming out of CEGEP Champlain, and was forced to change positions. He played a limited amount at receiver in high school and at Lennoxville.

Spotted at a Michigan Wolverines football camp, he was recruited by virtually every Mid-American Conference school and received a full scholarship from Eastern Michigan. He was red-shirted as a freshman.

"I wouldn't say the transition (to receiver) wasn't difficult," he admitted. "It took a couple of months and I wasn't fully developed until my second year. I had to work on my footwork and athleticism as a receiver."

The only thing working against Deslauriers is his age. He'll be 26 by the time he turns pro, and that's considered old, whether he plays in Canada or the U.S. He's a possession receiver who likely will play slotback, allowing him to get some additional speed at the start of his routes. Deslauriers could be the heir apparent in Montreal to veteran Ben Cahoon, who turns 34 in July.

Although four of the Als' seven draft picks are juniors and won't turn pro for a year, Popp was in a position to draft for the future. The GM said he and his braintrust had their seven selections ranked among the top 22 players available, making him happy and surprised that some of the later picks stuck around.

Players expected at training camp next month, provided they sign contracts, are New Hampshire cornerback Etienne Boulay, Montreal's second-round choice; Acadia wide-receiver Ivan Birungi, selected 32nd overall, and Wilfrid Laurier defensive-back Joel Wright (41st overall). Boulay had 12 career interceptions in four seasons.

mailto:hzurkowsky@thegazette.canwest.com

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006