Western Mustangs Daryl Waud, Rory Connop, and Preston Huggins were named three of the newest members of the Canadian Football League (CFL) after all were selected in the 2015 CFL Canadian Draft held May 12. The three Mustangs became the 31st, 32nd and 33rd Western players to be selected in the CFL Draft in the past 15 years.
Joining them at the next level, Joe Circelli switched out his purple and white jersey for one adorned in double blue, and signed with the Toronto Argonauts a few weeks later to become the fourth Mustang to secure a place in the CFL following the 2014-15 season.
Waud was the first Mustangs player off the board as the Toronto Argonauts selected him in the second round, 12th overall. The defensive lineman joins a Toronto squad that features three former Western players on the roster including Zander Robinson, Jeff Keeping, and Jonathan Hood.
A Hamilton native, Waud has been a dominant force on the Mustangs defensive line over the past few seasons, racking up 81 total tackles, including 55 solo stops, along with seven sacks and two interceptions throughout his time in purple and white. This past season he earned OUA First Team All-Star and CIS First Team All-Canadian honours after recording 14.5 tackles and three sacks in eight regular season contests.
In addition to being selected by the Argos, Waud has received interest south of the border as well. In January Waud played in the East-West Shrine Game and he also earned two NFL mini-camp invites, New York and Washington.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders were the next team to select a member of the Mustangs roster, choosing Connop in the third round at 26th overall. The defensive lineman is certainly familiar with the CFL game as his father Rod Connop enjoyed a 16-year career as an offensive lineman with the Edmonton Eskimos, and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Playing in all eight regular season and two playoff games for the Mustangs this season, Connop made 10.5 tackles and three sacks in the regular season before adding another 6.5 tackles in the post-season. He’ll be the second Mustang on the Roughriders roster, joining former teammate Dylan Ainsworth who was selected in last year’s draft.
Huggins rounded out the Mustangs selected in 2015, going in the seventh round, 61st overall, to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He’ll be far from the only member of the purple and white on the Ticats roster, with Andy Fantuz, Craig Butler, Beau Landry, and Pawel Kruba already suiting up at Tim Hortons Field.
In his first full season as a starter in 2014, Huggins led the Mustangs defence with 33 tackles, 23 solo, while also recording one sack and five tackles for loss. The linebacker’s team-leading performance earned him OUA All-Star honours for the first time as he was named to the First Team defensive unit alongside three fellow Mustangs.
The Mustangs were among 44 CIS players selected in the draft, including 13 from OUA teams. Western’s three selections rank first in the OUA alongside Guelph and Laurier, while also tying the purple and white for fourth among all CIS institutions.
Standing at 6’3”, Circelli, an offensive lineman, spent three seasons with Western, during which he played in 15 regular season game, seven playoff contests and secured an OUA Second Team All-Star award. In 2013, he helped the Mustangs capture the 30th Yates Cup in program history, defeating the Queen’s Gaels on Nov. 9.
The native of London, Ont., was initially picked up by the Calgary Stampeders in 2014 as a third round draft pick, but elected to return to the purple and white for his final season.