Rams woo recruits
By Ian Hamilton, Leader-Post
January 29, 2010

Ray Wladichuk was left without a football team when Simon Fraser University was admitted into the NCAA.

Now the 22-year-old product of Vernon, B.C., has a CFL contract in hand and other CIS teams after him.

Wladichuk, a defensive back who signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Jan. 21, was at the University of Regina's Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport on Thursday to do some physical testing and drills with other players being recruited by the U of R Rams.

"Simon Fraser went to the NCAA, so I lost my last year of eligibility," said Wladichuk who, by playing four CIS seasons with the Clan, isn't eligible to play with SFU in the NCAA. "Coach (Frank) McCrystal (of the Rams) called me up and recruited me and here I am.

"Obviously I want to make the CFL, but if I don't, I want to keep playing football and this is an option."

Wladichuk is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound defensive back whom the Tiger-Cats selected in the fifth round (38th overall) of the 2009 Canadian college draft. He attended Hamilton's training camp last season, but returned to SFU for the '09 Canada West season.

In seven games, he had 16 solo tackles, 12 assists and one interception. During his career with the Clan, he played defensive back, linebacker and safety.

"He's an impact player," McCrystal said of Wladichuk, who won't have to sit out a season after transferring because the Clan is leaving the CIS. "He's able to do a number of things and he's got good size. He's someone who can come in and make a real difference right now."

Wladichuk said he's still weighing his options among CIS schools, but he suggested the U of R "is the top choice."

"Saskatchewan and football go hand in hand," Wladichuk said. "I know Regina likes the Rams, this is a great facility and they're going to be a good team. They'll be contenders next year."

The recruiting process is something new for Wladichuk, who went directly from high school to Simon Fraser.

"It's kind of funny," he said. "I'm not treated like a high school kid would be treated since I'm not going to spend five years in the program. I'm just trying to finish up school and my football career in the CIS."

The other prospective recruits at the U of R on Thursday all are looking just to start their CIS careers.

Defensive linemen Stefan Charles (BCFC's Big Kahuna Rams), Jas Dhillon (Big Kahuna), Grant Potter (Calgary Lord Beaverbrook High School) and Steve Arens (PFC's Regina Thunder) were joined at the workout by running back Armand Bokitch (Okanagan Mission Secondary School in Kelowna, B.C.), linebacker/slotback Will Disbery (Okanagan Mission), quarterback/receiver Jake Altilio (Calgary St. Mary's High School), and offensive lineman Jordy Kyle (Thunder).

"Defensive linemen -- simple as that," McCrystal said when asked what's on the Rams' wish list.

"We've had really tough luck with defensive linemen. Guys have quit or moved on. Naturally, we have some other people here, but if there's a focus, it's on the D-line."

That's good news for Dhillon, a 6-foot-2, 270-pounder who had 13 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery for Big Kahuna last season.

The 20-year-old Vancouver product said he's "almost 100-per-cent sure" he's going to join the Rams, having been impressed by "everything" during his visit.

"Apart from the facility, the coaches and players are so hospitable and make you feel so welcome," he said. "It has been a brutally good first impression."

Dhillon still has junior eligibility remaining, but he's ready to make the move to the CIS.

"It's time; it has been time for a while," he said.

"It's time to take the leap and expand and grow. It's not just football. It's time to get out on my own, mature and do (stuff) for myself. I'm not a baby anymore."

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