Perhaps he will get picked up by an NFL team that suffers an offensive line injury. Perhaps not!
Lions draft pick Boyko prepared to let CFL season play out before signing
Mike Beamish
Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few. September … November.
With the B.C. Lions reaching the two-thirds pole of the CFL regular-season derby Friday night in Edmonton, top-rated offensive lineman Brett Boyko admits that time is running out if he is to play in Canada this season.
“I’m playing the waiting game to see what transpires,” said the 24-year-old Boyko, who is working out in his hometown of Saskatoon on the expectation that his Arizona-based agent will have some positive news. “I’m going to wait out my next opportunity, if that’s what it comes to. The CFL season is almost over. But the NFL season is just beginning. It’s definitely a possibility, for sure, that I won’t be playing football this season.”
Released by the San Diego Chargers on Sept. 3, and still hoping for another casting call more than two weeks later, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2015 CFL draft seems to be in no hurry to join the Lions, the team that holds his CFL playing rights.
B.C. claimed him in the second round in 2015, 14th overall, after Boyko’s Canadian stock dropped when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles immediately following the NFL draft. The end of the 2015 NFL draft (May 2) preceded the CFL version by 10 days last year.
While Boyko has yet to dress for a game in professional football — he spent all of last season on the Eagles’ practice roster — Lions head coach and general manager Wally Buono believes in his potential. And Buono knows that a CFL team can never have enough homegrown talent — especially on the O-line, the engine room of a football team.
“He’s a very good prospect,” Buono said. “That doesn’t mean he’s going to come here and be a superstar. Or, he could be. The first thing he’s got to do is get here, get to learn the system and have an opportunity to play. You’re always one or two injuries away (from a crisis). That’s why you can never have too many good players. We don’t expect him to just show up here and play right away. It’s late. But it’s not too late.”
Boyko admits he hasn’t spoken to a Lions representative — with the exception of former college teammate Shaquille Murray-Lawrence, the second-year Lions running back who played with Boyko at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Communication with the CFL team has gone through his agent, Kevin Omell, whom he trusts implicitly.
“It’s a tough deal,” Boyko explained. “NFL or CFL? What is the right place for me? I don’t know the right answer to that yet. I’m in the same boat as a lot of American players, hoping to get an opportunity later in the (NFL) season. They don’t have the CFL option. Fortunately, I have. There is some interest (on his part) in just waiting for injuries — or something to happen that would open a door for me down south. That’s my agent’s main focus right now.”
An agile giant in high school — he was a 6-foot-7 senior quarterback at St. Joseph secondary in Saskatoon — Boyko was turned into a four-year starter at offensive tackle by the coaching staff at UNLV. A second team All-Mountain West Conference all-star as a senior, he was one of only two Rebels to attend the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
Selected to play in the East-West Shrine Game, Boyko became the first UNLV O-lineman chosen for a national collegiate all-star game in six years. In addition, he was a four-time conference academic honouree.
“I would love to have him here,” said Murray-Lawrence. “I can’t say whether he would start right away or where he would fit in. But you’ve got to be deep in every position. Brett played every O-line position but centre at UNLV. He was a leader, willing to do whatever it took to win games. With his work ethic and leadership skills, I think he’d be a success wherever he plays. At the end of the day, though, he has to decide what’s best for him.”
For now, 32 NFL teams have left Boyko with no option — except running back to train in Saskatoon.
mbeamish@postmedia.com