BURNABY, BC – Two hundred Simon Fraser University football players have been drafted into the Canadian Football League and tonight at the 2015 CFL Draft that total will likely rise again.
 
Wide receiver Lemar Durant (Coquitlam, BC) is projected to be an early selection in this year's draft that begins tonight at 5:00 PM and will be televised on TSN and TSN.ca.
 
In his three years with SFU, Durant finished with 175 receptions, 2,392 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns in 25 games. In 2012 alone, Durant caught 91 passes for 1,318 yards and 17 touchdowns.
 
Durant, who recently participated in a minicamp with the NFL New York Giants, is projected to be a first round selection, while receivers Bobby Pospischil (Coquitlam, BC), and Kyle Kawamoto (North Vancouver, BC) are also on most CFL teams' draft radar. Durant was one of 10 Canadians participating in the Giants minicamp.

SFU CFL DRAFT HISTORY

VIDEO: LEMAR DURANT HIGHLIGHTS

Simon Fraser has had two wide receivers selected in the first round of the CFL Draft. In 1991, Hamilton selected Nick Mazzoli with the first pick overall after having selected receiver Joe Germain in the first round, ninth overall, in 1987.
 
When CFL teams had territorial protections and were allowed to exempt players from the draft in their geographical area, the BC Lions protected Clan receivers Ross Clarkson (1973), John Pankratz (1979) and Jacques Chapdelaine (1983).
 
In 2010, Simon Fraser began competing in NCAA and is now the only school in Canada that offers student athletes access to the NCAA athletic experience and a Canadian education. Three Clan receivers have been drafted into the CFL since SFU began competing in NCAA. In the 2010 CFL Draft, Spencer Watt was selected in the third round (18^th overall) by Toronto and Matt Chapdelaine was chosen in the sixth round (42^nd overall). In addition, receiver Tore Corrado was chosen in the sixth round (51^st overall) by Toronto last year.
 
The Clan could have as many as eight players drafted. Other SFU players eligible for the 2015 CFL Draft are defensive backs Bibake Uppal (Surrey, BC) and Matt Isherwood (Abbotsford, BC), defensive lineman Kristian Lawrence (Ottawa, ON), and running backs Cole Tudor (Pickering, ON) and Stephen Spagnuolo (Vancouver, BC).
 
Isherwood attended the CFL main combine in Toronto along with Durant back in March and will likely be chosen today. A physical defensive back, Isherwood had 174 tackles, nine tackles-for-a-loss, 1.5 sacks, and five interceptions in 39 career games with SFU.
 
Clan running back/defensive back Chris Tolbert, from Silver Springs, MD, is eligible to be signed as a free agent.
 
SFU and CFL Draft notes
- SFU has had 33 players selected in the 1^st round of the CFL Draft
- SFU has had five players selected 1^st overall in the CFL Draft: Wayne Holm (1970), Brian Donnelly (1971), Orville Lee (1988), Nick Mazzoli (1990), Sean Millington (1991)
- In the 2014 CFL Draft, SFU offensive lineman Matthias Goossen was selected 2nd overall by Winnipeg. SFU has had five players selected 2^nd overall: Rob McLaren (1969), Randy Graham (1976), Mike Vilimek (2002), Obby Khan (2004)
- In 1976, the Clan had four players selected in the first round, including current Defensive Line Coach, Tom Kudaba, chosen 8th overall by Edmonton. The others were defensive back Randy Graham (2^nd overall), defensive back Steve Gelley (4^th), and legendary Hall of Fame kicker Lui Passaglia (5^th).