Former University of Maine linebacker and Montreal native Christophe Mulumba Tshimanga was drafted in the third round by the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday night. He was the 22nd overall pick.
There are nine teams in the CFL and 71 players were selected.
The draft is for players who are Canadian or who play football at Canadian universities.
The three-time, All-Colonial Athletic Association first-team selection will first be attending a three-day rookie tryout camp with the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend in an attempt to earn a spot on the 90-man roster.
CFL rookie camps begin on May 24 and the full training camps open four days later. The league’s preseason starts on June 6 and the regular season kicks off on June 22.
“This gives him another option [if he doesn’t earn a roster spot with Tampa Bay]. By being drafted 22nd overall, I think Christophe definitely has a great shot with the CFL,” said UMaine head football coach Joe Harasymiak.
Edmonton finished fourth in the five-team Western conference a year ago and surrendered the second most points in the division, 496 in 18 regular-season games (27.5 ppg).
The 6-foot-1, 245-pound Tshimanga was involved in a team-high 97 tackles in 10 games last fall and his 9.7 tackles per game ranked him second in the CAA. He made seven tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
He was sidelined by injury for one game.
The 2013 CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year concluded his Black Bear career with 347 tackles.
Harasymiak said Tshimanga will have to exhibit the traits he showed at UMaine to land a roster spot with either team.
“He has to be physical and he has to tackle well,” said Harasymiak. “He has to show the ability to play in [tight] spaces and be quick enough to move around at that level. There will be a step up in speed at that level compared to the college level.
“If he can adjust to that, he’ll have a good chance to stay,” said Harasymiak.
There are several differences between the CFL and the NFL.
CFL fields are longer (110 yards compared to 100 yards) and wider (65 yards rather than 50 yards) than NFL fields. There are three downs instead of four in which to pick up a first down in the CFL.
In addition, only the quarterback and interior offensive linemen have to be motionless at the time the ball is snapped in the CFL. The backs and wide receivers can be moving prior to the snap as long as they don’t break the line of scrimmage.
In the NFL, only one back or wide receiver can be in motion at the time the ball is snapped and they can’t be moving forward.