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CFL Calgary Stampeders

All seven 2004 draft picks sign on dotted line

May 19, 2004 - Canadian Football League (CFL)
Calgary Stampeders News Release


(Calgary) – Today Calgary Stampeders' General Manager and Head Coach Matt Dunigan announced the signing of all seven 2004 Canadian College Draft picks: Tyler Lynem (Defensive Lineman), Pascal Masson (Defensive Back), Jason Taylor (Defensive Lineman), Anthony Forgione (Offensive Lineman), Christian Simmerling (Defensive Back), Marc Mitchell (Linebacker) and Andrew Gallant (Receiver).

"We were very pleased after the conclusion of the 2004 CFL Draft and the players that we acquired. Our Director of Canadian Player Personnel Miles Gorrell did an excellent job in finding and evaluating Canadian content. Today we've accomplished the next step in signing all seven players. The exciting part will be in a couple days when we see these young players compete for a spot on the roster" stated General Manager and Head Coach Matt Dunigan.

Here is a closer look at the Stampeder 2004 CFL Draft Picks:

Tyler Lynem

#77

Defensive Lineman College: University of Calgary

HT: 6'6" WT: 280 lbs Born: January 29, 1981 Birthplace: Calgary, AB

CFL: 1st year

Stampeders: 1st year

2004 CFL Canadian College Draft

Stampeders 1st Pick, 2nd Round, 11th Overall

Canadian

Pro

Entering his 1st season with the Stampeders ... was drafted in the 2nd round, 11th overall by the Stampeders in the 2004 CFL College Draft.

College

In 2003 Tyler played in 6 games recording 15 defensive tackles, 1 quarterback sack and 1 forced fumble ... Lynem was the Dinos' nominee for the J.P. Metras Trophy as the team's top lineman the past two years and was a Canada West All-Star and CIS second team All-Canadian in 2002 ... he has emerged as one of the dominant players on the defensive line in Canada West football, is extremely tough against the run, and provides a solid pass rush ... Tyler returned to the Dinos in 2001 after spending two years (1999 and 2000) with the Calgary Colts of the Prairie Junior Football Conference ... an outstanding physical talent with excellent size, he has remarkable quickness off the ball.

In addition he made the Dinos playing considerably as a 17-year-old in 1998, dressing and seeing action in seven league games as a rookie ... he missed much of the 2000 season with a serious knee injury, and the latter portion of the 2001 season with a shoulder problem, but rebounded to have a solid 2002 season last year ... he participated in the CFL Futures Game in Ontario this past spring as well as attending the CFL scouting combine evaluation in 2000 ... he is a Social Sciences student.

Noteworthy

Recently, at the annual Dino Dinner, the Stampeder organization adopted Tyler in their adopt-a-dino program ... Dino Football uses this as an annual fundraiser ... Last year, at the dinner, the Stampeders adopted defensive back Damony Simmonds who recently signed with the Stampeders this off-season ... Tyler attended Winston Churchill High School.

Pascal Masson

# 9

DEFENSIVE BACK

College: Laval

HT: 5'10" WT: 180lbs

Birthdate: Kanasatake, QC

Birthplace: Stoney Creek, Ontario

CFL Experience: 1st Year

Stampeder Experience: 1st Year

2004 CFL Canadian College Draft

Stampeders: 2nd Pick, 2nd Round, 16th Overall

Canadian

Pro

Entering his 1st season with the Stampeders ... drafted in the second round, 16th overall by the Stampeders in the 2004 Canadian College Draft.

College

Pascal comes with an impressive background already ... he was an All-Canadian at Laval in 2003 (1st team) and 2002 (2nd team) ... he has been a Quebec conference All-Star in 2001, 2002 and 2003 ... at the Mitchell Bowl game this past season he was named defensive player of the game ... In 2003 he played in 8 games recording 15 solo tackles, 4 assisted tackles, 3 interceptions for 54 yards and broke up 4 passes ... he was also a leader on the team being named one of their captains.

Jason Taylor

# 93

Defensive Lineman

College: UBC

HT: 6'4" WT: 245 lbs

Born: October 3, 1979

Birthplace: Spruce Grove, Alberta

CFL Experience: 1st Year

Stampeder Experience: 1st Year

2004 CFL Canadian College Draft

Stampeders: 3rd Pick, 3rd Round, 19th Overall

Canadian

Pro

Entering his 1st season with the Stampeders ... drafted in the 3rd round, 19th overall in the 2004 CFL Canadian College Draft.

College

Attended UBC for his 1st year in 2000 ... leading the team in sacks with 5 as a rookie ... in his second year Jason would only play 5 games due to mono ... in his 3rd season he finished the year eighth on the team with 22 tackles, three for a loss, and recorded three sacks ... last season he was named co-captain ... leading UBC with 39 tackles ... was first on the team with 13 tackles for a loss ... lead the team in sacks with 6 and participated in the East West Bowl game.

Noteworthy

Jason was a standout with the Edmonton Huskies where he was named most valuable lineman in 1999.

Anthony Forgione

# 68

Offensive Lineman

College: York

HT: 6'5" WT: 330 lbs

Born: January 27, 1980

Birthplace:

CFL Experience: 1st Year

Stampeder Experience: 1st Year

2004 CFL Canadian College Draft

Stampeders 4th Pick, 4th Round, 28th Overall

Canadian

Pro

Entering his 1st season with the Stampeders ... drafted in the fourth round, 28th overall by the Stampeders in the 2004 Canadian College Draft.

College

Transferred to York in 2001 from the NCAA's Bowling Green ... a three-time Ontario University Athletics (OUA) All-Star (2001, 2002, 2003) ... has anchored York's offensive line for the past three seasons ... an integral part of rookie running back Andre Durie's OUA record breaking performance (single game rushing record, 349 yards) against the University of Ottawa on October 18, 2003 ... played in the CIS East-West Bowl game in May of 2003.

Noteworthy

Attended Michael Power/St. Joseph High School.

Christian Simmerling

# 28

Defensive Back

College: St. Mary's

HT: 6'1" WT: 210 lbs

Born: October 25, 1981

Birthplace: West Vancouver, B.C.

CFL Experience: 1st Year

Stampeder Experience: 1st Year

2004 CFL Canadian College Draft

Stampeders: 5th Pick, 5th Round, 37th Overall

Canadian

Pro

Entering his 1st season with the Stampeders ... drafted in the 5th round, 37th overall in the 2004 CFL Canadian College Draft.

College

Attended St. Mary's for four seasons ... in 2003 played in 8 regular season games recording 4 interceptions for 180 yards returned ... running back two of them for touchdowns ... 19 solo tackles ... played in 3 playoff games recording 2 interceptions for 93 yards returned and 6 solo tackles.

Marc Mitchell

# 39

Linebacker

College: Queen's

HT: 6'3" WT: 220 lbs

Born: August 19, 1981

Birthplace: Toronto, ON

CFL Experience: 1st Year

Stampeder Experience: 1st Year

2004 CFL Canadian College Draft

Stampeders: 6th Pick, 5th Round, 42nd Overall

Canadian

Pro

Entering his 1st season with the Stampeders ... drafted in the 5th round, 42nd overall in the 2004 CFL Canadian College Draft.

College

Marc played four seasons at Queen's ... was named first team OUA All-Star linebacker in 2003 ... the previous season he started every game switching from linebacker to defensive half ... recording five sacks, was tied for the team lead ... tallied six solo defensive tackles in the Yates Cup game ... competed at the 2002-03 East-West Bowl at Laurier recording four Defensive tackles ... in 2001 Marc dressed and started in every game of the regular season and playoffs ... while in his 1st season he dressed for 4 games ... recording eight defensive tackles on the season.

High School

St. Michael's College ... part of the 1998 Metro Bowl football championship team ... competed at OFSAA in javelin (finished 4th) and 4 x 100 relay (finished 6th) ... competed in volleyball and wrestling ... awarded the Enzo Montemurro award for the athlete who best combined athletic excellence and school spirit.

Noteworthy

Enjoys surfing ... works as a lifeguard and plays the guitar.

Andrew Gallant

# 85

Receiver

College: St. Francis Xavier

HT: 6'2" WT: 215 lbs

Born: October 16, 1981

Birthplace: Salisbury, New Brunswick

CFL Experience: 1st Year

Stampeder Experience: 1st Year

2004 CFL Canadian College Draft

Stampeders: 7th Pick, 6th Round, 46th Overall

Canadian

Pro

Entering his 1st season with the Stampeders ... drafted in the 6th round, 46th overall in the 2004 CFL Canadian College Draft.

College

In 2003, Andrew was an AUS All-Star and 2nd Team All-Canadian with 31 receptions (2nd overall in conference) for 512 yards (1st in conference). He also scored 4 touchdowns and participated in the East-West Bowl.

One of Andrew's most memorable moments to date is beating Acadia in the 2003 playoffs after trailing 28-9 late in the fourth quarter. Another favorite is defeating St. Mary's in their Homecoming game in 2002 with the legendary Don Loney as our honorary head coach and last but not least catching TD passes from his brother, J.R. Gallant.

High School

Andrew in 2001 was a Canada Cup All-Star Slotback & Punter 2000 Conference All-Star Safety, Conference Player of the Year & Team MVP 1999 Conference All-Star Slotback, Conference Player of the Year & Team Offensive MVP

Noteworthy

Andrew joined St. Francis in the Business Administration program ... he also enjoys playing a little softball in his spare time.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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