CFL Edmonton Elks

Esks look to the future with draft picks

April 28, 2005 - Canadian Football League (CFL)
Edmonton Elks News Release


(Edmonton) – The Eskimos' 2005 Canadian College Draft has a definite western flavour as two of the club's three selections hail from British Columbia.

Edmonton's first pick was offensive lineman Tim O'Neill (3rd round, 22nd overall) from the University of Calgary. The 6'3'', 292-pound native of Victoria B.C. played three years with the Dinos at both right and left guard. "It feels great to be drafted by the Eskimos and I'm working as hard as I can to be ready for training camp in May," said O'Neill.

With their second selection (4th round, 31st overall) the Green and Gold picked-up punter Anthony Posteraro from Graceland University. The 6'1'', 185-pound hails from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and was named Graceland's Special Teams MVP and was also voted 2nd team punter in the Heart of America Athletic Conference in 2004. Posteraro averaged 40 yards per punt this season, connected on one punt for 66 yards and placed 14 of his 36 punts inside the 20 yard line.

Robert Leblanc was the Eskimos' third selection (5th round, 40th overall) and brings some impressive accomplishments to Edmonton. In 2004, the Vancouver, B.C. native was the team's and conference's second leading receiver with 486 yards on 30 receptions. He also added four TD's. Leblanc made McGill's Principal's Student-Athlete Honour Roll for a fourth straight year in 2004 and earned Academic All-Canadian status for a fourth straight year.

"We not only addressed some immediate needs, but also selected the players we felt were the best available at each point in the draft. We had projected two of our three picks as top ten selections league-wide, and we feel very fortunate to have picked them up as late as we did," said Eskimo head coach Danny Maciocia.

Tim O'Neill OL (Non-import)

Calgary

Ht: 6-3 Wt: 292 Born: October 17, 1979 – Victoria, B.C. Yrs Esks: 1 Yrs CFL: 1 Yrs Pro: 1

Acquired: Edmonton's first selection (3rd round, 22nd overall) in the 2005 Canadian College Draft.

Anthony Posteraro K (Non-import)

Graceland University

Ht: 6-1 Wt: 185 Born: August 6, 1983 – Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Yrs Esks: 1 Yrs CFL: 1 Yrs Pro: 1

Acquired: Edmonton's second selection (4th round, 31st overall) in the 2005 Canadian College Draft.

Robert Leblanc OL (Non-import)

McGill

Ht: 6-3 Wt: 191 Born: September 8, 1983 – Vancouver, B.C. Yrs Esks: 1 Yrs CFL: 1 Yrs Pro: 1

Acquired: Edmonton's third selection (5th round, 40th overall) in the 2005 Canadian College Draft.

For more information on the Edmonton Eskimo Football Club please visit our website at www.esks.com. Eskimo training camp opens on May 29th at Concordia University College.

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Canadian Football League Stories from April 28, 2005


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