DORIAN GEIGER
Sports Editor

    As the Canadian Interuniversity Sport season winds down, Huskies football isn’t on many people’s minds. For Dogs’ kicker and defensive back Grant Shaw, the Huskies are not his focus either because CFL ambitions currently consume him.

    After a nerve-wracking attending the CFL evaluation camp in Toronto on March 13 along with fellow Huskies Patrick Neufeld and Jon Krahenbil, Shaw is considered a top prospect for the upcoming CFL draft on May 2. One of the brightest kickers the CIS saw in 2009-10, Shaw shattered many Huskies records with the aid of what many have called his “iron leg.”

    Being a kicker means often getting thrown into pressure situations. Shaw’s strategy to survive among the nation’s best has been to develop periodic cases of amnesia. After steamrolling records all season, Shaw’s 2009 CIS campaign came to a disastrous end when he missed a field goal in overtime during the Huskies’ 39-38 loss to the Calgary Dinos in the Hardy Cup.

   And if you asked Shaw what he knew about the Huskies nearly clinching the conference title, chances are he might need some reminding. For him, the Huskies’ premature postseason exit never really happened.

    “You need to have a short memory. If you screw up in football you have to go into the next play and do it again,” said a fatigued Shaw following his CFL evaluation.

    “You miss a kick, you can’t be dwelling on it. You want to redeem yourself and what was hard about that (Hardy Cup) loss was there was no real chance to redeem it,” noted Shaw.

    Shaw’s patience paid off and he had an impressive showing at the CFL camp where he finished top-10 in many of the fitness tests the 58 draft candidates were required to perform.

    Showing interest in the fourth-year CIS athlete were the Montreal Alouettes, Hamilton Tiger Cats and Calgary Stampeders. For Shaw, it was a dream come true and the pinnacle of his football career. With the high stakes at hand, Shaw’s anxiety soared higher than a pigskin taking flight during an opening kick-off.

     A weekend in Toronto spent mingling with the CFL’s top dogs might sound glamorous, but for 25-year-old Shaw, it was either make a name for himself right now or choose a new career path outside of football. All eyes were on Shaw over the weekend and every move he made was documented by a multitude of coaching personnel.

    “When we ran our 40s (sprints), no joke, there were 50 guys standing at the finish line. The amount of coaches and scouts there — it’s pretty much like the NFL Combine on TV,” said Shaw.

    One of the more uncomfortable portions of Shaw’s weekend was getting on a stage to be weighed in nothing more than skimpy training shorts while having his name, height and weight announced to hundreds of scouts. 

    Shaw’s physique apparently didn’t offend any of the CFL franchises and by the end of the evaluation camp, the Alouettes, Ti-Cats and Stampeders had all invited Shaw to sit down for a formal interview.

    If job interviews weren’t already stressful enough, imagine an interview session with nine different employers all questioning your skills and abilities. Throw a camera into the mix to capture every moment for later scrutiny and the situation can be rather stressful.

    Like the proceedings of a criminal interrogation, the Stampeders carefully combed over Shaw’s character while conducting their interviews with the potential draft pick. Shaw said that if he had a choice, saddling up with a western team like Calgary would be a preferable choice for the Edmonton native.

    The timing couldn’t be better for Shaw as Calgary is currently in need of a kicker due to the recent departure of Sandro DeAngelis to the Ti-Cats. According to Shaw, 2010 is the year for kickers to break onto the CFL scene; with only one other kicker attending the Toronto camp, Shaw’s competition was scarce.

That is a pretty good opportunity considering that even the two best CIS quarterbacks at the camp — Erik Glavic of the University of Calgary and Danny Brannagan from Queen’s — will have little chance of ever stepping foot on a CFL field.

    More than likely, come May 2, Shaw will join a lengthy and esteemed list of other Huskies who have been drafted by the CFL. Until then, be assured Shaw will be eying his phone about as closely as the uprights during game-time.

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file photo: Robby Davis