Pictured: Dinos teammates Sam Hurl and Kirby Fabien react to their selections in the 2012 CFL Canadian Draft.

CALGARY – It was another banner day for the four-time defending Canada West champion University of Calgary Dinos with four players selected in the 2012 Canadian Football League Draft Thursday afternoon.

With offensive tackle Kirby Fabien leading the way in the first round with his seventh-overall selection by the B.C. Lions, the Dinos have now had 10 players drafted in just two years after a remarkable six-player performance in 2011. Fabien will be joined by linebacker and long snapper Jordan Verdone (fifth round, 37th overall) with the Grey Cup champion Lions, while linebacker Sam Hurl was selected 12th overall in the second round by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Offensive tackle Carson Rockhill was selected by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with the very next pick, 13th overall.

For the second straight season, the Dinos led all CIS programs with four players selected.

Dinos head coach Blake Nill, who was featured on the TSN broadcast panel for the draft, says the success of the Dinos in the CFL draft is due to the incredible support the program gets as it develops student-athletes.

“The reason is simple,” said Nill from Toronto Thursday afternoon. “This program has been able to recruit top athletes and develop them into outstanding football players. With the help of the school, the alumni, and the great assistant coaches we have, it's a formula for success and you're seeing it in the draft.”

OL KIRBY FABIEN • 1st round • 7th overall • B.C. Lions
Ranked No. 5 by the CFL's central scouting bureau through most of the 2011 season, Fabien slipped to No. 15 in the most recent list after sitting out much of the E-Camp with a nagging injury. He was still thought of highly enough to go in the first round, however, with the B.C. Lions taking him with the seventh overall selection.

VIDEO: Kirby Fabien selected No. 7 overall by B.C.

It's the first time since 1985 that the Lions have selected a player from the Dinos, going all the way back to Chester Krala's sixth round, 52nd overall selection that year. Fabien, a first team CIS all-Canadian in 2011 after a second team selection as a freshman in 2009, was thrilled to be headed to Vancouver.

“I'm so excited to be part of the Lions and to be drafted,” said the graduate of Calgary's Bishop McNally High School. “I didn't really sleep that well last night, but now it's all over and I can move forward from here. It's a dream everyone has as an amateur football player to play in the CFL and I couldn't be happier right now.”

“Kirby took a little bit of heat in the last couple months after limiting his participation at E-Camp, but deep down, teams knew he was one of the top athletes available in the draft,” said Nill. “He's going to have the luxury of going to B.C. with Dan Dorazio, who was (Dinos offensive line coach Rohn) Meyer's O-Line coach – so it will be familiar system and techniques that are taught when he gets to the pros.”

Fabien's selection marks the fifth time in seven years the Dinos have had a player chosen in the first round of the draft. The 6-foot-6, 295-pound offensive tackle is the 16th player in University of Calgary history to be selected in the opening round.

LB SAM HURL • 2nd round • 12th overall • Saskatchewan Roughriders
Not long after Fabien's name was called, two-time Canada West defensive player of the year Sam Hurl received a phone call from the Saskatchewan Roughriders, informing him that he would be selected 12th overall midway through the second round.

Hurl, also a first team all-Canadian in 2011, was named the University of Calgary's male athlete of the year last month after an outstanding season. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker led all playoff-bound players in the conference with 52 tackles in 2011, including 32 solos, averaging more than 6.5 tackles per game. He was named to the Canada West All-Star team at linebacker, also for the second year in a row.

Hurl joins former teammate Alex Krausnick-Groh in the green and white of the Roughriders.

“I'm overwhelmed right now, and I'm so happy to be going to Saskatchewan,” said Hurl, a product of Centennial High School in south Calgary. “They're a great team, a great organization, and I'm really excited to step in there and play and try to make an impact. I love how they do things, I love their fan support, and I'm excited about being a Rider.”

“I spoke to many coaches and staffs who said that Sam was their top pick as a linebacker in the draft,” said Nill. “I wasn't surprised to see him go this high. He is going to have a long CFL career. The Roughriders over the last two years have made a real effort to obtain Dinos players, and I appreciate that from them. I know they're very excited about having him, and it's a great place for him to go.”

OL CARSON ROCKHILL • 2nd round • 13th overall • Hamilton Tiger-Cats
With Hurl in the middle of his media scrum outside the Dinos locker room facility at McMahon Stadium, CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon announced that Dinos offensive tackle Carson Rockhill was selected with the very next pick, No. 13 overall, by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Rockhill, who only gained a starting spot with the Dinos in 2011 on the deep Calgary offensive line, drew plenty of interest after a solid performance at the evaluation camp in Toronto.

“I'm hoping to keep developing, get lots of reps for the upcoming season,” the Parksville, B.C. native said on TSN from his home on Vancouver Island. “I'm really looking forward to the camp, it'll be a chance for me to prepare to see if I'm ready to play in the CFL, and I'm really excited.”

“I'm ecstatic that Carson is going to play for George Cortez,” said Nill. “He'll give Carson the guidance and discipline and expectations he needs to allow him to grow. He probably has the most potential of all our guys that were drafted, and he's going to thrive in Hamilton.”

LB JORDAN VERDONE • 5th round • 37th overall • BC Lions
Late in the fifth round, Dinos linebacker Jordan Verdone found out he will join Fabien in Vancouver with the Grey Cup champion B.C. Lions.

After transferring to Calgary following a couple of seasons at Waterloo, Verdone had a fantastic 2011 season and was named a second team CIS all-Canadian at linebacker. Unsure if he would be selected, he sat anxiously and was thrilled to finally get the phone call from the Lions.

“It's a dream come true,” said Verdone, who hails from Echo Bay, Ont. “I saw some linebackers who weren't at E-Camp go before me and I got pretty worried, and then I got a phone call from B.C. and I was just ecstatic. I talked to my brother and I cried, just such a real moment. This is for all the people who invested time effort and money – it's not about me, it's about them: Coach Nill, Coach (Wayne) Harris, Coaches MacPhee and Paopao at Waterloo, and everyone who has shaped me in some way to get selected.

“I couldn't ask to go to a better place – beautiful weather, a brand new stadium, and the Grey Cup champions – and I'm so happy to be going with Kirby.”

“It means so much for Jordan – football for him is everything,” said Nill. “All he talks about is the opportunity to play pro, and I couldn't be happier. I think he's going to be a (Lions head coach Mike) Benevides-type linebacker. He's a tough, hard-nosed kid who will come in and compete, and I know that's the kind of kid Wally (Buono) wants. They won't be unhappy with him and I appreciate the B.C. Lions taking such an interest in our program.”

Since 1970, 108 Dinos football players have been drafted by CFL teams. The Calgary Stampeders lead the way with 48 of those selections, followed by Edmonton (15), Toronto (10), Winnipeg (9), Saskatchewan (8), B.C. (7), Montreal (5), Hamilton (4), and Ottawa (2).

The Dinos begin their quest for a fifth consecutive Canada West title this fall at McMahon Stadium, and for the first time all Calgary Stampeders season ticket holders receive season tickets for the Dinos as well. To purchase season tickets, visit www.stampeders.com or call (403) 289-0258.

DINOS IN THE 2012 CFL DRAFT
OL Kirby Fabien – 1st round, 7th overall to B.C.
LB Sam Hurl – 2nd round, 12th overall to Saskatchewan
OL Carson Rockhill – 2nd round, 13th overall to Hamilton
LB Jordan Verdone – 5th round, 37th overall to B.C.

-UC-