Belgium is on the board!
The Saskatchewan Roughriders added a 45th country to their All-Time list of players’ birthplaces on Tuesday when Belgian-born defensive end Sylvain Yondjouen was selected in the first round (sixth overall) of the CFL’s Global Draft.
Yondjouen has accepted a mini-camp invitation from the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.
“We’ll have to see how that goes with him,” Roughriders Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O’Day said.
“He’s an old-school grinder type. We currently use a (Global) defensive end on our roster, so he would come in and compete with (Rome-born Habakkuk Baldonado).
“(Yondjouen) is not a traditional speed rusher by any means. He’s very hard-working — kind of a blue-collar pass rusher. He’s a really gritty defensive lineman.
“He obviously played at a really good school at Georgia Tech. We had him high up on our board. That’s why we picked him.
“We’re excited, but we’ll see where it goes. A lot of these guys have opportunities in the NFL. About half the guys (chosen on Tuesday) are probably going to NFL camps or mini-camps.”
The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Yondjouen appeared in 52 games at Georgia Tech, starting in one-quarter of those contests.
Born in Ruisbroek, Belgium, he registered 76 defensive tackles (16 for a loss) and six sacks over his collegiate career.
As a senior in 2024, Yondjouen led the team in quarterback hurries (seven) and pass breakups (five) and was second in tackles for a loss (six). Hence the interest from south of the border.
“It’s one of those Catch-22s where you’re trying to get the best guys and a lot of times the top guys are getting opportunities in the NFL,” O’Day said.
“You’re trying to meet that sweet spot where the guy is good enough to get an opportunity in the NFL but you might end up seeing him here.”
In the second round (15th overall), Saskatchewan selected Australian-born punter Jesse Mirco.
He led the SEC in punting average (48.0 yards) at Vanderbilt last season.
Mirco spent the previous three seasons at Ohio State, averaging 43.9 yards per punt over that time. In 2023, he was a semi-finalist for the Ray Guy Award, presented to the NCAA’s top punter.
“If he gets an opportunity in the NFL or if he decides to wait, he’s worth the wait,” O’Day said, “and we also feel comfortable about the position we’re in (with the current punters).”
Mirco gives Saskatchewan the rights to four Australian punters — the others being Adam Korsak (the team’s primary punter in 2023 and 2024), Joe Couch (practice roster, 2024) and recently signed Bailey Flint (who registered a 45.1-yard average with the 2023 Hamilton Tiger-Cats).
Mirco, who was born in Fremantle, is the ninth Australian to whom the Roughriders have owned the rights.
Along with Australia and, of course, Canada and the United States, the Green and White’s lifetime list of countries consists of:
• England (18 players or prospects)
• Jamaica (17)
• Nigeria (11)
• Germany (8)
• Samoa (6)
• Congo (5)
• France (5)
• Italy (4)
• Mexico (4)
• Scotland (3)
• Ghana (2)
• New Zealand (2)
• Philippines (2)
• South Africa (2)
• Tonga (2)
• Trinidad and Tobago (2)
• Yugoslavia (2)
• Austria (1)
• Bahamas (1)
• Belgium (1)
• Bermuda (1)
• Burkina Faso (1)
• Cameroon (1)
• Chile (1)
• China (1)
• Estonia (1)
• Finland (1)
• Haiti (1)
• Hungary (1)
• Isle of Man (1)
• Ivory Coast (1)
• Kenya (1)
• Latvia (1)
• Lebanon (1)
• Nicaragua (1)
• Norway (1)
• Poland (1)
• Sierra Leone (1)
• Sweden (1)
• Switzerland (1)
• Transylvania (1)
• Zaire (1)
