Football’s Hastings delivers at CFL combines

(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) - After impressing many at the Eastern CFL Combine held in Montreal, Acadia football's Harland Hastings delivered more at the CFL National hosted in Regina, Sask.

CFL draft eligible this spring, Hastings had 39 tackles, 11 assists, three interceptions and two break-ups plays in 8 games this past AUS season from his cornerback position and has turned heads after a successful CFL regional and national combine.

Following the regional combine in Montreal, Hastings was noted as one of five "players to watch" at the Regina's CFL main combine this past weekend.

Hastings posted impressive numbers including a 36" vertical jump regional combine result – fourth in the leaderboard along with a fifth-place main combine 40-yard dash result of 4.639 seconds. Harland also posted a second-place broad jump result of 10' 5" at the regional combine.

"I am happy and proud of his accomplishments. Harland is a great student-athlete and works very hard at his craft. He wants to be great and understands to be great, you have to be different and he is that", commented Acadia University football head coach Jeff Cummins.

From Calgary, Alta., the 5' 11" 180 lbs. fourth year cornerback noted that most of his best results occurred at the Montreal regional combine.

"I would say most of my numbers were better at the regional combine, because that's where I focused all my training. Since December I have been training so I would peak for the date of the regional. Then when I got the invite to the National I went in with more of the mindset to do well with the on-field drills", said Hastings.

Hastings added, "I did improve in the two drills I really wasn't happy with from Montreal, that being my 40 (yard dash) time and bench press. All the other drills I was very close to my Montreal numbers. So, if anything, I would say the National combine validated everything I did at the regional combine."

Under the watchful eyes of CFL head coaches, team scouts/management and the media during a half-day regional combine in Montreal and a three-day event in Regina at the National combine, Hastings pointed out that the two combines were "once in a lifetime experiences", but vastly different.

"When I tested my jumps, I got two attempts on the broad and three on the vertical. So, I had to warm up and get all pumped up, jump five times then shut it down because it was the only drill we had that morning", commented Hastings.

"Then later that night, we came back to bench press, which was pretty hard to try to go to sleep after because I was still so pumped from bench. But at the same time is was better because it gave time to reflect or regather your thoughts as opposed to being rushed to the next thing", recalled Hastings.

On the National stage, as the best in University football gathered to give rise to their stock, Hastings was asked if he was nervous at all during both combines.

"As far as getting nervous goes, I wasn't nervous for either of the two combines because I have been training so long for this and it was just a chance to show off what I do everyday. I enjoyed both combines and both were great experiences that I will remember for the rest of my life."

The CFL draft, that includes draft eligible Canadians from the NCAA and U SPORTS, takes place May 7, 2017.