It must feel pretty good to be Jordan Yantz right now. For starters, he’s the number one QB on a CIS team with a strong chance of making it to the Vanier Cup. Tack on his participation in the Bomber training camp and impressive showing in the 2014 East West bowl, and his situation couldn’t get much better.
When asked about his experiences over the past few months, Yantz was quite positive, especially when discussing the East West Bowl.
“It’s up there. It’s right below a pro camp,” Yantz said. “We got some outstanding coaching, and there were some CFL coaches out there. My quarterbacks coach on the West team was Paul LaPolice, so that was cool – him teaching me the little things, like how to perfect my release, and speed up my feet and decision-making.”
One of the most unique aspects of the East West Bowl is the ability to play on the same team with opponents from the Canada West conference, and develop a positive relationship through the week, which Yantz made sure to note.
“The cool part about it was that you’re playing with top talent across the country, and all week create chemistry with some guys,” said the Regina native. “It was cool to meet those guys, and ball out with them [ . . . ] it was probably one of the funnest football experiences I’ve ever had.”
Yantz also had the benefit of having his teammate Nic Demski on the field with him, something he made sure to capitalize on at game time.
“When it came to game time, I happened to find Nic Demski quite a bit, so that was pretty exciting. It’s something that me and him kind of have, so no one can take that away from us.”
While the East West Bowl was an amazing experience for Yantz, it’s hard to compare that to CFL camps, which Yantz has now had a fair amount of exposure to. Since this wasn’t his first rodeo, he knew the drill going in.
“Going in [to Bomber camp], me being at two other pro camps, I kind of knew the routine of what I had to do,” said Yantz.
“It was awesome. I got to throw some balls, and I did good . There was a couple times where there was a little bit of a crowd, and I threw a couple of deep balls and got it to Ror [Rory Kohlert], so that was exciting.”
Yantz was also quick to mention the knowledge he gained from attending meetings, and soaking in all the information that he could.
“The different level of coaching that they get there is something that I try to eat up. It’s the little things that I kind of took in – in the classroom,” Yantz said. “That’s all I could do, was try and learn, and bring what I could back to the Bisons. It was an awesome experience, and I took lots of notes.”
While Yantz still has one more year of CIS eligibility, there has already been preliminary talk of him leading the charge for Canadian quarterbacks starting in the CFL down the line. He has faced the question many times, and answered it with confidence.
“It’s obviously a dream that I’ve always wanted to do, and pursue, said Yantz. “I’m a strong believer that if I have some success next year, and so to say were to have the same success I had last season, I think that there’s a good chance that I do get drafted.”
All that the Bison QB wants is a chance to prove himself if given the ability, and if he does get drafted, Yantz said he would go in with no hesitation.
“Whether it’s in the first round or the fifth round, it won’t matter to me. I’ll be really excited either way, and pursue that dream,” Yantz added. “I believe if I got that opportunity, I would take 100 per cent advantage of it, and go and attack it.”
