CFL: Born In the USA, Lions’ Draft Pick Westerman Now A ‘Non-Import’

It was a bold move by the B.C. Lions to grab one of the more coveted prospects in the CFL draft held on Thursday. The defending Grey Cup champions traded three picks to the Edmonton Eskimos to get the second overall pick. With that selection, general manager Wally Buono chose Eastern Michigan defensive lineman Jabar Westerman.

At 6-foot-2 and 285 pounds, Westerman is listed in Wikipedia as being born in Brampton, Ontario; however, another source notes his birthplace as Deerfield Beach, Florida, north of Fort Lauderdale between Pompano Beach and Boca Raton.

According to CFL rules, that doesn’t matter: as long as a player can prove he spent enough time in elementary school in Canada, that player can be designated as a “non-import.” Westerman apparently was able to provide appropriate documentation to the league in the form of a school transfer and transcript. Once that happened, his stock rose in the draft rankings; the CFL scouting bureau rated him eighth overall, but obviously the Lions wanted him badly enough to swap three picks to move up to second to make sure they got Westerman.

The lineman’s family originally came from Barbados and spent time in New York State, Florida and in Brampton, Ontario, where his mother Angela still lives. Jabar’s older brother Jamaal played high school football there and in Fort Lauderdale; since 2009 Jamaal he has been a linebacker and special-teams player for the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. A younger brother, Jawann, competed with Jabar as a receiver at the CFL’s evaluation camp.

Sports reporter Lowell Ullrich of the Vancouver Province newspaper noted that only seven of the Lions’ 34 draft picks in the last five years have started a game for the team. That makes it even more imperative that the team gets it right with the players they do select. Westerman certainly seems to have the bona fides: last season he racked up 26 tackles and four quarterback sacks at Eastern Michigan.

Now the Lions have to hope Jabar not only play for them, but stay with them as well. Westerman says he finds it “exciting to start playing for the B.C. Lions,” so he’s starting off on the right foot. For now, the plan is to see if he can take a roster spot and even slot into the role vacated by the now-retired defensive lineman Brent Johnson.

If he develops into a notable talent, it will be difficult for the 22-year-old to resist the siren call of the NFL. With an older brother already in that league, it could prove that much harder to keep him in Canada.