Fleiszer Is CFL's Number One Man

It didn't take a miracle "Hail Mary" defeat of Miami, but senior defensive end Tim Fleiszer has been given the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Doug Flutie and to leave Boston to make an impact on the world of Canadian football.

Yesterday, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats made Fleiszer the first overall pick in the 1998 CFL draft.

A native of Westmount, Quebec, Fleiszer has been given the opportunity to return to the league the followed as a fan as a schoolboy.

"Growing up, we followed both the NFL and the CFL," Fleiszer said. "[But this] was only in my dreams."

The All-Ivy and All-New England selection keyed a Crimson defensive unit that ranked in the top five nationally in rushing, pass efficiency and scoring defense. Individually, Fleiszer had 33 tackles, five quarterback sacks and two pass deflections on the season.

Fleiszer finishes his Harvard career with 119 tackles and 9.5 sacks, but really distanced himself from the field with his performance at the CFL combine on Mar. 22. Fleiszer's 4.72-second forty yard dash impressed scouts and improved his potential value in the fast-paced CFL.

"The field is wider, so there's more running," Fleiszer said. "They tend to look for players who can run."

Fleiszer learned of his selection while at home in Montreal yesterday. He enjoyed the moment before he soon must decide how to handle his future.

At present, Fleiszer hopes to be given an opportunity with an NFL team either on draft day in two weeks or in the free agency period which follows.

"I'm going to wait to sign a contract," Fleiszer said. "I've received film requests from about 20 NFL teams, and have held workouts for almost 10."

Regardless of how his NFL prospects pan out, Fleiszer now knows he will have at least one superb option for next fall, and will almost definitely find himself earning a living on the gridiron.

"I know it would be a great situation playing in Hamilton," Fleiszer said. "[The Tiger-Cats] are the only professional sports team in town, and the fan support is unbelievable.

"Hamilton hired a new coach, Ron Lancaster, who is well respected in the CFL, and have made several free agent pickups that will help the team."

The feeling is apparently mutual, as the Tiger-Cats were overjoyed to land Fleiszer.

"Fleiszer is an outstanding young football prospect," Lancaster said in a press release. "He had a great career at Harvard, and we came away very impressed with him."

Despite his impressive statistics, Fleiszer was somewhat apprehensive at first about the draft procedure.

"At Harvard, no one had gone though the [CFL draft] process before," Fleiszer said. "I had no idea how these things work."

That feeling led the defensive end to Sports Acceleration North, a training facility outside Boston where Fleiszer worked under the direction of Walter Norton to improve his physical strength and agility in preparation for professional combines.

It became clear to Fleiszer that collegiate records are important, but scouts increasingly rely on raw numbers from combines to separate true prospects from the field. Sports Acceleration North gave Fleiszer the opportunity to focus on the specific tests that would determine his professional fate.

"Beyond college [performance], teams are looking for good athletes, and that's what these tests show," Fleiszer said.