It’s official: Canadian running back Tyler Varga of Yale University has accepted an invite to play in the 2015 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, a source has confirmed.
The five-foot-11, 224-pound Kitchener, Ont. native is just the second player ever from Yale to be invited to the prestigious college football showcase game, and the first since offensive lineman Walter Clemens in 1951. Varga’s official Senior Bowl announcement is expected to come on Monday.
It’s a lofty achievement for the Canadian prospect as he looks to make the difficult climb from Kitchener to the Ivy league to an NFL backfield. Annually the top NFL Draft prospects who have completed their NCAA eligibility are invited to the week-long event. Two teams—North and South—are coached by NFL coaching staffs as pro scouts get an up-close look at a lot of the best talent available in the upcoming draft.
In 10 games during his senior season at Yale, Varga rushed for 1,423 yards and 22 touchdowns, adding 12 catches for 107 yards and four more touchdowns to set a new single-season school record with a total of 26 touchdowns. In nine of the 10 games he played in 2014 for the Bulldogs he went over the 100-yard rushing mark. That made it 17 triple-digit running performances in 24 career games at Yale for Varga.
Twice Varga crossed the goal line five times. His most notable five-touchdown effort came on Sept. 27 against Army. Varga rushed for 185 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to lead Yale to their first win over an NCAA Division I school since the Bulldogs went down to I-AA in 1982.
His stellar campaign made him a unanimous selection at running back for the first team All-Ivy squad. Varga is a also finalist for the Walter Payton Award given to the FCS’s most outstanding player, among other prestigious academic and football honours.
Varga is considered to be the best running back to come out of Yale since Calvin Hill, who was taken in the first round in the 1969 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Calvin was NBA star Grant Hill’s dad. Hill won the 1969 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award and a Super Bowl during a 12-year NFL career with the Cowboys. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro. But Hill didn’t attend the Senior Bowl coming out of college.
All of the Senior Bowl practices—that begin on Jan. 20—as well as the game, will be televised live on NFL Network. For reference, 84 of the 110 participants in the 2014 Senior Bowl went on to be selected in the 2014 NFL Draft. And there is already plenty of interest from NFL scouts in Varga—all 32 NFL teams visited Yale’s campus to see the talented Canadian back at one time or another during his senior season.
Longtime CFL player personnel man Eric Tillman served as the Executive Director of the Senior Bowl from 1984 to 1993. Three Canadian offensive skill position players were invited to the Senior Bowl during his time there as the Canadian association with the game grew under Tillman. He left the Senior Bowl 21 years ago to become the BC Lions general manager. Tillman joked that his memory wasn’t what is used to be but that Tom Forzani, Rueben Mayes, Mark Rypien, Tyrone Williams, Jerome Pathon and Jesse Palmer were the only skill position Canadians to play in the game.
Also of note, Varga has signed on with experienced NFL agent Joe Linta, a Yale graduate himself. Linta currently has over 30 clients under contract in the NFL, including Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.