Klassen, Hippe, and Robinson are among 75 players set to participate in evaluation camp
Taylor Shire, Regina Leader-Post
Three members of the University of Regina Rams have some homefield advantage this week at the CFL Combine.
Linebacker Chopper Hippe, offensive lineman Connor Klassen and defensive back Dolani Robinson are among the 75 participants at the league’s prospect evaluation camp in Regina, which runs Friday to Sunday with most on-field activities happening indoors at the AffinityPlex.
“We actually practice at the AffinityPlex so it’s been nice to kind of be on that turf already a little bit and run around,” said Hippe, who has been with the Rams since 2020. “I’ve ran a 40 (-yard dash) on it once, so just kind of have your feet under you, compared to the other guys that are coming onto brand new turf.”
Along with being timed in the 40-yard dash, prospects will be measured in the vertical jump, broad jump, bench press and agility drills before strapping on the pads for practice sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
“We’ve got the best players in Canada here, so just to compete against those guys is what I’m really excited for,” said Hippe, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound Lloydminster, Sask. product. “Since I was a kid, this is all I’ve really ever dreamed of. My dream is always play pro and so to get this invite is just kind of that opportunity to get the foot in the door.”
Hippe said he’s done plenty of research when comes to preparing for the combine, including talking to former Rams teammates who attended the camp in previous years like Ryder Varga, Tanner Schmekel and Anthony Bennett.
“They gave me little pointers here and there,” said Varga. “I think (the Rams) culture has really set guys up for success at this thing.
“So, it’s not veering too far off. I’m not trying to be too far different than who I really am, but I’m going to be ready for what’s going to come.”
For Robinson, after tearing his medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his knee in Regina’s final game of the year against Laval, he was sidelined for nine weeks before recovering in time to participate in the combine.
“I had to recover from that and it was tough,” said Robinson, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound Canada West all-star in 2024. “There were times I thought I wouldn’t be able to participate in the combine.
“But I got healthy at the right time and I feel good.”
Prior to joining the Rams in 2023, Robinson played junior football for B.C.’s Westshore Rebels. When he came to Regina, the dream of playing in the CFL became the goal.
“When I was in (junior), I was playing football, just to play football,” said Robinson, who was born in Jamaica but grew up in Toronto. “And then, obviously when I got a full scholarship from Regina, I’m like, ‘Oh, this could actually be a thing.’”
While Hippe (one year), Klassen (one year) and Robinson (two years) all have eligibility to return to the Rams next season, the goal for each of them is to showcase their skills enough at the combine to hear their name called at the 2025 CFL Draft on Apr. 29.
“It was kind of a goal of mine when I came to university; I wanted to get invited to the national combine so just kind of see all the hard work and the years of playing pay off like that, it meant a lot,” said Klassen. “It means a lot that I can showcase my skillset, but also kind of represent my family and my team and my hometown as well.
“Good one-on-ones can make or break your draft stock and the team time to be really fun, just to kind of learn some learn the plays in a short period of time and play with guys you don’t necessarily play with.
“I feel confident going into all the events. I’ve been training for few months, and have a really good program, so it should be fun day.”
Prior to joining the Rams in 2023, the 6-foot-4, 310-pound Klassen played three seasons of junior football with the Regina Thunder, where he was named the Prairie Football Conference’s top offensive lineman in 2022.
That same year, he earned an invitation to the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ training camp as a territorial junior.
“It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done,” said Klassen, who hails from the northern community of Big River, Sask. “I was pretty young and raw as a player but just having that chance to go and practice beside the pro guys and learn from them.
“The biggest thing for me going there, outside of kind of being a little bit starstruck and all that, was just the confidence it gave me. I didn’t really know that pro football was kind of an option before that.
“I love sports and I love football, so I was playing it for the love of the game, and just kind of see what would happen. But I never really thought kind of where I came from that I would ever have a chance to make pro football.
“And then when I was told that I was getting an invite to training camp, it kind of blew my mind.”
While he has played the last two seasons at right tackle for the Rams, Klassen is also eager to prove to scouts that he is just as comfortable playing guard, with the hopes of getting the chance to attend his second pro training camp.
“The last two or three months, I’ve kind of been transitioning to guard because that is most likely what I’ll play in the CFL,” said Klassen. “So just making sure I’m flexible enough to play tackle and guard here and show coaches that it doesn’t matter where they put me, I’ll compete, no matter what.”
And while Klassen is already the first player from Big River’s six-man football program to play university football, he also has the chance to become the first player from his community to be drafted in the CFL.
“Hockey is more predominant up there and so showing that it doesn’t matter where you’re from and all that would be really cool for me,” said Klassen. “Just to kind of continue to be a role model for the kids in my community and surrounding areas.
“It would be really special in a lot of different areas for me if I could get drafted.”
Hippe, who like Klassen and Robinson, played junior football before joining the Rams said he developed the goal of turning pro once he received a scholarship offer from Regina.
“Being a small-town kid growing up, coming from Bantam to high school, the high school kids told me I wouldn’t play linebacker, I wasn’t big enough and stuff like that,” said Hippe, who played two seasons for the Edmonton Wildcats after high school before joining the Rams. “And so I’ve just kind of always had that underdog mentality growing up.
“And one day then in Grade 11, I got that scholarship (offer from the Rams) … That was kind of the day that it changed for me.”
Now, Hippe is hoping to put together a good combine with the hopes of boosting his stock ahead of the upcoming draft.
“I don’t even know how it would feel; it would be surreal, for sure,” he said of potentially being drafted. “It would kind of be a dream come true (but) I mean, that’s not the end though.
“It’s an opportunity. And the way I’ve kind of gone about life is I’m not wanting you to open the door and invite me. As long as I get that opportunity and you give me a chance, I’m going to do everything I can to kind of run with it.
“They’re giving me two inches, and I’m going to hopefully take it a mile.”
tshire@postmedia.com
