KSS grad, Loffler, invited to New York Giants' rookie mini camp

Kelowna’s Taylor Loffler has been invited to this weekend’s New York Giants three-day free agent rookie mini camp in New Jersey.

Rated at No. 11 among prospects for Tuesday's Canadian Football League draft, the Kelowna Secondary School and University of B.C. grad received the invitation to the National Football League team's mini camp after Saturday’s NFL draft.

“I can’t get too excited,” Loffler admitted to Vancouver Sun reporter, Mike Beamish, earlier this week. “I have to prove myself, to show that I’m good enough to be at that level. It definitely complicates my situation (in the CFL draft). But I understand it’s a business. Whatever happens happens. They’ve given me a chance, so I’ll just go with it.”

With New York assistant general manager being Toronto-born Kevin Abrams, the Giants have given several Canadians tryouts in recent years.

UBC head coach Blake Nill believes Loffler and UBC teammates Terrell Davis and Quinn Van Gylswyk can excel this weekend.

"When careers worth hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars are on the line, obviously it brings a whole new competitive element. So there's going to be more high quality ballplayers there than they're used to seeing," Nill said in an interview with CBC’s Karin Larsen

"I think all three of them will compete well. Then it's just a matter of someone liking what they do, someone in the Giants saying this kid is worth bringing back to the next mini-camp."

Loffler agreed. He believes the four years he spent playing at Boise State before transferring to UBC will put him in good stead.

"I'm familiar with how things are run down south," he said. "You just have to prove you have the ability and not give them a reason to let you go," said Loffler. "My overall goal is to try and get on as a special teams player . . . and get invited back to the next mini-camp at the end of May."

Loffler, who headed to Boise State University after his three years of football at KSS, joined the UBC Thunderbirds last fall and led the team with 42 solo tackles in the regular season. He proved a significant contributor to the T-Birds’ march to the CIS Vanier Cup championship.

The hard-hitting 6-foot-3, 215-pound safety shone at the CFL combine in March, but dropped from No. 9 to No. 11 in the final rankings of the CFL Scouting Bureau.

There has been speculation that the B.C. Lions are interested in picking Loffler with their No. 3 pick.

“I had a good combine and I know the Lions really did like me. In one mock draft, it had them taking me. It really just depends,” Loffler told Beamish.

While with the senior KSS Owls, Loffler played 21 games, putting up 4,166 combined rushing and passing yards and accounted for 65 touchdowns.

At Boise State, however, following a redshirt season in 2011, he was forced to miss 2012 with a knee injury and 2014 with a hip injury. Healthy in 2013, he was able to turn in a full, productive season on the Broncos’ defence.

He came away from Boise with a business degree before moving on the UBC.