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With the 2015 CFL Combine (Mar. 27-29) and CFL Draft (TBA) approaching on the offseason calendar, TSN.ca profiles some of the prospects who could be taken this spring. Laurier defensive back Chris Ackie looks to have all the physical tools to be a professional football player. Standing 6 feet 2 inches and weighing a solid 210 pounds he appears to be your prototypical defensive back, or even linebacker, in the CFL game. With a vertical jump at 38 inches and a broad jump close to 11 feet, he also clearly has the athleticism to play at the next level. Yet Ackie believes he had his best two seasons in the CIS mainly because his intelligence on the football field. “I always took it seriously but now Im more focused,” Ackie told TSN. “I watch so much film, I watch hours of film at night. Its not enough to be the best athlete, you have to have a football IQ. Over the years Ive developed my football IQ and I can kind of slow down the game and I can make a lot more plays.” Ackie’s increase prep work led to results on the field. In 2013 he was a second team OUA All-Star with over 40 tackles. This year he was a first team All-Star in the conference and a first team CIS All-Canadian. Teams in the OUA tended to throw away from Ackie in games, as he had only one interception in his last two seasons, but he was never far from the action, nearly tripling his tackling totals from his first two seasons. “Chris became a team leader in the film department,” Laurier associate head coach and defensive coordinator Ron VanMoerkerke explained. “During the season he could always be found in the football offices watching extra film. Also, he would organize film for younger players at his home or in classrooms on campus.” “Ill go into the office and watch film with a coach or bring a bunch of DB’s or linebackers and well watch film together; me kind of teaching them stuff is helping me as well,” Ackie explained. “Ill even work with my offensive coaches, watching film with them. It helps me because now I know how an offensive player is thinking.” Orginally from Toronto, Ackie, whose parents immigrated to Canada from Grenada, grew up in Cambridge, Ontario in a ‘big family.’ He credits his older brother Ron for getting him into the game. “I started playing football when I was 10-years-old. One of the things was my brother played the year before me,” explained Ackie. “Whatever youre older brother wants to do, you want to copy, so I wanted to play football right away so the next year I started playing and I fell in love with it.” Since he started playing the game, Ackie’s dreamt of being a professional football player. His success in the game would eventually lead him to Wilfrid Laurier University in nearby Waterloo. Even though the school was close to home, that wasn’t the reason for attending the school. “My parents would have supported me wherever I went,” Ackie said. “I got offers to go to school in Montreal but they were happy that I stayed close. The thing about Laurier was the coaches, especially our defensive coordinator, VanMoerkerke. Hes one of the reasons I went to Laurier. Over the years hes put me in a position to be successful at no matter what position Ive been at. Ive always been a good athlete, but to learn the game, Coach Vs taught me a lot about the game.” While Ackie’s emphasis on improving his football IQ is noteworthy, CFL teams will also be attracted by his size and athleticism. Currently ranked twelfth in the CFL prospect rankings, Ackie hopes to showcase this in March’s CFL Combine. “I want to show them how versatile I am and how great of an athlete I am. I want to show them I am not a person who can only play one position, I can play multiple positions and they can draft me. They can draft me as an athlete and they can put me wherever they need me to go. I just want to show them that Im one of the best defensive players in the draft.” But people shouldn’t forget that he brings more to the table than athleticism. “They (CFL teams) will get a hard-working player that continues to develop. He easily could have gotten by on genetic gifts alone,” VanMoerkerke said “But he never missed a workout or a summer run. He is dedicated to improving and works hard to do so.” “My athletic ability is my greatest attribute as a player but also Ive taken strides to become a really smart player,” Ackie said. “I really know the game, when I came up first year I thought I knew the game but now that Im in my fourth year I think I really understand the game” Discount Running Shoes . 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Wholesale Running Shoes Fast Shipping . This time, it was Eric Chavezs turn. Stuck in a rut since coming off the disabled list, Chavez hit the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning for a run-scoring single, sending the Diamondbacks to another walk-off victory, 4-3 over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Sixty touchdown passes. Fifteen wins. A fifth MVP trophy. Peyton Manning is more productive than hes ever been, and whether hes deciphering defences at the line of scrimmage on game day or on his iPad during the week, his love for the game hasnt waned. The final piece of evidence that Manning is as good as ever came Monday. As expected, Manning passed the exam on his surgically repaired neck that was required by his contract with the Broncos that will pay him $20 million next season, according to a person with knowledge of the results. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because results of medical checkups typically arent announced. Manning has said that if doctors tell him hes at risk physically, hed have no problem calling it a career. After his four neck procedures, including a spinal fusion that sidelined him for all of 2011 and eventually led to his release from Indianapolis, Manning has said he has steeled himself for that possibility. At the Super Bowl last month, he talked about how his older brother, Cooper, had to give up football after neck surgeries in high school and college, and how that had a big impact on his life. "I remember at the time, when Cooper got injured, they did a test on me and Eli. I would have been a junior in high school and Eli would have been a sixth-grader, or something. They said our necks werent picture perfect and didnt look ideal, but theyre stable enough to keep playing football. Cooper had to give up playing football. In some ways, when I had my neck problems, I thought maybe I had been on borrowed time this entire time," Manning said. "I was fortunate to have 20 years of health to play football. If that was going to be tthe end of it because of a neck injury, I really, believe it or not, had a peace about it.dddddddddddd" Once doctors told him his neck was secure, however, Manning said he quickly shifted his focus to seeing if he could strengthen his weakened throwing arm to the point where he could be productive again. After the Colts released him, Manning signed a five-year, $96 million deal in Denver, where hes thrown for 100 TDs, including the playoffs, while going 28-7 with two AFC titles. Manning won his fifth MVP award in 2013, when he set single-season records by passing for 5,547 yards and 55 TDs while guiding the Broncos, the highest-scoring team in NFL history, to their first Super Bowl in 15 seasons. Manning, who will be 38 next season, said during Super Bowl week that he had no intention of retiring after the Super Bowl. Although Mannings plans for 2014 became a big story line in the playoffs, the Broncos front office had proceeded as though their quarterback would be returning for another run at a title. Although his deal with Denver requires him to pass a physical every spring to make sure his neck is OK, if there were any concerns about his neck, he wouldnt have started all 16 games, plus three more in the playoffs. Not only is Manning still performing at his peak level, he said he still enjoys everything that goes into getting ready to play on game days and "when you still enjoy the preparation, I think you probably still ought to be doing that," he said at the Super Bowl. He passed his required exit physical that all players take in the days following the Broncos Super Bowl loss to Seattle. He then played in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament just days later, another indication that his neck is fine. ' ' '