Toronto, ON – The BC Lions selected Liberty University offensive lineman Hunter Steward with the sixth overall selection in the first round of the CFL Draft on Monday.
The 6-foot-7, 290-pounder, a native of Kingston who moved to Virginia Beach, Va., before his senior year of high school, has one season of remaining collegiate eligibility and plans to complete it before joining the Lions following Liberty's 2013 season.
A transfer from the University of Virginia to Liberty in 2011, Steward started at left tackle last season and didn't allow a sack with 89 knockdowns.
BC finished 13-5 last season under first-year coach Mike Benevides.
FCS players also were selected later in the draft.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats picked Wagner linebacker Carl-Olivier Prime with the first pick of the third round. He hails from Laval, Quebec.
Robert Morris tight end Tyler Digby, from Westminster, British Columbia, went to Ottawa with the final pick of the fourth round. Ottawa, which will return to the CFL for 2014, could select only NCAA redshirt juniors with its picks at the end of each of the first four rounds
The draft was lengthened from six to seven rounds this year.
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