I know it has been awhile but I have been writing finals and final essays for the last month. In my opinion these were the top defenders players in the football this season.
1. John Rush, fifth year linebacker from Guelph Gryphons.
Rush had an unbelievable last season as part of the Guelph program. He led the program to a Yates Cup victory but not a Vanier Cup appearance as they lost to Universite de Montreal in the Mitchell Bowl. Rush was a freak of nature on the field as he led the CIS in total tackles with 60 in eight games. He also led the CIS in assists with 56. He also averaged 8.6 tackles per a game which was a CIS best as well. He also had three sacks for loss of 18 yards. Rush was rewarded for his accomplishments on the field this season as he captured the President’s Trophy in the OUA and in the CIS for being top defense player in the country. Rush was signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in late November so he will have a chance to demonstrate his skills at the pro level. The Guelph defense will for sure miss him but if Curtis Newton returns he will likely fill Rush void on defense. Newton had 40 tackles this season and 36 assists which was third best in the CIS.
2.Drew Morris, fifth year- linebacker from Acadia Axemen.
Morris in his senior campaign had a year that he will not forgot. He led the Axemen to a third place finish in the AUS but, were defeated by the eventual AUS champions, STFX X-Men in the AUS semi-finals. Morris led the CIS in solo tackles with 47 and finished second in total tackles with 58. He also was third best tackles per a game in the CIS with an average of 8.3 in seven games played. He also had one sack and one fumble recovery this season as well. The Acadia defense led the CIS in least amount of passing yards allowed per a game and second best in least amount of yards allowed per a game. Morris was reward for his efforts this season with being named AUS defender of the year and was a first team All-Canadian. Morris was CFL draft eligible last year and was not drafted. I suspect a CFL team will take a gamble on him now.
3.Jake Heathcote, third year -linebacker from McMaster Marauders.
Heathcote was a huge difference maker for Mac this season as he help lead them to a 6-2 record in the OUA. They end their season with a stunning lost to Wilfred Laurier in the quarterfinals. The Mac defense last season was one of the best in Canada. The team coming into this season had a lot of question marks as the team lost a lot of its key defense players from last season runner up Vanier Cup team. Heathcote led the team in solo tackles with 28 along with 17 assists. He also led the Marauders in total tackles with 36.5. He led the Mac defense in interceptions with 4 which was third best in all of the CIS. The McMaster defense only allowed 345.5 yards per a game this season which ranked them number six in the country for least amount of yards allowed. Heathcote was reward for his effort this season as he was named a second team all-Canadian.
4.Mikael Charland, fourth year-free safety from Concordia Stingers.
Not much can be said about Charland as he is one of the best defenders in the country, year in and year out. In the past three seasons, he has led the Stingers defense in most solo tackles and total tackles. In 2015, the Stingers finished 4-4 and lost to Laval in the RSEQ semifinals. Charland had 37 solo tackles which place him, 16th in the CIS. He also had 19 assists. He had 46.5 total tackles. The last thing is that he had three interceptions placing him 12th in the CIS this season. Charland was reward for his performance on the field as he was named a second team all-Canadian this season. He will be eligible for the CFL draft this season and will likely being selected. The interesting part is that recently he has gained some attention from NFL teams and will be attending the Baltimore Regional combine in late February.
5.Mathieu Betts, first year-defensive lineman from Laval Rouge et Or.
What a debut season for Betts with the Rouge et Or as he led them to a 7-1 record this season and lost to University of Montreal in the Dunsmore cup. Betts in his first season led the CIS in quarterback sacks with 12 which tied the Rouge et Or record with last season defensive lineman, Vincent Desloges. He was .5 off from tying the mark set by former McMaster DL, Ben D’Aguilar in 2012 and University of Montreal former defense lineman, Jean-Samuel Blanc. He also led the CIS in sack yards with 62. He only had 19 solo tackles along with 10 assists for a ground total of 24 tackles this season. Betts was the anchor of the Laval defense which led the CIS in least amount of points scored by an opponent in the whole year and per a game. The Rouge et Or only gave up 101 points this season and 12.1 points per a game. They also led the RSEQ in defense. Betts was honored for his outstanding season with the Peter Gorman Trophy for CIS rookie of the year as well being a first team All-Canadian.
6.Terrell Davis, third year-linebacker from UBC Thunderbirds.
Davis played a huge role in the Thunderbirds Vanier Cup run this season. He had 39 solo tackles this season which was good enough for 11th in the CIS for that category. He also had 35 assists which was fifth best in Canada. He had 56.5 total tackles this season was good enough for third place in the CIS. He averaged 7.1 tackles per a game which was 6th in the CIS standings. The UBC defense was unstoppable force this between Davis, Mitch Barnett and Boise State transfer, Taylor Loffler. The Thunderbirds were second in the CIS for tackles per a game with 62.3. It is no wonder they won the Vanier Cup this season as the saying goes, defense wins championships. It should be interesting to see how Thunderbirds will do next season as all three players have the potential to be in the CFL next year.
Thank you for reading Thursday Sacks this season,I greatly appreciate it.I’ll be back in May with my CFL mock draft. Happy New Years to you and your family,may 2016 be just as good as 2015 for you.
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