MONTREAL — The McGill Redmen have embarked upon their 133rd year of football and will officially open the campaign with a game at Laval on Aug. 31.
The Redmen are coming off a 3-6 fourth-place finish and a semifinal playoff loss at Laval in the RSEQ University Football conference. Head coach Clint Uttley has returned for his third season behind the Redmen bench. His opening-day roster will feature 48 returnees (20 seniors, nine juniors, 19 sophomores) to go along with 31 new faces.
“We have a good mix of veterans, improved our strength and conditioning and had a good recruiting year, so I am expecting the team to be very much in contention for a playoff berth,” says Uttley.
This season, the Quebec conference has returned to an eight-game schedule after a three-year experiment with a nine-game season. McGill is slated to play Concordia and Bishop’s twice apiece, with single contests against Mt. Allison, Laval, Sherbrooke and Montreal. After a 40-12 pre-season road loss to the Carabins on Aug. 23, the Redmen will open their campaign the following week when they travel to Laval on Aug. 31 (7 pm), followed by their home opener against Concordia on Sept. 6 in the 45th annual Shaughnessy Cup affair.
The Redmen have lost nine starters, four of them on offence, with the only high-profile loss being all-Canadian receiver and CIS rookie of the year Shaquille Johnson (61 rec., 792 yds., 13.0 avg., 5 TDs).
Nonetheless, the offensive side of McGill’s game is expected to be solid under the guidance of offensive coordinator Patrick Boies, who is expected to utilize a five receiver offence, buttressed by a veteran offensive line to protect senior quarterback Jonathan Collin and the return of star running back Luis Guimont-Mota.
Collin, a 6-foot-4, 218-pound pivot from Greenfield Park, Que., was named as the league’s rookie of the year in 2009 but missed almost all of his sophomore campaign to injury. He had a somewhat limited role in his junior year, averaging of 137 yards passing over eight games, to go along with four touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 52.9 per cent completion ratio. He also rushed 33 times for a 3.7 average and a pair of TDs.
Backing-up Collin at quarterback will be Pierre-Luc Dusseault, a 6-foot, 200-pound medical sophomore from College Limoilou in Quebec City. Other pivots in the mix include Pierre-Luc Moquin from College Edouard-Montpetit and Mario Porreca out of Vanier College.
At running back is the aforementioned Guimont-Mota, a shifty, 5-foot-9, 188-pound sophomore will be the team’s primary back. Last year, he scored one TD and averaged 4.4 yards over 86 carries. A couple of freshmen to keep an eye on are Devon Stewart (5-10, 234) and Pelle Jorgen (5-11, 176).
Stewart is a bulky 5-foot-10, 234-pound native of St. Hubert, Que., who toiled for Champlain College in Lennoxville. Jorgen is a speedy 5-foot-11, 176-pound recruit from Upper Canada College.
A veteran offensive line returns primarily intact, anchored by All-Canadian left tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound senior from St. Hilaire, Que., and fifth-year left guard Robert Ravensbergen (6-3, 292) of Montreal. Duvernay-Tardif, who has drawn interest from a number of NFL scouts, is a preseason favourite to represent the Quebec conference for the J.P. Metras Trophy, awarded to the top down lineman in the country. He is also penciled in to be a high first-round draft pick in the CFL next spring and could as high as go No.1 overall.
The right side of the o-line will feature junior guard Frederic Methot (6-2, 275) of Montreal and tackle Pierre-Olivier Daloze (6-2, 280), a junior from Laval, Que. Sophomore Terence Gamit (5-11, 275) will start at centre.
Waiting in the wings are highly-recruited rookies Qadr Spooner (6-4, 306) and Tim Mitchell (6-5, 290), both from Vanier College, along with Nicolas Bertrand (6-2, 313), who played at College St. Jean sur Richelieu.
Leading the receivers will junior Yannick Langelier-Vanasse of Lachine, Que., who also poses a double-threat as a return specialist. Despite missing the last game of the 2012 season with an injury, he led the Redmen in all-purpose yards, averaging 117.4 yards per game on a combined 70 touches.
Other receivers expected to start include senior Dallon Kuprowski (20 rec., 297 yds., 14.9 avg) of Saskatoon and sophomore Joel Brtka (3 rec., 43 yds, 14.3 avg) of Toronto, along with senior Jean-Philippe Paquette and two impressive freshmen Damian Massey-Hirt from Champlain College and Pascal Tshilambo, a transfer from Concordia who previously played for John Abbott College.
The overall kicking game should be solid with the return of place-kicker Samy Rassy, a 22-year-old engineering senior from Montreal who led the team in scoring with 69 points in nine games. He made 17 of 23 field-goal attempts, for a 73.9 per cent success rate last year. His longest field-goal was a 42-yard effort against Laval in Week 1, when he registered a 5-for-5 performance.
A new-look defensive line features a young but talented group, led by fifth-year rush end Tyler Lavin (5-11, 217) from Nanaimo, B.C., and junior David Deku (6-2, 235) of Brossard, Que., who will split the duties on the left side.
Three freshmen are expected to start on the line, including Kadeem Lewis (6-1, 310) of LaSalle, Que., a defensive tackle who starred for College du Vieux-Montreal. Newcomer Dany Arseneault (6-6, 276) is slated to start at nosetackle, while freshman Carl Laverdiere (6-0, 213) of College Limoilou is slotted in at right end.
Other vets who will rotate into the mix include juniors Loic Cagniard (6-0, 217), a native of France, and Olivier Cain-Tremblay (6-3, 255) from Longueuil, Que.
The linebacking corps, will feature an outstanding group of veterans, led by seniors Jesse Briggs (6-0, 230) of Kelowna, B.C., on the strong side and Alexandre Bernard (5-11, 220), a fifth-year middle linebacker from Laval, Que. The other starter is expected to be freshman Chris O’Kill, a 6-foot-1, 227-pound recruit from Vanier College.
Waiting in the wings to step up and play a role are juniors Brendan Carriere (5-11, 225) of Richmond, B.C., Ian Sheriff (5-11, 206) of Toronto and co-captain Lenny Dion (5-11, 192) of Roberval, Que. Others who could see action include Gabriel Poisson (5-9, 191), a freshman from College Andre Grasset and rookie Eric Gracioppo (6-2, 226), a product of Vanier College.
The defensive backfield will be spearheaded by three seniors, including Zachary Lord, a safety from Trois-Rivières and halfbacks Mattey Ossom (2 INTs) of Dorval and Stephan Osman of Notre Dame de Grace, Que. The starting cornerback will be sophomore Nicholas Gaudreault (1 INT) of Lachine, Que., and freshman Jean-Christophe Bouchard of Quebec City.
Other returnees expected to battle for playing time include senior Guillaume Tremblay of Calgary, and Simon Lamontagne of Boisbriand, Que., in addition to sophomores El-Hadj N’Doye (1 INT) of Sherbrooke, Nicolas Huot from Quebec City, and Maxime Chaput-Dupuy of St. Hubert, Que., along with freshman Charles-William Tremblay from College Limoilou.
2013 McGill Football Schedule
Fri., Aug. 23 McGill 12, at Montreal 40 (EXHIBITION)
Sat., Aug. 31 McGill at Laval, 7 p.m. (SEASON OPENER)
Fri. Sept. 6 Concordia at McGill, 7 p.m. (SHAUGHNESSY CUP)
Sat., Sept. 14 McGill at Mt. Allison, 1 p.m.
Fri. Sept. 20 Sherbrooke at McGill, 7 p.m. (FANDEMONIUM GAME)
Sat., Sept. 28 McGill at Concordia, 1 p.m.
Fri. Oct. 4 Bishop’s at McGill, 7 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 19 Montreal at McGill, 1 p.m. (HOMECOMING & SENIORS TRIBUTE)
Sat., Oct. 26 McGill at Bishop’s, 1 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 2 McGill vs. TBC, 1 p.m. (RSEQ SEMIFINAL)
Sat., Nov. 9 McGill vs. TBC, 1 p.m. (DUNSMORE CUP)
Sat., Nov. 16 McGill vs. TBC, 1 p.m. (UTECK BOWL)
Sat., Nov. 23 McGill vs. TBC, 1 p.m. (VANIER CUP)
Photo Credit: Ryan Reiisert
Source: McGill Redmen Sports Information
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