May 3, 2012
SASKATOON - Saskatchewan Huskies football head coach Brian Towriss announced 20 new faces to the squad for the 2012 season Thursday at the 12th Annual Dogs Breakfast.
This year’s recruiting class features some of the best high school and junior football players in the province and Western Canada. These players are just some of the new athletes who will be in Huskies’ uniforms for the 2012 season.
“Spring camp gives us an opportunity to see what these new players can do in the green and white,” said Towriss. “Some of these players will get their opportunity sooner than others, but all will have an impact on the team in some way.”
Joining the Huskies after winning back-to-back Canadian Junior Football Championships with the Saskatoon Hilltops is defensive back Braxton Lawrence. The 6-0 Saskatoon native, recorded 28 tackles, four fumble recoveries, and two interceptions in the 2011 campaign. Lawrence was recognized for his performance on the field in 2011 as a CJFL All-Canadian, a Prairie Football Conference All-Star team, and was twice named PFC player of the week.
The Huskies will also add two more Saskatoon products from the CJFL in Lane Bryska and Drew Digout. Bryska a 6-2, 260 pound offensive lineman also won the CJFL Championship with the Hilltops last year and was named a PFC All-Star. Digout a 6-3, 290 pound offensive lineman comes to the Huskies after playing for the Okanagan Sun. In 2010, Digout was named a CJFL All Canadian, and a BCFC All-Star. Before joining the Sun in 2010, Digout was a three-time city champion and a two-time provincial champion with Aden Bowman Collegiate in Saskatoon.
“It’s always nice to sign a few top recruits from junior football,” said Towriss. “The junior league gives players a few more years to mature and allows them to step right in and make a difference,”
This year’s high school class features a number of standouts from across Western Canada.
Two high caliber offensive talents from the BC AAA Varsity League will make their way to the prairies. Devin Logan, a 5-11 running back, and Deion Bain, a 5-9 slot back ,led WJ Mouat in Abbotsford to a second place finish at the AAA Varsity level in 2011. Logan averaged 93.5 rushing yards per game, while Bain averaged 79 yards per game.
Matt Bonaca from Salisbury High School in Edmonton is the only quarterback in this year’s class. Bonaca led his team to the provincial semifinal last year throwing for 1,165 yards and completing 10 touchdowns. Joining Bonaca from Salisbury is running back Brandon Stewart, who recorded 876 total yards and 9 touchdowns in 2011.
Senior Bowl athletes, Jarvis James and Drew Bexon will join the Huskies. Jarvis, a three time All-Star with Bishop O’Byrne High School in Calgary captained his team to their first ever Division 1 City Championship. Bexon played for Holy Rosary High School in Lloydminster accumulating an impressive 1,226 yards, averaging 8 yards per carry with 10 touchdowns in 2011.
Evan Rutherford (offensive line, Harry Ainley High School), Caleb Eidsvik (defensive line, Lloydminster Comprehensive), Brayden Twarynski (defensive line, Bishop O’Byrne High School) will also join the Huskies from Alberta.
Saskatchewan will feature seven high school products in this year’s recruiting class. Among them is a trio who played for Team Saskatchewan in the 2011 Canada Cup - Brydon Ozmun (receiver, Nipawin High School), Evan Johnson (offensive line, Campbell Collegiate, Regina), and Mike Desjarlais (line backer, Miller Comprehensive, Regina).
Also from Saskatchewan is Brendan Ernst (defensive back, Evan Hardy Collegiate), Keegan Arnyek (defensive back, Vanier Collegiate, Moose Jaw), Kurtis Wegren (offensive line, Swift Current Comprehensive), and Chris Charuk (line backer, Balfour Collegiate, Regina).
“We are very excited about our strong recruiting class,” said Towriss. “We can’t wait to get going and see what they can do for us.”
All recruits, as well as returning players, suit up in Spring Camp beginning Thursday at 6 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium in PotashCorp Park.
Recruits Announced
1. Brayden Twarynski – DL, Bishop O’Byrne High School, Calgary
2. Brendan Ernst – DB, Evan Hardy Collegiate, Saskatoon
3. Keegan Arnyek – DB, Vanier Collegiate, Moose Jaw
4. Matt Bonaca – QB, Salisbury High School, Edmonton
5. Brandon Stewart – RB, Salisbury High School, Edmonton
6. Devin Logan – RB, WJ Mouat High School, Abbotsford
7. Brydon Ozmun – REC, Nipawin High School
8. Deion Bain – SB, WJ Mouat High School, Abbotsford
9. Jarvis James – RB, Bishop O’Byrne High School, Calgary
10. Braxton Lawrence – DB, Saskatoon Hilltops
11. Lane Bryksa – OL, Saskatoon Hilltops
12. Caleb Eidsvik – DL, Lloydminster Comprehensive
13. Drew Digout – OL, Okanogan Sun, Aden Bowman Collegiate
14. Kurtis Wegren – OL, Swift Current Comprehensive
15. Evan Johnson – OL, Campbell Collegiate, Regina
16. Evan Rutherford – OL, Harry Ainley High School, Edmonton
17. Kris Charuk – LB, Balfour Collegiate, Regina
18. Drew Bexson– RB, Holy Rosary High School, Lloydminster
19. Mike Desjarlais – LB, Miller Comprehensive, Regina
20. Ryan Breadner – OL, Cherokee Texas
huskies.usask.ca
April 27, 2012
CALGARY – Blake Nill unveiled the bulk of his 2012 recruiting class Friday afternoon, and there’s a distinctly Calgary flavour to the list.
Of the 23 players introduced, 15 come from the Calgary area as the four-time defending Canada West champion University of Calgary Dinos loaded up on local talent for their drive for a fifth consecutive conference title in the fall of 2012.
“This is a program that, going forward, will be 70 to 80 per cent Calgary athletes,” said Nill, who will patrol the Dinos’ sidelines for a seventh season in 2012. “It’s a testament to our outstanding bantam, midget, and high school coaches that this city continues to develop so many high-quality players. We’re fortunate to have this development system in our back yard, and we were able to commit to virtually every local player we went after.
“I think we have one of the best overall recruiting classes in the country this year, and that’s in large part due to the Calgary players we were able to attract to this program.”
St. Francis High School, long a supplier of talent to the Dinos, leads the way with five players: RB Jansher Hundal, R Denzel Radford, OL Ben Prcic, DB Carson Stambene, and LB Maddix Fabien – younger brother of offensive lineman Kirby Fabien. The Browns are followed closely by Notre Dame, which placed three players on the recruiting list, including R Coel Bazinet, OL Tyler Shabits, and LB Emilio Gallotta.
Two of the top graduating players in the city hail from Henry Wise Wood, and both DB Hunter Turnbull and OL Troy Richardson could step in and contribute to the Dinos immediately this fall. Bishop Grandin will also send two players to the Dinos in DE Jevon Westerbeek and LB Dan Zalucky.
OL Jacob Mickelson (Bowness), DL Cory Robinson (George McDougall, Airdrie), and DB Kellen Forrest (Cochrane) round out the Calgary-area high school players set to attend the University of Calgary in September.
A pair of offensive players will join the Dinos from the junior Calgary Colts program this fall. RB Cuong Thai Lieu, redshirted with the Dinos in 2007 and 2008, and racked up 715 rushing yards and six touchdowns last year with the Colts. A 2011 Prairie Football Conference all-star, Lieu will augment a strong returning backfield led by fourth-year returnee Steven Lumbala.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Mac Sarro, meanwhile, is a graduate of Notre Dame High School and was a key force in the receiving game for the Colts last season, racking up five TDs and 352 receiving yards on just 19 catches – a whopping 18.5 yards-per-catch average.
The Dinos’ spring camp continues through the weekend at McMahon Stadium, with the Red-White scrimmage set for Sunday at 2 p.m.
Fall camp opens on Saturday, Aug. 18, and the Dinos will open the season with back-to-back home games Saturday, Sept. 1 vs. Regina and Friday, Sept. 7 vs. Alberta.
IFAF U-19 Team Canada Roster
2012 Calgary Dinops Football Recruiting Class
With position, player, hometown and last team:
RB Jansher Hundal Calgary, Alta. St. Francis HS
RB Cuong Thai Lieu Nanaimo, B.C. Calgary Colts
RB Mercer Timmis Burlington, Ont. Cenesius HS (Buffalo, N.Y.)
R *Coel Bazinet Calgary, Alta. Notre Dame HS
R Brett Blaszko Burlington, Ont. Corpus Christi HS
R Elie Bouka Laval, Que. Cégep Montmorency
R Spencer Duff St. Albert, Alta. St. Albert HS
R Denzel Radford Calgary, Alta. St. Francis HS
R Mac Sarro Cochrane, Alta. Calgary Colts
OL Jordan Filippelli Edmonton, Alta. Salisbury HS
OL *Jacob Mickelson Calgary, Alta. Bowness HS
OL *Ben Prcic Calgary, Alta. St. Francis HS
OL *Troy Richardson Calgary, Alta. Henry Wise Wood HS
OL *Tyler Shabits Calgary, Alta. Notre Dame HS
DL Cory Robinson Airdrie, Alta. George McDougall HS
DL *Jevon Westerbeek Calgary, Alta. Bishop Grandin HS
LB Maddix Fabien Calgary, Alta. St. Francis HS
LB *Emilio Gallotta Calgary, Alta. Notre Dame HS
LB *Dan Zalucky Calgary, Alta. Bishop Grandin HS
DB *Kellen Forrest Cochrane, Alta. Cochrane HS
DB Nathan Mitchell St. Albert, Alta. St. Albert HS
DB Carson Stambene Calgary, Alta. St. Francis HS
DB *Hunter Turnbull Calgary, Alta. Henry Wise Wood HS
*denotes 2012 Alberta Senior Bowl selection
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