CALGARY – Significant local talent highlighted by several players from the Tier I provincial champion St. Francis Browns makes up the 2008 Dinos football high school recruiting class, which was unveiled Friday afternoon by head coach Blake Nill.
Running back Emilio Violato, receiver Taylor Nill, and defensive linemen Matt Meyer and Jon Wahl will make the short trip from St. Francis High School to the University of Calgary next fall, where they will follow in the footsteps of Dan Diduck, Tom and Tony Spoletini, and Anthony Woodson as Browns grads to suit up for the Dinos. Nill, a slotback, elected to stay home and be coached by his father at the University of Calgary.
Tier II provincial champion Notre Dame High School grad Craig Adamson will join the Dinos as a linebacker, while quarterback Brett Serhyenko of Tier III champion Cochrane High has also committed.
“We're bringing in championship athletes from championship programs,” said Nill. “Calgary athletes are starting to show renewed confidence in the University of Calgary program, and that has allowed us to spread our recruiting efforts further out as well.”
Those efforts landed three top recruits from outside Calgary. Greg Frost, a running back out of Salisbury Composite in Sherwood Park, Alta., was a 2007 Senior Bowl selection and joins the Dinos as one of the top prospects out of the Edmonton area. He is joined by Carson Rockhill, a defensive lineman from Parksville, B.C. and younger brother of current Dino Brandon Rockhill.
The younger Rockhill received several offers from U.S. colleges before electing to join his brother in Calgary. At 6-foot-6, 275 pounds, he can play on both the offensive and defensive lines and was among the most sought-after recruits in the country. He suffered an Achilles' injury and will not compete in the Dinos spring camp this weekend, but he will recover in time to take part in the main fall camp beginning August 15.
Defensive back Tye Noble out of Stuart Nixon's powerhouse program at Oak Park High School in Winnipeg will also make the move to Calgary to suit up for the red and gold after a solid high school career, while defensive lineman Ryan Keating joins the squad from Crescent Heights in Medicine Hat, Alta.
Closer to home, Nill scored a coup by bringing in Kirby Fabien from Bishop McNally High School. A 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive lineman, Fabien will likely move to the offensive side of the football as he joins the Dinos.
“Kirby had considerable interest from U.S. schools, and many scouting agencies ranked him as the number one recruit in Western Canada,” said Nill. “He is going to be an excellent player in CIS football.”
Fabien's McNally teammate John Kadiebwe (defensive back) has also committed to the Dinos.
Other local recruits announced Friday include: Adam Driedger (Bowness) and Sam Hurl (Centennial), both linebackers; defensive lineman Riley Brown and linebacker Jordan Colebrook from Henry Wise Wood; Sir Winston Churchill's Brent Scherchel (offensive line); defensive lineman Drew Wilson from St. Mary's; Western Canada's Kyle Grant (defensive back); and Brian Hagan (defensive back) and Mitch Healing (offensive line), both products of Bishop O'Byrne High School.
Recruiting will continue throughout the summer, with this weekend's spring camp a golden opportunity for coaches to evaluate walk-ons and other potential recruits. A key player at the camp is defensive back Joel Lipinski, who was a second team all-Canadian cornerback with the University of Regina in 2005. A product of Campbell High School in Regina, Lipinski left the Rams in 2006 and sat out the 2007 season, making him eligible to play for any Canadian university in the 2008 season.
Other potential recruits in attendance at the weekend camp include receiver Blaine Kruger, a Cochrane native who led the nation in touchdowns (16) last season with the Victoria Rebels of the Canadian Junior Football League, and former Regina Thunder quarterback Deke Junior.
-UC-
2008 Dinos Football Recruiting Class
Pos Player Hometown Last Team
QB Brett Serhyenko Cochrane, Alta Cochrane HS
RB Greg Frost Sherwood Park, Alta. Salisbury Composite HS
RB Emilio Violato Calgary St. Francis HS
R Taylor Nill Halifax, N.S. St. Francis HS
OL Kirby Fabien Calgary Bishop McNally HS
OL Mitch Healing Calgary Bishop O'Byrne HS
OL Brent Scherchel Calgary Sir Winston Churchill HS
DL Riley Brown Calgary Henry Wise Wood HS
DL Ryan Keating Medicine Hat, Alta. Crescent Heights HS
DL Matt Meyer Calgary St. Francis HS
DL Carson Rockhill Parksville, B.C. Bellanas HS
DL John Wahl Calgary St. Francis HS
DL Drew Wilson Calgary St. Mary's HS
LB Craig Adamson Calgary Notre Dame HS
LB Jordan Colebrook Calgary Henry Wise Wood HS
LB Adam Driedger Calgary Bowness HS
LB Sam Hurl Calgary Centennial HS
DB Kyle Grant Calgary Western Canada HS
DB Brian Hagan Calgary Bishop O'Byrne HS
DB John Kadiebwe Calgary Bishop McNally HS
DB Tye Noble Winnipeg Oak Park HS
