CALGARY – Ahead of this weekend's Spring Camp at McMahon Stadium, the Canada West champion University of Calgary Dinos football team is pleased to announce its recruiting class for the 2018 season.
Today, we take a look at the recruits on the defensive side of the football.
Perhaps the biggest announcement on the defence is the repatriation of linebacker Grant McDonald, a former British Columbia high school star who spent his freshman year at the University of Maine in NCAA Division I FCS football. McDonald, ranked No. 19 in the final Canada Football Chat 100 rankings among the 2017 recruiting class, made the decision to return to Canada and reunite with his older brother, Dinos receiver Jack McDonald, at the University of Calgary. He will return to his natural linebacker position after playing tight end for the Black Bears.
McDonald was one of the most sought-after recruits in Canada a year ago, and he will be eligible to play immediately for the Dinos in 2018.
"Any time you have a player that goes to Division I on a scholarship and decides to come back, you need to be excited about that," said Dinos Head Coach
Wayne Harris. "He did well down there, and I know he'll be an outstanding player for us. He fills a role that will be a high need for us in the future with Boston [Rowe] and Micah [Teitz] possibly going to the CFL this year."
In other linebacker news, Crescent Heights High School standout Suboumi Oyesoro will head to UCalgary. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Oyesoro is ranked No. 49 in the CFC 100 after an outstanding senior year for the Cowboys. Connor Richard will suit up for the Dinos after spending last season with the Okanagan Sun, where he was a British Columbia Football Conference all-star.
The defensive line was a particular focus area for the team with the loss of four fifth-year players from the 2017 Hardy Cup championship squad in Brett Wade, Cory Robinson, Matt Carson, and Jack McEwen. To help fill the void, the Dinos welcome six recruits in the trenches, led by Winnipeg's Tyrece Viner-Cox. A 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive end, Viner-Cox joins the Dinos from Garden City Collegiate in the Manitoba capital. He is ranked No. 41 in the CFC 100 rankings and represented Canada at the U18 International Bowl in January.
Viner-Cox is joined by a quartet of Calgarians among defensive line recruits. Bishop O'Byrne's Cole Snyder is another CFC 100 recruit, while John Bosse (Lester B. Pearson), George Idoko (St. Francis), and Zachary Xavier (William Aberhart) round out the position.
In the secondary, three CFC 100 recruits headline the list. Jacob Biggs out of Calgary's St. Francis High School is the highest-ranked defensive player among the Dinos' high school recruits, landing at No. 35 on the CFC list. He is followed by a pair of teammates from New Westminster Secondary in Sebastien Reid (No. 43) and Sammy Sidhu (No. 47).
The Dinos will unveil the full offensive recruiting class Thursday. In total, 49 players committed to the University of Calgary ahead of the 2018 season. The class includes 13 recruits in the 2018 CFC 100 rankings, and CFC rankes the Dinos' class No. 1 overall in U SPORTS football.
"We're very happy with the recruits that we were able to bring in," said Harris. "Some of the players from Alberta, B.C., and Ontario are among the most outstanding athletes in all of Canada. I think they'll prove to be a real significant contributing force over their years at the University of Calgary."
The Dinos take the field for Spring Camp beginning Friday morning. The weekend culminates with Sunday's scrimmage at 12:30 p.m. at McMahon Stadium.
2018 Dinos Football Recruits – Defence
* denotes CFC 100 ranking
Defensive Line
Bosse, John / Lester B. Pearson HS / Calgary, Alta.
Idoko, George / St. Francis HS / Calgary, Alta.
*Snyder, Cole / Bishop O'Byrne HS / Calgary, Alta.
*Viner-Cox, Tyrece / Garden City Collegiate / Winnipeg, Man.
Xavier, Zachary / William Aberhart HS / Calgary, Alta.
Linebackers
Gaetz, James / Henry Wise Wood HS / Calgary, Alta.
Guthrie, Caleb / Robert Thirsk HS / Calgary, Alta.
Kirk, Jacob / South Delta HS / Tsawwassen, B.C.
Lawrence, Matthew / John G. Diefenbaker HS / Calgary, Alta.
McDonald, Grant / Univ. of Maine / Tsawwassen, B.C.
McLean, Jackson / Cochrane HS / Cochrane, Alta.
Miele, Aiden / Notre Dame HS / Calgary, Alta.
*Oyesoro, Suboumi / Crescent Heights HS / Calgary, Alta.
Richard, Conor / Okanagan Sun / Chattanooga, Tenn., USA
Defensive Backs
*Biggs, Jacob / St. Francis HS / Calgary, Alta.
Eshiemomoh, Anthony / St. Martin de Porres HS / Airdrie, Alta.
McDonough, Noah / St. Francis HS / Calgary, Alta.
Moore, Riley / South Delta HS / Tsawwassen, B.C.
Ooko, Maxwell / Calgary Colts / Calgary, Alta.
*Reid, Sebastien / New Westminster SS / Richmond, B.C.
*Sidhu, Sammy / New Westminster SS / New Westminster, B.C.
Smith, Parker / St. Francis HS / Calgary, Alta.
Watson, Nick / Centennial HS / Calgary, Alta.
Zadery, Evan / Henry Wise Wood HS / Calgary, Alta.
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