Montreal was looking to win back-to-back Vanier Cups for just the fifth time in CIS history having become an annual title contender under Danny Macioca. And if they were going to lose, most would have guessed it would come at the hands of Blake Nill’s old program, not his new one.
To be sure, a national title wasn’t supposed to happen this quickly for Nill and his upstart UBC Thunderbirds.
Nill left the University of Calgary last off-season for the challenge of building a different Canada West program into a perennial powerhouse. He thought his team might be .500 at best in his first year on the Left Coast. Instead, the T-Birds upset Montreal on Saturday in the 51st Vanier Cup in Nill’s first season on campus.
But that doesn’t mean Nill has seen the last of Macioca’s squad. The way the Mitchell and Uteck Bowls are lined up for next season there is a chance of seeing the Thunderbirds and Carabins match up in the Vanier Cup again in 2016. However, there’s a long road to travel until that becomes a reality.
Each team will have to fill some voids left by key graduating athletes, but for the most part UBC and Montreal feature relatively young rosters with lots of talent back for possible 2016 championship runs.
UBC
Workhorse back Brandon Deschamps capped his fifth and final year at UBC with a Vanier Cup. He endured through a forfeited season in 2011 and rumours about the program possibly being cut a couple years ago. In 2015 Deschamps rushed for 1,021 yards and scored nine touchdowns in 11 games for UBC. His ability to handle the entire running load was impressive, and the Thunderbirds won’t easily replace him. That said, selling a prized recruit on sharing a backfield with Michael O’Connor should certainly help UBC in that regard.
There are some T-Birds who could also make the jump to the pros. Safety Taylor Loffler, linebackers Terrell Davis and Mitch Barnett, offensive lineman Alec Pennell, and kicker/punter Quinn van Gylswyk could soon be earning paychecks to play football. That’s three starters on defence, one up front on offence and a first-team All-Canadian punter that might have to be replaced.
But O’Connor, UBC’s star quarterback, returns with all of his main receiving targets, too. Will Watson, Marcus Davis, Alex Morrison and Trivel Pinto are a diverse, formidable quartet that should only get better as a group with an entire year of experience together.
An intriguing T-Bird athlete to keep a close eye on is Malcolm Lee. He’s the brother of Jamall Lee, who was selected third overall by the BC Lions in the 2009 CFL Draft. The younger Lee is a University of Nevada transfer who played receiver in his first year at UBC until he switched over and started at boundary cornerback in the Vanier. Lee could be an impact player in the future.
Montreal
By far the Carabins’ biggest loss will be quarterback Gabriel Cousineau. He graduates with two Dunsmore Cups and one Vanier Cup to his name and certainly leaves as the most successful signal caller in program history. Cousineau’s calming influence over the team was one of his strongest traits.
Finding the next leader of the offence will be atop Maciocia’s off-season to-do list. Top 2014 QB recruit Hugo Henderson sat for two years behind Cousineau and he should be the odds-on favourite to earn the starting job in 2016. Also, with the Carabins getting to two straight national-championship games, it wouldn’t surprise to see them land a stud prospect at quarterback to come in and compete.
Whoever starts at QB should have a strong supporting cast. Running back Sean Thomas Erlinton, who led all 2015 playoff runners with 691 yards in four post-season games, returns. Young receivers Regis Cibasu and Louis-Mathieu Normandin—each made 40 catches in the 2015 regular season and recorded 100-yard games in the Vanier Cup loss—should continue to be a dynamic duo going forward.
Philip Enchill graduates from the receiving group, but second-year Sherbrooke transfer Guillame Paquet comes back after a stellar playoff showing. He returned from a broken collarbone to lead Montreal with 293 yards receiving in the post-season.
What’s more, it’s entirely possible that the Carabins’ stout defence loses only one starter—defensive back Djonatan Buissereth, who moves on after five seasons with the team.
Montreal’s four other starters in the secondary—Zacary Alexis, Jean-Sebastien Belisle, Francois Hamel and Jordan Perrin—were all freshmen in 2015. Alexis and Hamel were 2015 RSEQ All-Stars. Meanwhile, conference defensive player of the year Jonathan Boissonneault-Glaou and big defensive lineman Junior Luke—2015 RSEQ All-Star—will both be back to anchor the Carabins up front in 2016.
Maciocia, who coordinates the defence, has put together a young, fast and athletic unit. And they’re the main reason why Montreal is a legitimate threat to appear in a third consecutive national title game.