VANCOUVER - In a season that will be filled with firsts, UBC head coach
Shawn Olson crossed off another major milestone in his debut as a CIS boss with the official announcement of his 2010 recruiting class.
Olson, who has been at the helm of his alma mater for nearly six months, named the newest additions to a T-Bird program he hopes to turn around from a sub .500 team into a playoff contender.
The former UBC quarterback, who led his 'Birds to the 1997 Vanier Cup, knows that won't be an easy task but he believes his first recruiting class will pay dividends this season.
"Things have gone fairly well. We lost out on some kids due to the timing of the hire but that's to be expected and there wasn't anything we could do about that. When everything is said and done, our class is going to be pretty good."
There are 48 new players expected to show up at UBC's training camp in August. It's a large class by any standard with Olson going after players from coast to coast, from high schoolers right through to university transfers.
"Looking at the team from last year, I didn't know exactly what we had but I thought we needed to address our speed and we needed to address our overall competitiveness throughout the roster. That's why the class is probably a little larger than it normally would be."
Not surprisingly there is a group of Olson's former players from SFU, where he served as offensive coordinator for three seasons, that have decided to make the move from Burnaby to Vancouver as SFU prepares for their first season in the NCAA Division II this coming fall.
Because of the Burnaby school's change of association from CIS to NCAA, the transferring players won't have to sit out a year before becoming eligible.
"I have a deep affection for a number of the players at SFU and I knew what their hopes and aspirations were so it was a juggling act to some degree to find the right fit. With about six or seven players coming, it's a good number we have joining UBC," said Olson. "They are ready to play right now and contribute. That may allow us to plug some holes or at least create some serious competitiveness with the guys that we have returning."
Headlining this group is receiver Victor Marshall who finished fourth in the Canada West last season with 535 receiving yards and added a pair of touchdowns. Fellow receiver Mitch Schuster, linebacker Mark Bailey, and defensive back Farhad Abi are all former Clansmen that should figure immediately in the UBC line-up.
The T-Birds also picked up a number of key recruits from the Vancouver Island Raiders (CJFL), the four-time defending BCFC champions.
"We added a little bit of swagger with players from teams like the VI Raiders. Players who come from those programs don't know how to lose and that was important for us to add to this group," noted Olson.
Former Raiders Levar Hayden, a defensive back, defensive lineman Josh Williams, and offensive lineman Curtis Vizza are three newcomers who Olson believes will make an impact this fall.
"Levar and Josh were probably the two best players out on the field during our spring camp. Curtis is a big, strapping offensive lineman who has everything you are looking for and he should help solidify our o-line. We are expecting some big things from those guys and they bring a really great attitude to the football field."
Another player with post secondary experience is Ryley Wright. The former West Liberty Hilltopper (NCAA Div. II) is expected to push incumbent quarterback
Billy Greene for the opening day start.
Alphabetical list of UBC recruits for 2010 season
Farhad Abi (5-11 DB Richmond-SFU); Jeff Amado (6-0 LB Burnaby-Notre Dame HS); Justin Andrushko (5-11 RB Nanaimo-Victoria Rebels/University of Waterloo); Mark Bailey (5-11 LB Surrey-SFU); Jordan Bosa (5-9 DB Burnaby-STM); Jesse Brown (6-2 WR Kamloops-Valley View HS); Patruk Bull (6-3 WR Vancouver-Vancouver College); Peter Credico (6-1 RB Lethbridge-Holy Spirit HS); Terrell Denison (6-0 RB California-Hancock JC); Brandon Deschamps (6-0 RB Prince George-Kelly Road HS); Kyle Dewhurst (6-3 WR Vernon-Vernon HS); Jeff Effah (5-10 RB Kanata-University of Ottawa); Krystin Ellis-McDermid (6-0 LB Brampton-Brampton Bulldogs/St. Thomas Aquinas); Ian Finlayson (6-1 DB White Rock-UBC); Daniel Gabrilo (6-6 OL Richmond-UBC/Vancouver College); Donovan Gratton (6-4 OL Lyndon, WA-Lyndon High); Avy Harry (5-11 DB Abbotsford-Rick Hansen); Levar Hayden (6-0 DB Calgary-VI Raiders); Liam How (6-2 QB North Vancouver-North Langley Midget); Niko Jacobs (6-2 QB Mission-SFU); Daniel Jutras (5-10 RB Tsawwassen-South Delta); Jordy Kyle (6-3 OL Regina-Regina Thunder); Patrick Leahy (5-11 QB Medicine Hat, AB-McCoy HS); Bradley Lee (6-3 DL Okotoks, AB-Foothills Composite); Mitch Lesyk (5-8 DB Abbotsford-Rick Hansen); Kyle MacLeod (6-3 OL Surrey-VI Raiders); Mark McCutcheon (6-0 LB Abbotsford-Rick Hansen); Tyler McKenzie (6-0 HB/LB Kamloops-South Kamloops); Roman Marchyshyn (6-3 OL Mississauga-Mississauga Warriors); Ford Marcotte (5-11 DL North Delta-Seaquam HS); Victor Marshall (6-4 WR Seattle-SFU); Sebestien Martimbault (5-10 DB Longeuil, QC-Vieux Montreal); Dominic Mecuri (6-1 LB Kamloops-South Kamloops); A.J Miller (6-2 WR Salmon Arm-Salmon Arm); Geoff Piper (6-3 DL Sherwood Park, AB-Bev Facey); Anthony Reese (6-0 WR Washington-Nooksack Valley Pioneers); Charles Riby-Williams (6-1 WR Surrey-Santa Barbara JC); Ethan Schnell (6-4 OL Kamloops-South Kamloops); Mitch Shuster (5-10 WR North Vancouver-SFU); Sabdeep Sidhu (5-11 DL Burnaby-STM); Hugh Tunney (5-8 DB Edmonton-Ross Shephard HS); Curtis Vizza (6-3 OL McBride, BC-VI Raiders); Liam Wear (6-1 WR Vernon-Kamloops Broncos); Josh Williams (6-4 DL Regina-VI Raiders); Carson Williams (5-10 QB Abbotsford-Abbotsford HS); Jens Wolkewitz (6-3 R Germany-South Fraser Rams); Jake Woodson (5-11 LB Burnaby-STM); Ryley Wright (6-1 QB Oakville, ON-West Liberty/Windsor)
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