VANCOUVER – The start of the 2026 Canada West Football season is less than three weeks away as the UBC Thunderbirds officially open up Navacord BC Insurance Training Camp at beautiful Point Grey.
Heading into a year which the program intends to take a big step forward, the team officially welcomes into the fold 30 new recruits which make up the class of 2026.
"I'm very excited about the athletic talent coming into the program," said UBC head coach, Blake Nill, now entering his 12
th season at the helm of the Thunderbirds and the 29
th of his storied career. "This class is very similar to the last few we've had where I think there's a high level of athleticism coming in at all positions. Coach Shomari Williams just does a great job of identifying the athletic potential of these young men and then we factor in what our needs are at the specific time and then we go all out trying to showcase our school and our brand to the athlete and his family. I'm happy with the numbers this year and looking forward to seeing some of these guys get on the field with us."
Reporting to camp Monday and getting on the field at Thunderbird Stadium for the first time Tuesday afternoon, Training Camp 2026 begins a new journey for a group keen to build on the steps taken as a very young program last year. The class of 2026 features young athletes which will benefit the team in the long haul but also challenge for playing time on a hungry squad with big hopes for the next several months.
"Every year I tell our recruits we want freshmen to play for us, if a freshman can make the playing roster it's a good thing for a number of reasons," said Nill. "It lets the veterans know they have to stay focussed on improving themselves, that a coach isn't afraid to take a chance on a young man. I think all of that is important for the kind of competitive culture you want to establish. It's going to be tough this year, though. There's going to be a very competitive mixture of returning veterans and high potential incoming freshmen that should elevate the program."
While each of this year's incoming recruits hail from Canada, representing six different provinces, several are returning north of the border following impressive high school campaigns in the United States.
Case in point are linebackers Derek Durand and Xander Prosper, who, along with running back Marvyn Larozar, all join the blue and gold from Asheville School in North Carolina.
"The three kids out of Asheville are all tremendous athletes, at the prep school level they absolutely distinguished themselves on the field," said Nill. "Derek Durand's father played for me at St. FX and was on the 1996 team that went to the Vanier Cup. It all started with Derek and when we first looked at him we felt he was the kind of defensive athlete that would help this team very soon. Then we were introduced to a teammate, Xander Prosper, out of Montreal. He's a 6-foot-4, 225 pound edge player and to be honest, I feel very fortunate for getting Xander here. He had a lot of interest and he comes from an athletic family who's very familiar with the potential of athletes and the strategies of placing them into the right situation.
"Marvyn is a tremendous athlete, 6-foot-3, most of his potential is at running back. When we first looked at him we thought he's a lot like Isaiah Knight, he catches the ball really well and he can also play defence so he's going to come in as a running back, but don't be surprised if you seen him all over the field at a number of different spots just trying to take advantage of his athleticism."
12 of the 30 incoming recruits hail from British Columbia, including some outstanding talent from within the lower mainland including Abbotsford's Santiago Llarena, a tight end from W.J. Mouat Secondary.
"In my opinion, he was the top player in the province," Nill said of Llarena. "He's a tight end, receiver hybrid. Very strong, he does a great job high-pointing the ball and when he catches the ball, he has deceiving speed and the ability to make up ground quickly. When I watched his tape, I thought more than most he was ready to play. I feel very fortunate that he's here because every school in the country was trying to grab him."
"Another terrific local young man is Damian Dumas, from South Delta Secondary. He's a running back but he can also play defence very well. Don't be surprised if he's on the field at some point this season. Our depth at running back is substantial as it is at most positional groups, so he'll have to prove himself but he might be able to do that year one. We're very excited about Damian, he flies under the radar a little bit."
A handful of this year's freshmen class come out of Alberta where Shomari Williams and the T-Birds were able to secure some of that province's top prospects.
"We had a good recruiting year in Alberta overall and we feel we got a very good quarterback in Alex Tchesnokov, and a tremendous pair of DBs out of Ernest Manning High School, Tahliek Lewis and Nima Rahmani who we thought was one of the top kids in the province."
"Another guy out of Alberta we're very excited about is offensive lineman Jackson Hughes out of Cochrane. I would have been very upset if I was in my Calgary days and lost Jackson Hughes to UBC. Both UBC Football and the Sauder School of Business attracted Jackson here. He's a big, lengthy O-lineman, much in the same category as Theo Benedet and
Caleb Cunningham. He's only 17 but in a couple years we're hoping he's able to fill that kind of role we have with some of these lengthy O-linemen."
In addition to UBC's true freshmen, the program has added some significant talent by way of transfers, from both the collegiate and junior football ranks.
"One of the things that's not common with UBC Football is our interest in junior players. It's just not always the best fit with all that it takes to get kids onto campus here, but this year we felt we had to get older at a couple positions, especially on defence. Two of the young men I'm really excited to see how they go through camp are junior players, older players. One is linebacker Sean Gunnip, a young man from Calgary who's certainly got the genetics at nearly 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. But it was his work ethic, his desire, his physical maturity I felt would be a good fit for us. Having met him and his family, we realized he does check a lot of the boxes that a typical UBC recruit would."
"Similarly, with more of a local connection, Sean Cullen, a linebacker who played for Dana Matheson with the Langley Rams is on board here this year. He brings age, a level of confidence that I think will help. Those two young men, the reason they're here is to play sooner than later. I'm hoping our instincts pay off with them."
Another athlete with an abundance of experience arrives at Point Grey with a name familiar to many Canadian Football fans as Barron Miles Junior joins the 'Birds from Grambling State University having begun his collegiate career as a receiver at the University of Nebraska.
"We feel Barron Jr. is going to bring a very stable influence to the receiver position. Our receivers might be the most athletic, deep positional group on our team, it's one of the most athletic groups that I've had as a coach, but they're young. We need a guy to come in and help us on the field but also help from a leadership perspective. I know Coach Khari (Jones) was very adamant that was a major reason we should be bringing this young man in at this point in his career. There's an example of us maybe trying something different and going out and trying to get better quicker without having to pay the price of youth."
While Navacord BC Insurance Training Camp officially begins today, Tuesday afternoon will mark the first official on-field activities. Camp will run through Saturday, August 29 as the team will then transition into preparations for their week one battle against the Calgary Dinos at McMahon Stadium on September 4.
The 'Birds host the Alberta Golden Bears for their 2026 home opener on Friday, September 11 at Thunderbird Stadium.
2026 Recruit Class
Eloge Batalonga – Defensive Lineman (Belle River, Ont.)
Kaeno Bekkering – Receiver (Victoria, B.C.)
Jack Bowman – Offensive Lineman (Chilliwack, B.C.)
Sean Cullen – Linebacker (North Vancouver, B.C.)
Akarika Dawn – Defensive Back (Hamilton, Ont.)
Damian Dumas – Running Back (Delta, B.C.)
Luke Dunn – Linebacker (Delta, B.C.)
Derek Durand – Linebacker (Ottawa, Ont.)
Austin Goff – Offensive Lineman (Vernon, B.C.)
Sean Gunnip – Linebacker (Calgary, Alta.)
Jackson Hughes – Offensive Lineman (Cochrane, Alta.)
Lukas Huter – Offensive Lineman (Midland, Ont.)
Kingston Isaac – Receiver (Regina, Sask.)
Bruce Jones – Running Back (West Vancouver B.C.)
Marvyn Larozar – Running Back (Ottawa, Ont.)
Santiago Llarena – Tight End (Abbotsford, B.C.)
Luke Logan – Tight End (Delta, B.C.)
Tahliek Louis – Defensive Back (Calgary, Alta.)
Josh Martin – Running Back (Burlington, Ont.)
Cole McQueen – Kicker/Punter (Winnipeg, Man.)
Barron Miles – Receiver (Montreal, Que.)
Gavin Narwal – Offensive Lineman (Delta, B.C.)
Xander Prosper – Linebacker (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.)
Nima Rahmani – Defensive Back (Calgary, Alta.)
Ethan Rizarri – Offensive Lineman (Vancouver, B.C.)
Levi Shapiro – Defensive Lineman (Toronto, Ont.)
Matt Stevenson – Linebacker (Vancouver, B.C.)
Alex Tchesnokov – Quarterback (Edmonton, Alta.)
Ryan Wirtzfield – Quarterback (Winnipeg, Man.)
Taye Wiwchar – Receiver (Kingston, Ont.)
