Notes from Day 3 of TC2019

Receivers Coach Devan Sheahan instructing some of his guys

I made it to Guelph for the afternoon practice Saturday. The fact that there is an afternoon practice is a change from previous years. Coach Sheahan has moved away from the 4-hour power practice and back to the more traditional 2-a-days. Most days the practices are at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.. The practices themselves don’t look a lot different from the style that we’ve seen since Stu took over in 2010. They are fast paced, with something happening on almost every part of the field.

♦ I noticed a lot of time was spent on deep passes. That doesn’t come as a surprise based on what Coach Sheahan has said he wanted to do and his history at Calgary. The thing that jumped out at me was the amount of talent that the Gryphons have at the receiver positions. After watching them yesterday I have to think we have the most talented group of receivers in the OUA.

In his 5th year, Kade Belyk is the veteran over the group. I think of him as Guelph’s Hunter Renfrow – i.e. the kind of guy who, if you met him on the street, you’d never guess was a football player, but put him on the field and he is just a Natural. Renfrow, of course, is the former walk-on receiver who turned into a star at Clemson, and looks to be a Year 1 starter with the NFL Raiders.

Zeph Fraser, Kian Schaffer-Baker, AJ Chase (not in pads) and  Mike O’Shea Jr are all back. Jordan Terrio who missed the 2018 season is healthy and looks great. OUA All Rookie performer Kiondre Smith isn’t just an All Star returner, he looks like he has All Star ability as a receiver.

Transferee Abdraman Abdel-Rahim [Calgary Dinos/Vanier Cheetahs] is too good not to see some playing time immediately. Plus, he has the advantage of knowing Coach Sheahan’s offense having already played for him at UofC. Another *surprise player* is NCAA tranfer  Clark Barnes. A Brampton native Barnes played at Clarkson/Football North before enrolling at the University of Maine back in January. He was also a star with Matt Nesbitt’s OFC JV champion Junior Gryphons team a few years back.

From the Black Bears football website …

Clark Barnes | WR | 6-2 | 200 | Brampton, Ontario/Clarkson Secondary

• • Ranked as the No. 5 Canadian player of the 2019 class … a Top Prospect Canada Most Valuable Player … Named to Team Ontario … Guided Clarkson Secondary to the No. 1 team ranking in Canada … team played a full, American schedule and earned victories over State Champion Cathedral Prep and Cheshire Academy.
  • Other offers: Liberty, Stony Brook
  • “Clark is a long and powerful outside receiver, with strong route running ability and elite ball skills. He’ll be a valuable member of ‘Top Flight’ and will get his first opportunity this spring to compete with our football team.” – Coach Charlton

♦ You can’t look at the receiver group without noticing their size. Of two dozen receivers only AJ Chase and speedster Jayden Kelly are under 6 feet. [5’9″ Harry Robinson is listed as a receiver but was working with the running backs.] Schaffer-Baker, Abdel-Rahim, Jack Tocher, Mackenzie Ginther, Noah Holder, Evan Horne, Matt MacGillivray, W-P Dimbongi and Nicholas Mirijello are all 6’3″ or taller. Five of those 7 guys are new to the team this year. That tells me pretty clearly what Coach Sheahan is looking for with his Pro-style passing offense. And, it is very reminiscent of the receiving corps he recruited and coached at Queen’s.

♦ I was a little off the mark declaring that the QB room was near full yesterday. I realized before my previous post that recruit Mason McGriskin was not on the roster but forgot to go back and edit. I saw Andrew Horscroft throwing the ball with receivers prior to the start of practice but he was not in pads [injured non-throwing shoulder]. Recruit Colin Dacyshyn is listed as a QB on the roster but wasn’t in a red jersey. His HS highlights showed he was an athlete and playmaker who could probably play other positions. I meant to ask where he was at but forgot. There were 4 healthy quarterbacks throwing the passes in drills yesterday – Theo Landers, Brayden Lassenba, Dante Djan and Kaidan Gilbert.

♦ I didn’t spend as much time watching the O-Line and D-Line as in previous years, partly because we have a lot of talent at those positions. A few things I did notice:

1) there were only 13 OLs, the fewest I remember in any recent season. We have a solid group of veterans [Starczala, Petrie, Lapointe, Woodmansey] but some newbies are going to have to step up in order to have the depth that is necessary. Matt Fumawera looks like one of those guys. Possibly Spencer Masterson as well.

2) DTs Justin Jelacic and Afram Jolak were not in pads. They are the only thing between Greg Corfield and Jeremy Kapalanski, and putting freshmen in the defensive tackle rotation. Of course, Alain Cimankinda is flexible enough to help on the inside as well.

3) Highly touted DE recruit Yusuf Al-Khaldi was hard to pick out from the group, in a good way – i.e. he doesn’t look like a skinny high school kid. It is one thing for people to talk about him as a future All Canadian, it’s another thing to be physically ready to play at that level. He’s further along that path than I expected.

Links:

https://www.gryphonfootball.com/theo-landers-camp-2019

DBs Coach Richard KariKari

 

Some thoughts early in training camp

https://twitter.com/GryphonFootball/status/1162409192596168705?s=20

I haven’t attended a TC2019 practice yet, but as usual that is not going to stop me from saying a few things.

♦ This is the first training camp for a head coach Ryan Sheahan and his new staff. It’s Sheahan’s first head coaching position. That doesn’t worry me. Five years ago when he made the move from Queen’s to OC at Calgary, he hit the ground running and produced a record-setting offense in his first season. He clearly inherited a lot of talent with the Dinos. In Guelph he takes over a team that has underachieved the past few seasons but is among the most talented in the OUA.

♦ What we’ve seen thus far from Sheahan makes me think he will produce in Year 1. He built a strong, experienced coaching staff. His coordinators – OC Mark Surya, DC Dennis McPhee and STC Donnavan Carter – might be the best group in the OUA. Sheahan and his staff worked hard well into June to build an excellent recruiting class. One better than I expected given his late start.

♦ Since Stu Lang took over in the 2010, Guelph has been able to pride itself on a very high level of commitment to the S&C program, off-season practices and particularly high participation in Summer captains’ practices. Attendance at summer workouts and practices reached an all-time high this year. That reflects tremendous buy-in to Sheahan’s approach from the players. Dozens of players from Eastern Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC have stayed in Guelph year round.

♦ The 10-day training camp imposed by the OUA is ridiculously short. It will be very hard for freshmen to adjust to college football with only 3 or 4 days before roster decisions have to be made and practice time shifts to game prep for the season opener against McMaster on August 25.

♦ There is no question in my mind about who the #1 QB will be. It’ll be veteran quarterback Theo Landers. This will be the first time since Justin Dunk in 2009 that the Gryphons will be led by a 5th-year QB. Landers is 8-3 in regular season starts and has a 2-1 playoff record. Landers is a dual-threat QB who has been most effective when he both runs and passes. He has never looked his best when the game plan has been to keep him in the pocket.

QBs Dante Djan #1 and Theo Landers #17

♦ On several occasions in recent years I’ve lamented the lack of depth at the QB position. It has often appeared that the guiding principle of our offensive play calling has been not to get the #1 quarterback hurt. At the same time, our backup QBs have received virtually no playing time. 2019 looks different from other years in that most of the chairs in the QB meeting room should be full. I expect 3 returning QBs [Landers, Brayden Lassemba, Andrew Horscroft] and there are another 4 QBs in the recruiting class – Mason McGriskin, Kaidan Gilbert, Colin Dacyshyn,  and Laval-transfer Dante Djan. That would be a huge number but several have potential to play other positions. I know that some were recruited with the knowledge that a position change was a possibility.

♦ Other important position battles? I’d say the Will linebacker position previously occupied by All Canadian Luke Korol is one to watch. Then maybe the receiver positions. And don’t forget a new kicker/punter will also have to be found.

♦ Nicest surprise in the first two days of TC2019? Probably seeing that 2017 OUA All Rookie Sam LB Kosi Onyeka is back with the team after missing the 2018 season. Close after that would be the surprise of seeing that highly-rated CEGEP RB Jeremie-Grace Kankolongo is on the Gryphon roster. Kankolongo was the BC High School Player of the Year in 2016, then spent two years at Champlain-Lennoxville.

♦ There are just over 100 players on the roster. By my count there are 20 players in their 4th and 5th years of eligibility. I believe that would make this the most veteran team since the 2015 Yates Cup season.

https://twitter.com/GryphonFootball/status/1162480443209506823?s=20

My timeline for the 2019 Recruiting Class

With the 2018 recruiting class for the Gryphons having been the best in recent memory, I really hoped we could come close to doing that again. But, that class had been built under HC Kevin MacNeill with obvious help from Recruiting Coordinator Todd Galloway, and J-F Joncas opening the doors into Quebec’s CEGEPs.

With Galloway stepping into the interim-HC role for the 2019 season, we no longer had a full-time recruiting coordinator. Then, immediately after the season, J-F announced he was returning to Champlain-Lennoxville. When Guelph went into the Christmas break without a head coach and only six recruits, it was reasonable to lower one’s expectations for this recruiting class.

Ryan Sheahan was announced as the new Gryphon Football head coach on January 10. When I shared my thoughts on Sheahan’s hiring I concluded with,

• Recruiting has to be an immediate priority … there is lots of work still to be done. With a few months of recruiting remaining there is opportunity for Sheahan to have an impact.

Five of the 6 early recruits remained committed to the Gryphons through the uncertainty of November and December. Three of those enrolled in January. The one recruit who did decommit announced he was returning to high school for a 12B year.

Recruiting momentum was still slow to build with only 3 or 4 commitments in January. I’m sure that was due in part to the time it took for Coach Sheahan to assemble and announce his coaching staff.

Jumping ahead to late May, Gryphon Football introduced a solid class of 29 recruits.

Here are some excerpts from the announcements and stories –

The Gryphon Football website has a Rob Massey story – Freshman Day 2019

Head coach Ryan Sheahan is proud of the first recruiting class …

“I think it’s gone really well. We’ve made significant additions to the offensive and defensive lines and we’ve brought in a handful of good receivers. They’re talented. We’ve brought in some new quarterbacks and if you take a look across the field here, there’s some good size. We continue to make a dent in the CEGEP system and attract some very good athletes to pursue their academic endeavours outside of the province of Quebec.”

Gryphons.ca – Gryphon Football officially welcomes 2019 recruiting class

“We have some excellent additions, on both sides of the line of scrimmage,” said Gryphons head coach Ryan Sheahan. “A huge amount of credit needs to go to our coaching staff who helped us navigate this transition. We feel as though we have a nice combination of some eager and able young players coming in. Defensive lineman Josh Campbell was the CEGEP Lineman of the Year, Harrison Bagayogo is a talented, physical defensive back from Champlain-Lennoxville and we also have a pair of incoming rookies (receiver Spencer Kennedy and linebacker Kristian Stewart) from the No. 1-ranked high school football program in Canada (St. Thomas More – Hamilton). “

The Gryphons would go on to add another recruit from that #1-ranked STM team in June.

https://twitter.com/GryphonFootball/status/1142544067701747713?s=20

The CFC100-ranked Al-Khaldi had been committed to Carleton for 3 months before decommitting and signing with Guelph 2 weeks later.

Does that sound familiar?

Back on June 5, I wrote …

Kaine Stevenson becomes the second CFC Top100 ranked player to join the Gryphons recently. The other one being offensive lineman Matteo Kucinic [6’3″ 290 C/RT] out of Football North/Clarkson Secondary. Interestingly, both had previously committed elsewhere before switching to Guelph. (Emphasis added)

Stevenson originally signed an LOI with UBC 3 months ago. Kucinic committed and signed with Laurier back in January.

See the pattern?

The story in a nutshell: Guelph brings in a high-profile, young coach. He puts together a talented coaching staff. In a short period of time they build a solid recruiting class. Top prospects take notice and decide Guelph is where they want to be as well.

And it didn’t end there. Several talented players are transferring to Guelph from other U Sport schools including WR Abdraman Abdel-Rahim [Calgary], QB/WR Aidan McKeown [St Mary’s] and QB/TE Dante Djan [Laval]. All three are eligible to play in 2019.

So, what looked like a worrisomely small recruiting class at Christmas, grew into a solid, above-average OUA recruiting class by May and now has grown to 34 members, and  borders on elite. I think that is an excellent outcome under the circumstances and bodes very well for the future of the Sheahan era.

RECRUITS BY THE NUMBERS

BY POSITION

5 Quarterbacks, 3 of whom could play other positions

1 Running Back

7 Receivers

6 Offensive Linemen

4 Defensive Linemen

7 Linebackers

2 Defensive Backs

1 Kicker/Punter

BY GEOGRAPHY

6 products of Quebec’s CEGEP system [2 Ont natives]

1 Montreal native who played at an Ontario prep school

2 Calgary natives

1 American recruit

1 BCFC player returning to Ontario

 

Gryphons quick to replace departed DB coach

It was a little bit of a surprise to see that DB coach Mark Forsyth was part of the new Western Mustangs coaching staff announced last month. The veteran Forsyth, who came to Guelph after almost 30 years at McMaster, had coached Gryphon defensive backs since Spring 2017.

Forsyth joins former Gryphon coaches Kevin MacNeill (DL coach, Special Teams Coordinator & Recruiting Coordinator) and Adam Grandy (LB coach) on the Mustangs defensive staff and is reunited with Greg Marshall whom he worked with when Marshall was head coach at Mac.

Losing a top-notch coach like Forsyth late in the process could be problem. But with Donnavan Carter (Special Teams Coordinator) already on the staff I wasn’t too worried. Carter coached Gryphon DBs in 2016.

However, Coach Sheahan and DC McPhee went outside the current staff and hired former CFL defensive back Richard Karikari to replace Forsyth. KariKari was on the UofT staff last year along with Carter and OC Surya.

Karikari was a standout at StFX earning CIS All Canadian honours and a nomination for the Hec Crighton Trophy in 2002. He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2003 CFL Draft by the Montreal Alouettes. He was a 2005 CFL All Star. Karikari played in 4 Grey Cups during his 6 year CFL career, 3 appearances with the Alouettes and a GC victory with the Calgary Stampeders in 2008.

Richard Karikari #1 led the Alouettes with 9 interceptions, second in the CFL, in 2005

Richard Karikari is a busy man. He has owned and operated the Pickering Dolphins OPFL franchise since 2014 and he is currently the owner and founding director of Complete Sports Performance (CSP).

I like the fact that Karikari seems to fit the model that Coach Sheahan has used with most his hires – i.e. he combines excellent football knowledge and experience with the potential to be a large contributor to Gryphon recruiting.

Quick news hits – July 18/2019

♦ Royce Metchie making his 5th straight start for the CFL Stampeders

I noticed Metchie was the starting Safety for Calgary last week versus the Tiger-Cats. A quick check of the Stamps depth charts shows he has started every game this season including tonight’s game against the Argonauts.

There is one other Gryphon starter in the game and that’s veteran OL Ryan Bomben. I’m not going to try to figure out how many games the 10-year CFL vet has started. I’m sure it is 100+.

♦ Kickers are people too

In his 10th season with Calgary, Maver is the second longest-serving member of the current Stamps roster and he joins teammate Brandon Smith as part of a select group of just five current @CFL to play at least 150 games for a single team. Can you name the other 3 players?

— CFL Statistics & Football Information (@CFLFootballOps) July 19, 2019

♦ Annual FOGF Golf Tournament almost sold out

Next Friday 144 Gryphon alumni, coaches and supporters of the program are going to tee off in the annual Friends of Gryphon Football Golf Tournament. I feel pretty confident saying that since there were only 6 spaces left 24 hours ago. It sounds like tournament organizer George Bortolato has done a bang-up job securing sponsors, prizes and giveaways.

♦ Top “recruit” says Yes to Coach Sheahan

A huge congratulations goes out to our Head Coach, Ryan Sheahan, who got engaged last month to Jillian Farrow. Ryan popped the question on Jillian’s dock in Bobcaygeon, her favourite place in the world. She said YES! Congratulations Coach and Jillian! We wish you a lifetime of happiness.

♦ Sheahan hires new S&C Coach

Former U Sport and CFL defensive end Adam Kania is the football program’s new Strength & Conditioning Coach. The Burlington native replaces Shea Pierre. Since his football career ended, Kania has acquired more than a decade of experience in fitness and personal training. He is in charge of the Gryphons off-season training program.

 

UPDATE: I meant to mention that the Gryphons have a record number of players staying in Guelph this summer. That is a real positive. Even more important, among them are returning CFL draft picks Eric Starczala and Job Reinhart. That is a real bonus. They bring not only talent and experience at OL and LB but veteran leadership.

//

CFL Riders add Gryphon to practice roster

We have announced the following roster moves:

ADDED TO THE PRACTICE ROSTER:
·National K, Gabriel Ferraro pic.twitter.com/o4BRKnI0a0

— Saskatchewan Roughriders (@sskroughriders) July 3, 2019

If you have read the comments on this blog recently, you’ll know I predicted this would happen,

… Gabe is a free agent after being released by the Stamps.
I expect he will get a shot with another team before too long.

Less than 3 weeks later the Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed Ferraro to their practice roster.

You can read more in 3DownNation‘s story …

Riders sign USports record holder, Canadian kicker Gabriel Ferraro

15 Gryphons on CFL rosters to begin the 2019 season

The CFL season is underway. I’m watching Saskatchewan at Hamilton right now.

Congratulations to Lukas Korol on playing in his first CFL game tonight with the Ticats. He moved from the practice roster to the active roster just yesterday.

According to this tweet Guelph now ranks 3rd among all U Sports schools for graduating players to the CFL.

https://twitter.com/jonathanwhudson/status/1138634258774282240

 

By my count there are actually 15 Gryphons on CFL rosters heading into Week 1. They are grouped together on 5 teams.

OTTAWA RedBlacks

OL Andrew Pickett
WR Jacob Scarfone

TORONTO Argonauts

OL Ryan Bomben
LS Jake Reinhart
DL Jeff Finley
WR Alex Charette
OL Eric Starczala *

HAMILTON Tiger-Cats

LB Curtis Newton
LB Lukas Korol
DE Cameron Walker [practice roster]

WINNIPEG Blue Bombers

FB John Rush
RB Johnny Augustine [practice roster]

CALGARY Stampeders

P Rob Maver
DB Royce Metchie
OL Jaylan Guthrie [practice roster]

* Starczala is an interesting case with the Argonauts. He is still listed on their active roster but a June 7 transaction said he had been “suspended” by the team which would clear the way for him to return to Guelph for his final season of eligibility. Another 2019 draft pick, LB/LS Job Reinhart, was similarly “suspended” by the Stampeders. Suspending a rookie allows the player to return to U Sports while the CFL club that drafted him retains his rights.

If Starczala was counted in the total of 14, then it was probably Jeff Finley who was missed. Finley’s name does not appear on the roster when you look at the Argos website. But again, when I checked the transaction wire I found this …

Whether the number is 14 versus 15 is actually irrelevant. Either way Guelph is 3rd among U Sports schools at producing CFL talent.

The two vets in that group are Rob Maver and Ryan Bomben who have been in the league since 2010. The remaining players have made it into the league since 2014.

Looking back, receiver David McKoy played for Saskatchewan in 2007 & 2008. Mike O’Shea retired from the Argonauts in 2008, ending his 16-year career.

As recently as 2009 there were no Gryphons in the CFL.

Moving from zero to 14/15 CFL Gryphons is amazing and says a lot about what Stu Lang has done for Gryphon Football.

New Head Coach Stu Lang is introduced – April 2010

Gryphons add CFC 1st Team All Canadian to 2019 recruiting class

Before I could even finish my analysis of the 29-member 2019 recruiting class, introduced on May 25, Coach Sheahan and his staff have added one more recruit. And, a very good one at that.

https://twitter.com/GryphonFootball/status/1136045764805890053

Kaine Stevenson becomes the second CFC Top100 ranked player to join the Gryphons recently. The other one being offensive lineman Matteo Kucinic [6’3″ 290 C/RT] out of Football North/Clarkson Secondary. Interestingly, both had previously committed elsewhere before switching to Guelph.

Stevenson originally signed an LOI with UBC 3 months ago. Kucinic committed and signed with Laurier back in January. Both schools were thrilled to announce those signings.

#BlueChip .. Windsor, ON athlete gives the nod .. Kaine Stevenson starred at powerhouse WF Herman SS .. then at the junior level with @WestshoreRebels .. big potential as a slot receiver but also from the backfield .. pic.twitter.com/Aj1KPItWR8

— Blake Nill (@CoachNill) March 5, 2019

BOOM! Hyped to start 2019 off with BIG recruiting news with the commitment of #CFC100 OL @kucinic_matteo, 6'3 285pds of @FootballNorthca to @LaurierFootball #TakeFlight2019 pic.twitter.com/46buTZW1Wp

— Dwayne Cameron (@CoachDCameron) January 4, 2019

These additions bring the total of CFC Top100 [or Top60 in the case of CEGEP & JUCO players] to six. DT Joshua Campbell, QB Mason McGriskin, LB Kristian Stewart and LB Scott Murray are the others.

While Kucinic was ranked among the Top 100 prospects for 2019, Stevenson earned that distinction coming out of WF Herman SS in 2017. Stevenson was also named a CFC 1st Team All Canadian in his final season at Herman, as the top FB/H-Back/TE prospect in the country. Stevenson was a 3-time All City player, a 5-time WECSSA champion, a 3-time OFSSA champion, while also being a multi-year honour roll student. Stevenson was a team MVP in basketball and football.

The past two seasons Stevenson has played for the Westshore Rebels in the BCFC of the CJFL. With the Rebels Stevenson caught 46 passes for 634 yards and ran the ball 26 times for 254 yards. He added another 535 yards as a kick returner.

Given the added maturity and experience he possesses two years out of high school, along with the natural talent evident in his highlights, Stevenson looks like a player who can contribute quickly.

I agree with Coach Nill that Stevenson has “big potential as a slot receiver” and also the versatility to move in and out of the backfield. He looks like the kind of weapon that OC Mark Surya won’t have any trouble finding a role for.

Look for more of my thoughts on the entire 2019 recruiting class to be posted soon.

East-West Bowl Game Day Thread

I’m enough of a U Sports Football junkie that I really look forward to this annual game. I attended my first one at the brand new Ron Joyce Stadium in May 2008. I watched my son play in the 2011 game along with Mike Millar and Saxon Lindsey, and went back to London to watch the 2012 game as well.

Last year, I watched the on-line version of the game from Laval University via Facebook Live. It was a truly professional broadcast with Justin Dunk and Mark Lee handling the commentary and play-by-play. They are back again on this year’s broadcast which will be streamed via usports.live.

The link to the game is in the tweet below, as is the link for the live stats.

Game Day / Jour de match!

🏈East-West Bowl / Défi Est-Ouest
⏰12:30 p.m. ET / 12h30 HE
📍MNP Park, @CURavens
🎟️https://t.co/dMofsrI3Gr
💻https://t.co/pb284tLtKa
🎙️@MLeePxP & @JDunk12
🗞️@USPORTS_FB
📈https://t.co/4n9Z5XyUoL pic.twitter.com/Aa68AsFWqk

— U SPORTS (@USPORTSca) May 11, 2019

*     *     *

There are 4 Gryphons particpating – OL Coulter Woodmansey, DE Carter Wilson, DB Dotun Aketepe and WR Kian Shaffer-Baker.

https://twitter.com/GryphonFootball/status/1127007243369627648

*     *     *

Well, my plan to watch the game seems to be going down the drain with the U Sports broadcast unavailable in English or en francaise.

Viewers in at least four other provinces are all seeing the same message I do.

Are you actually watching it? This is what I'm getting from USPORTS live… pic.twitter.com/iiwyIeCDZO

— Jim Mullin 🇺🇦 (@Jim_MullinTV) May 11, 2019

The Live Stats do work.

Apparently, Guelph’s Kian Shaffer-Baker caught a pass for a 45-yd touchdown on the 2nd play of the game to give the West team a quick 7-0 lead.

Good news! The broadcast is now working on the U Sports site. I’ve heard it’s also on Youtube.com.

My other frustration, the fact I don’t know the jersey numbers of the Gryphon players, continues.

Kian Shaffer-Baker led all receivers with 5 catches for 125 yds & a long TD, boosting his draft stock.
Gryphon defenders Carter Wilson (2) and Dotun Aketepe (1) recorded tackles. https://t.co/IDqpph4Eye

— Brad Duncan (@petergryphon) May 11, 2019

Final Score: West 35 East 17

Recap –

The 2019 #EastWestBowl finished yesterday with a 35-17 West victory. @ConnorRONeil has your standouts as we look towards the 2019 #USPORTS season and 2020 #CFLDraft class. #CFL

MORE: https://t.co/V5beaQsJR2 pic.twitter.com/bFSO0CCMVh

— CFPerspective (@CFPerspective) May 13, 2019

From the CFPerspective story talking about the game’s standout players …

WR Kian Schaffer-Baker – Guelph Gryphons – Team West

While the talk all week about a receiver to watch was centred around Waterloo product Tyler Ternowski, it was Gryphon’s receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker who stole the show.

Schaffer-Baker was his Quaterbacks best friend in Saturday’s action. Schaffer-Baker was the most targeted (6) receiver for team West hauling in 5 receptions for 126 yards.

Some observations on Spring Camp 2019

3 defenders trying to bring down #28 J-P Cimankinda Photo:Gryphons.ca

Spring camp was a 5-day event – April 21-25 – that culminated with a scrimmage on Friday. By waiting until exams were over Coach Sheahan and his staff had the full attention of their players.

The days were busy ones with meetings, therapy and film sessions just like training camp. The extra time was valuable since August training camps in the OUA have been cut from 17 to 10 days. [A terrible decision from my perspective.]

I made it to Guelph to watch the scrimmage. I made a few mental notes but generally forgot to take pictures. I attempted a few video clips, few of which didn’t begin or end with my feet. Coach Sheahan was respectful enough to respond to a few questions via email. His answers are the quotes in blue text that follow.

“I was very pleased with our efforts and execution during this camp.  This was a culmination of an off-season filled with effort  … overall the team did a great job grasping a lot of the ‘new’ on all sides of the ball.  We saw some veteran leadership and some new faces emerge as contributors to our football team.  I’m excited for the fall.”

I have to agree about the effort and execution. There was a high level of effort while there were no obvious signs that the team was struggling with the new playbook. If anything impacted the execution it was the high winds. I doubt we saw as many “deep shots” being taken down field as we would have under better conditions. It was a tough day to throw the ball consistently.

As far as new players emerging, a couple that caught my attention were Jake Bennett, a  redshirt freshman receiver out of North Vancouver’s Handsworth Secondary, and Justin Lauzon, a 2019 linebacker recruit from Quebec’s St-Jean CEGEP. Lauzon was one of three CEGEP recruits who enrolled in January.

Bennett looks both quick and fast. He’s still a little on the skinny side but he is an exciting runner after he catches the ball. Lauzon is short and stocky. He looks mature physically and made some big plays for the defense.

#3 Justin Lauzon wraps up running back #2 Jamal Hooker       Photo:LaurelJarvis/GryphonAthletics

*     *     *

“I was impressed the way the Quarterbacks progressed.  We brought a new playbook to Guelph, and it has taken a winter to implement it.  The QB’s got progressively better as the week went on.”

I’m glad Sheahan is happy with the QB play. For me, that is the number one area I hope we see an improvement based on his hiring. He had a reputation for getting the most out of his QBs in Calgary.

My biggest concern right now, with respect to quarterbacks, is that there were only two  playing – Theo Landers and Brayden Lassemba, last year’s starter and backup. I thought both were generally throwing the ball well. Many of the incompletions were related to the wind. Each one had a nice run for good yardage that resulted from some  slick ball fakes.

Neither of last year’s freshmen QBs played. Michael Scarfone [Scout Team Offensive Player of the Year] was on the sideline in street clothes after re-injuring the knee he hurt in high school earlier in the week. As I understand it, the other freshman QB, Andrew Horscroft, missed all of camp with an injury. Horscroft had a shoulder injury prior to his arriving at his rookie training camp. It kept him off the practice field until October. If it is the same problem I hope it doesn’t end his career.

You’d like to have 5 or 6 healthy quarterbacks on the roster. Any less and you’re going to have potential problems. Currently, Guelph has two healthy veterans and two incoming freshmen QBs. Ideally, you’d like to know that one or both of Scarfone and Horscroft will be ready to go in August. If not, IMHO the Gryphons could use another QB, be he a recruit, a transfer or a returning player like 2017 freshman Deandre Rose.

Offensive line has been a place where we’ve had number issues in some previous Spring camps. I think Guelph went to a Spring scrimmage at Laurier with just 6 OLs a couple years ago. That isn’t an issue this year. There were plenty of big bodies available.

The really good news w.r.t the O-Line is that the new head coach thinks …

“I felt that our offensive line looked very impressive.  They demonstrated their ability to move the line of scrimmage and protect the passer.  That being said, I also really enjoyed the aggressive demeanor of our defensive front.  They won their fair share of battles as well.”

O-Line Coach Mike MacDonald agreed, saying … “[The] scrimmage to finish Spring Camp was terrific. Both squads of Oline played their butts off. Big progress during the week. Can’t wait for August!”

This is something I’m really happy about. There is always potential for a big drop when you are losing multiple starters, probably 3, from your offensive line. For the O-Line to impress the new HC is great news. In addition to Coulter Woodmansey and Ben Petrie, there are several returning OLs who have a fair bit of experience. Liam LaPointe started several games in his first year. Spencer Swan saw lots of action. Spencer Masterson dressed all year. One new face who looked like he will contribute early is Matt Famuwera of Champlain-Lennoxville.

Tough Up Front

“As the Head Coach I like the fact that we’ll be tough up front.”

Here are several clips of the action at the line-of-scrimmage. In the first one, the O-Line creates a nice hole for running back J-P Cimankinda to bust a 15+ yard run. The RG [Ben Petrie?] gets up-field and puts a LB on his butt.

 

From what I saw in the scrimmage Cimankinda’s late season emergence was no flash-in-the-pan. He looks like he is ready to pick up where he left off, and take it up a notch. The depth at RB is exciting with Juwan Jeffery and Richard Morris, plus Kwame Osei returning in August.

The next two clips [courtesy of Sofija Jelacic] are pass plays. In each, the D-Line does get push up field but the O-line keeps Theo clean long enough to throw. The D brings a 4-man rush in the first clip, then adds a blitzing LB in the second. DT #59 Jeremy Kapelinski, who almost gets to Theo in one of the clips, was the most disruptive defensive lineman that I saw in the scrimmage.

 

 

More on Spring Camp

Rob Massey’s story on gryphonfootball.com – Spring Camp 2019

“I thought it was super positive,” head coach Ryan Sheahan said following the camp-ending scrimmage. “Rome was definitely not built in a day and the fact that all the players I inherited and the new staff I recruited and the new recruits that were here watching, we’re all starting to come together as a family. It’s been new play books, new people, new faces and new attitude and we were able to go out there and move the football, sack the quarterback and make a few plays on both sides of the ball. I was really pleased. Even in these conditions — I thought I left Calgary’s weather behind, but it followed me here.”

Gryphons.ca – Spring Camp Recap

Gryphon Athletics photo gallery – 82 photos