With less than one week remaining before the start of the 2010 OUA regular season, the uOttawa Gee-Gees hit the road Wednesday morning to take on the Sherbrooke Vert et Or in their one and only exhibition game of the pre-season.
With a solid core of returning players, led by new head coach Jean-Philippe Asselin, the Gee-Gees have all the reason to be excited for the upcoming season. Following a successful 6-2 regular season in 2009 under previous head coach Denis Piché - whose dedication and commitment to the uOttawa football program laid the foundation for this year's powerful team - the Gee-Gees look just as promising as they prepare to compete for the for the ultimate possession: the Vanier Cup.
Here is a glimpse at the 2010 Gee-Gees team.
Offensively, fourth year quarterback Bradley Sinopoli returns to lead last year's third ranked CIS offense, after spending a week with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats during their training camp this summer. Third year Aaron Colbon and freshman American Alex Lundström will push Sinopoli during camp. Running back Brendan Gillanders returns a year older and will look to build on his successful rookie season in the backfield, with Franck Marvel-Ngandui and Mark Stephenson also to be counted on. With the departure of veteran fullback Craig Bearss, fourth year Alexander Morrison will be looked at to fill these shoes, while third year Rob O'Shea and freshmen Demetri Dalekos and David Levell will provide some competition for Morrison during camp.
The receiving core is a talented group with lots of depth that should provide the offense with a lot of weapons. Fifth year seniors Cyril Adjeitey, Matthew Bolduc and Steven Hughes will be joined by third year Alex Fortier-Labonté and Ezra Millington to lead the receiver core. Acadia transfer Jordyn Andric will add to the depth of this strong group. The offensive line will be anchored by fifth year seniors Patrick D'Amico and Philippe David as well as veterans Nick Randall and Shavin Fernando. Sophomores Laurence Landry-Boisvert, Taylor Servais and Zach Garner will be looked at to step in and push for a starting job during camp. Freshmen Mathieu Chartrand, David Berardi and Fred Casselman should add to an already solid offensive line.
Defensively, the Gee-Gees will be looking for great things in 2010. Fifth year Sébastien Tétreault will be joined by newcomer Queen's transfer Kevin Magee, fourth year Eric Chibuluzo, fourth year Brandon Lowe, and third year Sean Quinn as the anchors of the interior defensive line. Newcomers Alexis Patenaude and Adam Valchuk will help form this unit into dominate force this season. Roberto Almonte, Yousef Lekadir, and Samuel Leblanc-Robert will provide the leadership for a talented group of defensive ends. With the departure of Mike Cornell to the CFL's Calgary Stampeders, the linebackers group will look to veterans James McNaughton and Tyler Sawyer for inspiration and leadership. Third year Trevor Seal and second year Robert Griffiths will be pushing hard for playing time this season as well Concordia transfer Dimitri Aramouni will add some physical play to an already physical group. Freshmen Nick Lecour, Ryan Walker and Pier-Yves Lavergne will be looked at to compete for playing time right away.
As for the defensive backs, this young group took a big step in 2009 and expects even bigger things this season. Fifth year seniors Chayce Elliott and Lee Shaver will be counted on to provide leadership for this young group. The Gee-Gees are also expecting big things from third year Chris Daly, and second year Soonbum Cha. A great recruiting class this off-season has brought highly recruited Randy Williams and Ashton Beaudry to the garnet and grey, all of whom should be able to compete for playing time this season.
Third year Matthew Falvo returns and is looking for an All-Canadian season as the Gee-Gees kicker and punter.
The Gee-Gees football training camp officially opened last Friday, August 20, and the garnet and grey have since been working hard in preparation for the 2010 season. They will look to start things off with a win tonight at the University of Sherbrooke Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
