RECRUIT PROFILE: Hometown talent Charles Asselin commits to Gee-Gees football

The Gee-Gees football team bolstered their ground attack with the commitment of tailback Charles Asselin to their 2022 recruiting class.

A highly-touted Ottawa product who received attention from a number of schools, Asselin will be staying home to continue his football career with the University of Ottawa.

"I feel like everything I've worked on – school, football, training – has led to this point," said Asselin. "But this is also a stepping stone. I'm only going to go up from here and I feel like it's the starting point to doing great things."

"We are very pleased to add Charles to the Gee-Gee family," said Gee-Gees head coach Marcel Bellefeuille. "He epitomizes what it means to be a student-athlete. Our team has definitely improved with this signing."

Also capable of playing slotback, Asselin starred with the Nepean Broncos during the 2021 season, helping his team to an undefeated regular season.

Standing at 5'11, 190 lbs., Asselin returned to Ottawa for the 2021 season after spending time at Collège Bourget in Rigaud, Que. Prior to his time with Bourget, he was a member of the Ottawa Sooners Junior Varsity program.

Aiming to be an Economics and Public Policy major, Asselin is no stranger to the University of Ottawa, having attended camps at the university while growing up in the city.

"I've been familiar with the football team and I feel it's the best spot for me," said Asselin. "It's like a 'home' feeling. Then obviously there's the coaching staff and there's some great programs that I want to get into here.

"I'm someone who's pretty humble; I let my game do the talking. I'm going to work as hard as I can and that's something I told Marcel."

There will also be a familiar face on the coaching staff for Asselin when he takes the field in Garnet and Grey. One of his first football coaches as a child, Aldège Bellefeuille, played with the Gee-Gees in the early 1990s and is now the team's Football Operations Manager. 

"Aldège Bellefeuille was my first coach when I was playing with the Orleans Bengals, he taught me how to play football," reflected Asselin. "I thank my coaches this year and the coaches with the Gee-Gees for giving me the opportunity to play at the next level."

Asselin will aim to continue the program's tradition of having a strong ground attack. The team finished third in the OUA with 155.8 rushing yards per game in 2021.

Historically, the Gee-Gees have done well when recruiting running backs from the nation's capital. Mike Murphy, Darren Joseph, Carlo Disipio and Brendan Gillanders all hail from the National Capital Region and find their names etched in the program's record book, while 2021 leading rusher J-P Cimankinda is also from Ottawa.