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August 30, 2016

U of M Bisons Season Preview

It’s early – before the ball has been snapped for real early – and yet University of Manitoba Bisons head coach Brian Dobie is already discovering a ton about his 2016 squad that has him gleefully rubbing his hands together.

This year’s team may have been stung by some offseason losses – David Onyemata to the New Orleans Saints being the biggest – but there’s a team-first, selfless approach to this bunch that was already on display in a 50-7 preseason victory over UBC last week in Victoria.

Dobie uses the story of Braiden Watson as an example to hammer home this point. Watson, a 6-3, 290-pound product of Miles MacDonell Collegiate, was preparing for his second season along the offensive line when the coaches approached him with an idea: after losing Onyemata, Shahpour Birjandian (who decided to focus on school) and another player along the defensive line due to academic reasons, they needed him to move across the line of scrimmage.

Brian Dobie

“We sat him down and asked him if he would take one for the team and move to nosetackle,” said Dobie at a season launch press conference this week. “He didn’t blink. He said, ‘Coach, whatever you need me to do…’

“That kid had a great camp and went out and played a tremendous football game. And he’s just learning to play defensive tackle. He played with heart and soul and purpose. That’s just the beginning of that for him. He solved a problem for us.”

Dobie and the rest of his staff weren’t sure what they had with this team when they headed west to play the T-Birds last week. But they got some answers on the coast, both positionally and in the big picture.

“We’ve lost a number of players and we didn’t know how that would translate on both sides of the ball,” said Dobie. “But the combination of some very key recruits and some veterans who were in back-up roles last year and now get their opportunities means I really like this team. I like its attitude. I think its signature is its motor.”

Alex Vitt

The receiving corps lost Alex Vitt (a Winnipeg Blue Bomber draft pick) to graduation and starting tailback Jamel Lyles, who left the program after one year for the B.C. junior football conference. But six starters will return on the offensive side of the ball and 10 on defence.

And to hear the players who remain tell it, the fresh blood Dobie & Co. have brought in has only served to make this team stronger.

“We don’t feel threatened by losing guys, we feel energized by the guys we have and the guys we’ve brought in,” said quarterback Theo Deezar, the St. Paul’s High School product who returns for his second season as starter.

“It’s just a bunch of good guys. It’s hard to really explain how that affects football, but it’s the attitude in the locker room, it’s the attitude at practice. It builds and it feeds itself. That will be what carries us further than last year. Last year… we didn’t fall apart, it’s just we didn’t feel as cohesive. In one game I would say we’ve already come together more than we did in eight games last year. I’m not sure if it’s because of the new recruits or just the way the leaders have stepped up, but it’s fun to watch.

“We’ve just got a special group of guys this year.”

 

BISONS FYI

Last year: 5-3, 3rd in Canada West; lost in Hardy Cup Semifinal to UBC.
Hardy Cup Championships (Canada West): 11, last in 2014
Vanier Cup Championships (National champs): 3, last in 2007
Head coach: Brian Dobie (21st season as head coach); career record: 84-74-1

Key departures:

DT David Onyemata (New Orleans Saints); RB Jamel Lyles (Westshore Rebels, BCFC): SB Alex Vitt, OL Alex McKay, OL Nevin Gamblin, LB/DB Brett MacFarlane, LB/DB Mitchell Harrison (graduation); DL Shahpour Birjandian (stepped away to focus on school).

Key additions:

  • WR Derek Yachison: Winnipeg product who played the last four years with the Kamloops Broncos and attended three B.C. Lions training camps. The 2015 CJFL Outstanding Offensive Player of the Year; two-time CJFL All-Canadian.
  • OL Anthony Daley: Spent the last four years with the Langley Rams of the BCFC. A 6-3, 315-pound man mountain.
  • DB Marcel Arruda-Welch: Superb athlete out of Garden City Collegiate who was the Potter Division AAA Defensive Player of the Year.
  • DL Brock Gowanlock: Another addition from the Langley Rams. Had 14.5 sacks last year and was named a CJFL All-Canadian.


The QB:

  • Theo Deezar: Attended Blue Bombers training camp. A 6-5, 230-pound pocket passer who averaged 371 yards passing per game a year ago.


Keep an eye on:

  • LB DJ Lalama: A draft pick of the Edmonton Eskimos, Lalama opted to return to school after camp. Also attended New York Giants mini camp.
  • DL Evan Foster: A conference all-star for two straight seasons at end, Foster is an all-over-the-field defender. The defensive MVP of the East-West Bowl game in 2016.
  • RB Alex Christie: He was the Bisons ball boy when they won the Vanier Cup in 2007 and the last guy Dobie signed during his recruiting year a few seasons ago. Will now be the starter with the departure of Lyles.


FYI:

The Bisons named their seven team captains on Tuesday: among them Deezar, Christie, Foster and Lalama as well as OL Geoff Gray, DB Cam Teschuk and safety Tyler Fong.

University of Manitoba Bisons' quarterback Theo Deezar caries the ball against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds', during the first half of their game, Saturday, September 19, 2015. (TREVOR HAGAN/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

BISONS 2016 SCHEDULE

Game 1: Calgary @ Bisons, Thursday, Sept. 1st, 7 p.m., Investors Group Field

Game 2: Bisons @ Regina, Thursday, Sept. 8th, 8 p.m., Mosaic Stadium

Game 3: Alberta @ Bisons, Friday, Sept. 16th, 7 p.m., Investors Group Field

Game 4: Saskatchewan @ Bisons (Homecoming Game), Saturday, Sept. 24th, Investors Group Field

Game 5: Bisons @ UBC, Friday, Sept. 30th, 8 p.m., Thunderbird Stadium

Conference bye, Oct. 8th

Game 6: Bisons @ Calgary, 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14th, McMahon Stadium

Game 7: Bisons @ Alberta, 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 22nd, Foote Field

Game 8: Regina at Bisons (Seniors Game), Saturday, Oct. 29th, 8 p.m., Investors Group Field