Dinos announce 2017 recruiting class: Defensive line, 3 CFC100”s

CALGARY – Ahead of this weekend’s Spring Camp at McMahon Stadium, the University of Calgary Dinos football team is pleased to announce its recruiting class for the 2017 season.

Today, we introduce nine defensive linemen who have committed to the Dinos, part of the overall recruiting class of 45 that is one of the strongest in Dinos history and made up almost entirely of players from Calgary and Southern Alberta.

Five of the nine linemen hail from Calgary, with one each from Cochrane, Alta.; Red Deer; St. Albert, Alta.; and Vernon, B.C. It is an excellent group that will fill upcoming holes in the lineup from the graduation of some of the Dinos’ stalwarts in the trenches.

“This group is tall and fast,” said Dinos Head Coach Wayne Harris. “We thought this was an outstanding group to bring in as we graduate some players over the next couple of years, and we think they will do a great job in the future for us. We were looking for speed as well as long, quick players who can chase down quarterbacks and stay strong against the run, and we believe we have found that with this group.”

The class is led by CFC100 Justin Sambu, who was the No. 11-ranked recruit in the nation in 2016. A Cochrane High School grad, Sambu played for the Calgary Colts as a 17-year-old in 2016 and will make the jump to the U SPORTS level with the Dinos this fall, bringing his 6-foot-3, 265-pound frame into the defensive box. He is a veteran of provincial and national competition, including a starting role on Canada’s 2016 International Bowl squad that defeated the USA high school all-stars in Arlington, Texas.

Also a product of Cochrane High’s outstanding football program, the Dinos welcome Dylan Gingrich-Hadley. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound lineman won three provincial 3A championships with the Cobras and was a multi-sport athlete, playing lacrosse as well as basketball.

Two more members of the Henry Wise Wood Warriors join the Dinos along the defensive line with Brigham ‘Moose’ Wilson and Tyrese Best-Fox. Wilson has an impressive list of credentials, including a Calgary high school Division I all-star honour last year, and represented Alberta at the 2016 Canada Cup and Canada at the 2015 International Bowl. Best-Fox, meanwhile, is a CFC100 recruit standing 6-foot-4, 230 pounds.

From the provincial 4A champion St. Francis Browns, Curtis Prime will follow with family tradition to attend the University of Calgary. Prime is the grandson of legendary Calgary broadcaster Ken Newans, who was the Voice of the Dinos at McMahon Stadium for decades, and he’ll bring the championship pedigree the Browns are renowned for to the red and gold.

Calgary reached into the B.C. interior to find Josh Hyer, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound graduate of Vernon Secondary School. He’ll join a former teammate, LB Carson Labrecque, on the UCalgary roster, and his skill set has been compared to current Dinos All-Canadian Cory Robinson.

Salim Fraser was the 2016 defensive MVP and a division all-star with Calgary’s Sir Winston Churchill High School who played at a high level in bantam football, winning a provincial title. He stands 6-foot-3, 235 pounds.

Jacob Plamondon is a 6-foot-3, 220-pound lineman out of Red Deer’s Notre Dame High School who turned heads at the Dinos’ development camp two years ago. In his senior year at Notre Dame, he played on both sides of the ball, taking reps at tight end and slotback on offence. He was a Calgary Midget Football League all-star and scholarship winner who gets off the ball well and is a great pass rusher, and is a CFC100 recruit.

Rounding out the recruiting class along the defensive line is Connor Lotoski, a graduate of St. Albert Catholic High School in the Edmonton suburb. Lotoski will join former Dino and reigning Grey Cup champion Tanner Doll as University of Calgary players from St. Albert Catholic.

Spring Camp gets underway Friday at McMahon with the first practice beginning at 10 a.m. The weekend wraps up Sunday with the annual scrimmage at 12:30 p.m.

Defensive Line
CFC100 Best-Fox, Tyrese / Henry Wise Wood HS / Calgary
Fraser, Salim / Sir Winston Churchill HS / Calgary
Gingrich-Hadley, Dylan / Cochrane HS / Cochrane, Alta.
Hyer, Josh / Vernon Secondary / Vernon, B.C.
Lotoski, Connor / St. Albert Catholic HS / St. Albert, Alta.
CFC100 Plamondon, Jacob / Notre Dame HS / Red Deer, Alta.
Prime, Curtis / St. Francis HS / Calgary
CFC100 Sambu, Justin / Calgary Colts / Calgary
Wilson, Brigham ‘Moose’ / Henry Wise Wood HS / Calgary

Source: Calgary Dinos