McGill increases its defensive core with recent commits.
The McGill Redmen are stocking up on defensive backs, having brought in Markens Valcourt from John Abbott College, Guillaume Beland and Vincent Morissette from CollĆØge AndrĆ©-Grasset to their 2017 class.
Markens Valcourt
Courtesy of Markens Valcourt.
Coming from MontrĆ©al, QuĆ©bec, Markens Valcourt would have been already familiar with McGill University. āThe prestige associated with McGill was very appealing,ā he said. ā(Same with) the amount of opportunities in the job market it will bring after getting my diploma (in economics.ā
The young status of the team was also a highlight for the 5ā1, 180lbs Valcourt. He said that because many of the players are going into their second year, he will have the same teammates for most of his years with the Redmen. He added that, āThe young coaching staff is building something solid for the years to come.ā
āMcGill has a young, energetic and passionate coaching staff. Some of them even played together, which creates an obvious bond between them. They are brining this team in the right direction and Iād like to be apart of it.ā
While courting a recruit is important, for Valcourt, interacting with his family is also holds significance. āThe coaching staff knew how important it was for me to get my family involved and they did their best to communicate with them. They met my uncle who lives in Toronto. They kept in touch throughout the whole recruiting process, which was greatly appreciated,ā he said.
The two-year John Abbott College Islander (RSEQ Division 2) has been apart of several teams in his career. Prior to the Islanders, he played with Les Faucons de Dorval Jean-XXIII (RSEQ) for two seasons. He also spent a year in the North Shore Football League, four with the A-Ma-Baie Eagles and Alouettes (Linge de Football Senior) and two with the Pointe-Saint-Charles Aces (Lingue de Football MontrƩal-MƩtro).
In 2008, he won a provincial championship with A-Ma-Baie, one with North Shore in 2011 and a regional championship with Les Faucons in 2013.
Guillaume Beland
Guillaume Beland ($35). Courtesy of Guillaume Beland.
Guillaume Beland is also from MontrĆ©al, although he spent his cĆ©gep career with Les PhĆ©nix du CollĆØge AndrĆ©-Grasset (RSEQ Division 1) after five years with Les Cactus du CollĆØge Notre-Dame (RSEQ). He was drawn to McGill because of the academics, football program and the coaching staff. He added that he is interested in business.
āThis football program has a great future,ā he said. āThe coaching staff is composed of talented and motivated coaches that surely want to win. (Iām) very excited to work with them.ā
The 5ā10, 160lbs football player was named as an all-star in 2014, the same year he won a Bol dāOr as a captain with Notre-Dame. He participated in the 2015 Bol dāOr with Les PhĆ©nix where he also acted as a captain. His pass-deflection talents have been recognized by the RSEQ when he was named to the Record Top 10 for deflected passes in one season.
Vincent Morissette
Vincent Morissette. By Ron Hilaire.
Beland will be joined by his Les PhĆ©nix teammate, Vincent Morissette. In his high school career, this MontrĆ©aler played with Les Aigles du CollĆØge Jean-Eudes (RSEQ).
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