York Lions ready for 2012 season

Last year was a complete roster overhaul as head coach Warren Craney brought in more than 50 new players as part of his first major recruiting class. Many of them stepped into starting jobs right away, and the Lions featured one of the youngest teams in the country with 18 starters on the regular dress roster.
‘Young’ is still the theme this year as another 40 players were added to the team in the off-season and many of the players considered veterans are in just their second year. However, the team continues to improve every time it takes the field and the Lions are moving in the right direction. Expectations are high that this squad will build upon last year’s successes.
“Our expectations for this season are to compete on every single snap, and we are going to fight for every inch on the field,” said Craney. “If we can do that, I know we can be competitive and claw our way to the upper tier of the OUA.”
The biggest addition this summer was at quarterback, where three-year NCAA veteran Myles Gibbon stepped into the starting job and will lead an experienced group that is looking to put more points on the board.
“Our offence is more experienced and is definitely our oldest group,” said Craney. “Our offensive line is still young, but our receivers are very veteran, we are likely going to be starting two fifth-year running backs and the whole group is led by Myles. I expect the offence to lead the way for the team this year.”
Gibbon will have plenty of talented targets down field this season and together, they will make the team’s passing game much more dangerous. Third-year receiver Nathaniel Griffith has turned into a tremendous leader and will be the cornerstone of the group, while fellow vets Jonelle Tolbert and Jesse Murtonprovide the experience at the position.
The receiving corps will also benefit from the return of Lashane Oldacre, a converted quarterback who transitioned to receiver in the off-season. He has working on the little pieces of his game and improved tremendously in training camp and the coaches are expecting him to be a huge threat.
Sophomore Devontae Hobbs will see an increased role this year, and the rookies who will challenge for playing time include Andrew Schultz and Ryan Dunaway.
There will be two new faces in the backfield this season but neither of them are strangers to the CIS. Ryan Rowe rejoined the team after taking a year off and has worked extremely hard to fight his way back into the starting line-up. He was impressive throughout spring camp and the most recent training camp and will look to transition that play to the regular season.
He will share the spot with Kyle Exume, who previously played for Bishop’s University in the RSEQ. After spending 2011 on a CFL practice roster, he selected York for his final year of eligibility and will provide leadership in the locker room in addition to talent on the football field.
The offensive line is where the offence is still very young. Last year’s unit featured six new faces and while many of them have returned this season, they are still learning the position and on the rise towards their peak. The group is led by Max Sullivan, who started all eight games as a rookie last year and became an immediate leader. He has the potential to move to the next level in the CFL when his playing career at York is complete and big things are expected of him.
Next to him will be Jordyn Moore, another second-year player who improved significantly in his rookies season last year. He is a big, strong player who will be instrumental in protecting Gibbon on the field.
They will be joined by a number of other good players who will help build towards the future, most notably Grant Ellis and Preston Baird, who will both be competing for a starting job right from the beginning.
The Lions’ exciting, dynamic offence will be completed on the other side of the ball by a defence that promises to be aggressive.
The strongest group on the defence is the linebackers, led by the team’s reigning MVP, Hussein Hazime, who emerged as one of the best in the CIS at his position in his freshman year and finished sixth in the CIS with 50 tackles.
“Hussein is a definite CFL prospect,” said Craney of his star linebacker. “I have been fortunate enough to coach some great linebackers over my career and he is definitely in that class. We are expecting big things from him this year.”
Another second-year linebacker, Emerson Morassutti, made huge gains in the off-season to get bigger and stronger and that hard work will pay off with increased playing time. Also showing major improvement was James Tuck, who is going into his third year and will have an increased role on the defence after shining on special teams last season.
Leading the younger linebackers on the field are Michael Runowski and Robert Ramsay, who have made major impacts since training camp began.
Fifth-year veteran Patrick Russell leads a defensive line that, like most of the team’s units, features mostly young players still growing into their roles. Russell is an extremely talented football player with even better character and he will be the line’s anchor.
After him, the two players to watch include rookie Jessy DePetrillo and Jamal Campbell. DePetrillo snapped up a starting job on his first day of training camp and hasn’t let go, while Campbell made massive physical gains in the gym this summer and has a bright future ahead of him this season as he sees the field for the first time.
Craney, who is also the team’s defensive coordinator, is most excited about this year’s group of defensive backs. The unit is the youngest group on the team and features the squad’s top defensive recruit in Josh Small, whose speed and athleticism have been tearing up the field at training camp. He is one of seven freshmen at the position and all of them are competing for a roster spot.
They will be led by Andrew Collymore, the veteran of the group in his fifth year of eligibility, a trio of second-year players in Jordan Nugent, Nana Nkansahand Scott Noivo, and third-year player Cory Bellerdine. Nugent led the OUA with four interceptions last season and will have an even bigger role on the field this year.
“We are a much better team this season than we were last year,” Craney concluded. “Getting our first win [a 20-18 overtime victory over Waterloo in Week 3] was huge for our program because it took the monkey off everyone’s back. Having those players taste victory has made them hungrier for more this year.”
The coaching staff and players having been working hard and are determined to satisfy that hunger. The Lions are poised to take another big step forward this season as the team continues to work its way toward success in the OUA.