Ben Rossong to learn while sitting out the 2012 season at Saint’s Mary’s

A third party is the one to get credit for getting the ball rolling, which prompted the transfer of Ben Rossong to the Saint Mary’s University (SMU) Huskies football team.

“I was given notice by a person who is a friend of Saint Mary’s football also knows Ben,” explains SMU’s Director of Athletics and Recreation, Steve Sarty as to how the initial discussions came to fruition. “Once the rumours started that Jesse (Mills) may go to Carleton, we were told that there was a quarterback at Western and that he may want to come here.”

This also came on the heels of the Western Mustangs announcing they had signed nationally ranked top quarterback prospect Will Finch. However, the Huskies hit a few slight snags along the way, which delayed the process.

“We can’t have any sort of discussion with any student athlete who wants to transfer until we make their athletic department and coaching staff aware of that but to Ben’s credit, he had those conversations himself,” comments Sarty. “He wanted to have those conversations with his coaching staff, which is great.”

Rossong and SMU faced a brief delay as the Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall was away. The pivot wanted to wait until Marshall came back and have that discussion.

“I was getting all the information from the third party,” adds the Director of Athletics and Recreation. “He had the conversation there and I was told he had talked to his coach and Jesse had decided he was going to Carleton.”

“If Jesse had decided he was going to stay at Saint Mary’s, then this discussion would have never taken place.”

When Sarty attempted to contact his counterpart at Western (Thérèse Quigley) to inform her of this, he had to wait almost a week because she was ill for a few days.

“We couldn’t have conversations with Ben until I heard back from her, but once we heard back, then we could have the conversation.”

For his part, Rossong was uncertain about his playing future with the Mustangs for the upcoming season. That prompted him to have those discussions with the coaching staff to see where he fit into their plans.

Faced with a difficult decision of what direction to go, the quarterback believes he made the right choice.

“I’m extremely thankful that I got a chance to work with some of the best coaches and teammates in the country in my two years here and I will always keep in contact with them,” states Rossong, the former Sackville Kingfishers pivot. “It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make, but in the end I think it is the right one and I’m excited to get a chance to play closer to home.”

Between Mills and Rossong, there are similarities and differences.

“They’re both fantastic quarterbacks and they’re both very talented athletes,” explains Sarty. “If you look at Jesse he’s 6’5 around 240 and Ben is more like 6’3, 215.”

“Both are very athletic and great leaders. I would only have positive things to say about both of them.”

When Rossong decided to commit to Western two years ago, Sarty was disappointed.

“A kid with that much talent is local, and homegrown is going to leave the province [its disappointing]” says the Director of Athletics and Recreation about his thoughts of Rossong at the time.

With the quarterback coming to play on home soil, Sarty says it’s fantastic and is looking forward to the contributions Rossong will make with the Huskies.

“Ben is really well connected and what I understand from talking to him, is that he is articulate and very well spoken,” comments the Director of Athletics and Recreation. “He’s the kind of person I can certainly see leading the football program.”

Adding Rossong to the team will be a huge boost. There is also a lot of anticipation from the community to watch him play for the Huskies.

“We’re very excited and to have him playing at home in front of his hometown fans is going to be awesome,” adds Sarty. “He’s ready to play for Saint Mary’s.”

“He’s going to have to sit out obviously for a while but just talking to some local people, they’re really thrilled and excited to see him play.”

While he must sit out a year due to Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) rules, Rossong is putting it all into perspective and will use that time to prepare for the 2013 campaign on and off the field.

“Watching is never fun; I’ll definitely be anxious to get out on the field and help my teammates win,” says the quarterback prospect. “The year off will allow me to learn our offense from Coach Marchese and train hard to prepare to step in and lead the team in 2013.”

“I will also get the chance to put a lot of focus on my schooling and studies.”

While Rossong will sit out the 2012 season, Huskies head coach Perry Marchese says that the pivot will be with the team and learn during this time.

“He’ll be just like every other kid at camp and participate in whatever he is allowed to participate in,” explains the Huskies head coach. “He’ll be in all the meetings, at all the practices, and on game day, we’ll talk about whatever is better, on the field or in the booth.”

“If that’s on the field helping with signalling, being there with the quarterbacks as we talk to them or maybe with a headset on; a combination of both would be great. I think a year of learning will help him for when he’s ready to go the next season.”

As for how Rossong will fit in the overall offensive scheme for Saint Mary’s, Marchese is looking at it in a wider scope.

“I’d like to think I would build our offense around whoever our quarterbacks might be and build it around what they are capable of,” explains Marchese, who says the quarterback depth chart for the Huskies includes Jack Creighton, Jean Legault and Mack Blewett. “That’s my issue with Ben is to make sure he fits in and it fits well with him.”

Playing for the maroon and white has been a childhood dream for Rossong and he is looking to finally be able to seize the opportunity.

“I have always been a fan of SMU, growing up watching games and meeting players I always saw myself playing there as a kid,” explains Rossong. “Coming out of high school and having options all over Canada and in the States I decided I wanted to go to Western but when the opportunity to go back and play in Halifax came I was very excited.”

“SMU always does a great job of recruiting and getting athletes and that is what you want as a quarterback; they will surround you with talent and I look forward to leading this team to success.”

It’s not lost on Rossong how much of a bumpy roller-coaster ride the SMU football program has faced in the off-season. While he heard a ton of rumours when he was looking to transfer over, he never once lost faith in the program.

“I know they are dedicated to winning and by committing to them early I wanted to show my confidence in this program and the staff,” says Rossong. “With more recruits signing weekly, I see a bright future for the Saint Mary’s football team and I am thankful I get to be a big part of it.”

Marchese was familiar with Rossong when he was coming out of the high school ranks in Nova Scotia and subsequently recruited by Western.

“He was a big name player and highly recruited by a lot of schools,” adds the Huskies head coach. “From that standpoint I have seen him play and he’s got a very strong arm and he’s athletic.”

It’s the intangibles the quarterback possesses which sets him apart from the rest in the same position.

“The intangibles are the things that from talking to other coaches in Nova Scotia and at Western can’t speak enough of,” explains Marchese. “His character, work ethic, leadership are the things you look for in a quarterback.”

“I fully expect he’s going to have a fantastic career here.”

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