Concordia Head Coach McGrath to welcome 120 football players to camp Saturday

Head coach Gerry McGrath is looking forward to opening the biggest and most competitive training camp in his 12-year career at the helm of the Concordia Stingers football team.

Approximately 120 players are expected to report to camp tomorrow for physical testing, paperwork, photos and orientation. The team will begin on-field workouts on Saturday.

“We’ve done a lot of good work in the off-season, made a few changes and I’m excited to see how it translates to the field,” says McGrath. “We’ve had another exceptional recruiting year and we have a strong class of returnees. I can’t wait for the season to start.”

Heading into camp, there’s a lot of depth at the skilled positions on the offensive side of the ball.

“I think we have four outstanding kids at quarterback,” says the veteran coach. “We have a great situation at receiver with depth, size and speed. At tailback we’re really pleased with Mike Donnelly, Raul Thompson and Edem Nyamadi. We’re going to see some good battles in camp.”

Offensive tackle Anthony Barrette, who was drafted in the second round by the Montreal Alouettes last May, will set the pace for the young line.

Defensively, there’s a lot of young talent, but McGrath is watching one unit with great interest.

“The staff is really excited to see the linebackers,” he says. “We thought Max Caron and Travis Bent were outstanding in their first years. We’re looking forward to seeing what they bring this year.”

Of course, kicking is always a big part of any Concordia football season. A top recruit from Brandon, Man., Keegan Treloar, is the man to watch in 2011.

“We have Keegan with us,” McGrath says, “and I’m very interested in seeing him develop. He’s a pretty solid field goal kicker and we’re working on his punting.”

Concordia will travel to Guelph, Ont. for an exhibition game with the Gryphons on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 1 p.m. The Stingers open the RSEQ season at home to the Laval Rouge et Or on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 1 p.m. at Concordia stadium.

Training Camp Schedule

Aug. 13-15: 4-8:30 p.m.

Aug. 16: 4-6:30 p.m.

Aug. 17-18: 4-8:30 p.m.

Aug. 19: 4-6:30 p.m.

Aug. 20: 1-3 p.m.

Aug. 21: Day off

Aug. 22-23: 4-8:30 p.m.

Aug. 24: 4-6:30 p.m.

Aug. 25: 10-11:30 a.m.

Aug. 26: Practice at Guelph

Aug. 27: Exhibition at Guelph – 1 p.m.

Concordia 42

Jeremy Rabot – REC – Laval transfer (France) SIGNED – January
Renauld Lebrecque – REC -Levis Lauzon [attended Ottawa ’10 training camp] SIGNED – January
Vince Nardone – DB – John Abbot (Laval, QC) SIGNED – January
Ryan Hobbs – DL – John Abbott (Brockville, ON) SIGNED – January

Robert Brunsch – OL – St. Peter’s (Peterborough, ON) SIGNED VIDEO
Mike Moody – OL – G.W. Williams (Aurora, ON) SIGNED
Matt Gulakow – RB – Chateauguay Raiders / Team Manitoba (Winnipeg) SIGNED
Gregory Newman – DL – Kent Prep School (Chateauguay, QC) SIGNED
Remi Biakabutuka – RB – Citadel / Vanier (Montreal) SIGNED
Kadeem-Jovan Vaillancourt – DB – St. Mark’s / Cumberland / South Gloucester (Ottawa)SIGNED
Kyle Crisp – OL – Northern (Toronto) SIGNED
Pierre-Nicholas Konan – DL – Ottawa Sooners (Montreal) SIGNED
John Funston – RB – Ashbury (Ottawa) SIGNED
Chris O’Kill McMullen – LB – Vanier (Montreal) SIGNED
Frédérick Landry-Simard – OL – Laval transfer / Levis Lauzon SIGNED
Jason Lauzon – OL – Vallefield SIGNED
Troy McCusker – QB – Huron Heights (Newmarket) SIGNED
Jeff Ginn – OL/FB – Holy Cross / Grenadiers / Team Ontario East (Kingston, ON) SIGNED
Shayne Stinson – REC – Vanier (Montreal) SIGNED
Jamal Henry – REC/KR – Kent Prep (Montreal) SIGNED
Daniel Skube – REC – St. Joseph / Mississauga Warriors (Toronto) SIGNED
Kenny ‘KC’ Charles – REC – Montreal Carabins transfer (Montreal) SIGNED
Yannick Germain – REC – Victoriaville Vulkins (Victoriaville) SIGNED
Reid Quest – QB – Regina Thunder (Regina, SK) SIGNED
Simon Faudel – QB – Lionel-Groulx SIGNED
Guillaume Vaillant – OL – Valleyfield SIGNED
Mitchell Burnett-Guarna – RB – Bishops Transfer (Brandon, MB) SIGNED
Jean-Sebastien Lussier – DB – Lionel Grouxl (St. Jerome, QC) SIGNED
Keegan Treloar – K – Vincent Massey (Brandon, MB) SIGNED VIDEO
Daylon Pommier – DB – Okanagan Sun / Kelowna-Rutland (Kelowna, BC) SIGNED

Kleevens Jean-Louis – DL – Chateauguay Raiders (Chateauguay) Verbal
Sylvain Payne-Gagnon – DB – Jonquiere Verbal
Olivier Grenier-Forcier – DB Victoriaville Vulkins (Victoriaville) Verbal
Gregory Beaulieu – OL – FX Garneau (Quebec) Verbal
Pascal Men-Aby Tshilambo – REC – John Abbot (Montreal) Verbal
Brian Doyle – LB – Erie Community College (Syracuse, NY) Verbal
Matt Scheurwater 6″1 200 – REC – Okanagan Sun / John Diefenbaker (Calgary) Verbal
Duraney White 6’5″ 215 – REC – Bishop’s transfer / Vanier (Montreal) Verbal
Ryan White 6’4″ 290 – OL – Bishop’s transfer / Vanier (Montreal) Verbal
Sean Mayzes – DB – Vancouver College / Team BC (Vancouver) Verbal
John McMullan – LB – Donald Wilson (Whitby, ON) Verbal
Dan Horta – DL – St. Marcellinus / Miss. Warriors (Mississauga, ON) Verbal

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