Former CFL stars Gary and Carter named to Varsity Blues staff

TORONTO – The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Physical Education and Health today announced that former CFL standouts Greg Gary and Donnavan Carter have joined the Varsity Blues football program for the 2011 season.

Gary has been named the manager of football – coaching and operations, while Carter becomes the team’s defensive coordinator.

“Greg and Donnavan are great coaches and proven leaders who are already very familiar with our system and players,” says Beth Ali, director of intercollegiate and high performance sport. “They are a natural fit to work alongside offensive coordinator John Engel and the rest of the coaching staff, and we are confident they will continue to improve the competitiveness of this program.”

After a stint as U of T’s linebackers coach in 2008, Gary returns to the Blues sidelines with over 20 years of coaching experience under his belt. The native of Claremont, California, got his start as the head coach of the Junior Varsity football team at his alma mater, Claremont H.S. Gary has been a guiding influence in the Mississauga football league since 1995 and most recently became the head coach of the Warriors rep football team in 2005, leading them to an Ontario Varsity Football League (OVFL) Junior Varsity championship in 2008.

As an athlete, Gary received a scholarship to California State University, Fullerton, where he was the captain of the football team and won an Iron Man award in 1981. He signed as a free agent with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams in 1982 and then headed north a year later, playing four years with the Hamilton Tiger Cats and winning the Grey Cup in 1986.

A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Carter was the fourth overall pick of the Toronto Argonauts in the 2000 CFL draft after an outstanding collegiate career at the University of Northern Illinois. He was named one of the captains in his senior year with the Huskies and voted the team’s defensive MVP that season. Known as one of the hardest hitters in the league during his eight-year professional career, Carter played both outside linebacker and safety and made four different stops (Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa and Winnipeg) before officially retiring in 2008.

After a year as Toronto’s defensive backs coach, Carter went on to guest coach with the Hamilton Tiger Cats and became the defensive coordinator of the OVFL’s Etobicoke Eagles in 2010. He helped the squad through the playoff run that ended with a loss in the Wettges regional championship game.

These hires are a part of an interim coaching strategy for 2011 following the recent announcement of head coach Greg DeLaval’s departure from the University of Toronto.

By Mary Beth Challoner

[URL]http://www.varsityblues.ca