Gaels add to recruiting class, coaching staff

Queen’s football head coach Pat Sheahan is pleased to announce the signing of four recruits to the Gaels football program as Linebacker Chris Houston of Toronto, Quarterback Austin Geddes and Kicker Dillon Wamsley of London, Ont., and Linebacker Luke McQuilkin of Burlington, Ont., have all committed to play for Queen’s.

“This is the completion of a long process; these are all quality young men. First of all they’re all great students, and they’re all great athletes,” said Head Coach Sheahan. “They all had lots of choices and for a number of reasons after going through the evaluation process for their next step they came to the conclusion that Queen’s was the best place for them.”

Houston, a graduate of St. Andrew’s College, is one of the top linebackers to come out of the GTA this season as he led the Saints to the Metro Bowl finals in 2011 after capturing a CISSA championship. The team’s defensive captain was named to a GTA Rising Stars All-Star squad and was also named the St. Andrew’s defensive MVP. He will enroll in the School of Business and pursue a commerce degree at Queen’s.

Geddes was the field general for Catholic Central H.S. as the team’s captain and offensive MVP. Leading the Crusaders to two conference championships and earning a spot as a London all-star twice. He was also a finalist for the Greg Anderson Memorial Award for academics, citizenship and leadership. Geedes will be enrolling in the Queen’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

Wamsley was one of the top kickers to come out of high school football this year as a team captain and special teams MVP for the London South H.S. Lions. He wraps up a decorated career with the Lions which included three city all-star nods and a place on the World’s 2012 International Bowl team. Playing for the London Falcons he set three league records, was named player of the week three times and was a conference all-star twice. He will be joining the Faculty of Arts and Science.

McQuilkin comes to the Gaels after a strong career with the Corpus Christi Longhorns where he was named defensive MVP after serving as the team’s defensive captain. Over the course of his four years, McQuilkin was named a Golden Horseshoe all-star twice and was a key factor in the Longhorns’ being ranked 14th nationally. He will enroll in the Queen’s School of Business and pursue a commerce degree.

Coach Sheahan also announced an addition to the coaching staff as Jason Casey will be joining the Gaels as their linebackers coach. Casey played his CIS football under the guidance of Coach Sheahan at Concordia University, and joins the Gaels after serving as head coach of the Okanagan Sun in the British Columbia Football Conference.

The Gaels will kick off their 2012 season when they host the York Lions on Monday September 3 at Richardson Stadium.