Well entrenched in the 2016 season, the UBC Thunderbirds are already preparing their roster for 2017. On Thursday afternoon UBC Head Coach Blake Nill signed his first “blue-chip” recruit for the 2017 season.
Vernon Secondary’s Ben Hladik, a 6’4″ 235 lbs. linebacker, has declared he will be studying at UBC and playing football for the Thunderbirds in fall of 2017. The multi-talented Hladik has been a provincial all-star for the Vernon Panthers and plays linebacker and defensive line on defense, tight end on offence, as well as handling the team’s long-snapping duties.
“I chose UBC for the great coaches that will push me to be the best and the great football opportunity with a chance to win a championship,” says Hladik. “UBC is one of the top academic schools in Canada and has one of the nicest campuses in the country.”
“Ben is a long lean athlete with the type of agility and movement skills that we will require at UBC,” says UBC Head Coach Blake Nill. “Our focus is on qualitative recruiting. We will continue to scour BC and all of Canada to find the top student-athletes for our football program.”
Hladik joins a burgeoning group of players that UBC coaches have plucked out the Okanagan recently. Both Parker Simson and Zackari Vint were recruited to UBC from Kelowna Secondary, while first year offensive lineman Brandon Sanford was a high school star in Salmon Arm.
Source: Len Catling, UBC Thunderbirds Athletics
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