Riders and Panthers in the OVFL Prospects Game

The timing on this announcement is rather fortuitous. The last post was about university players being selected to a game to showcase themselves for the pros, this one is about junior varsity players being selected to showcase themselves to university clubs.  And it's also Ottawa-heavy.

The selection process is relatively simple; if you made last year's all-star team, and are registered for 2014, then you're in. A substitute is selected from the player's team if he is not registered for 2014.

No  Name              Team          Pos.  High School
3   Luke Rawling  Myers Riders   WR   Perth and District
7   Okwes Nwaelleh Myers Riders   DB   St Pauls
24  Nicholas Brunet Cumberland     RB   Louis Riel
41  Abed Hamidi       Myers Riders   LB   Earl of March
45  Nicarlo Funai Cumberland     DL   St. Mark
56  Jake Nesbitt      Cumberland     OL   Ashbury College
57  Benjamin Spencer Myers Riders   OL   Ashbury College
63  Craig Dawe        Myers Riders   OL   Sacred Heart
80  Darius Beckford Cumberland     WR   St. Patrick
84  Philippe Iloki Myers Riders   WR   St Joseph

Way to drop two guys there, Ashbury!  While there are no stats to share for offensive linemen, and size alone does not a great lineman make, it may be worthwhile to point out that Nesbitt is listed as being 6'1, 290 pounds.

Let's also give a little recognition to the members of the Riders/Panthers coaching staffs that will assist the Wettges Conference team for this game.

COACHING STAFF
Ntare Bainomugisha   Cumberland Panthers    OC
Matt Kassner         Myers Riders           LB
Chris Bromfield      Cumberland Panthers    WR
John Buck            Myers Riders           ST
Matt Ferguson        Myers Riders           DB
Pat Nesbitt          Cumberland Panthers    OL

And finally, let's have a look at some stats (as provided by the OVFL website):

Myers Riders 

Rawlings (6'02", 205): 15 receptions, 200 yards, two td's.
Iloki (6'00", 175): 40 receptions, 817 yards, 13 td's.
Nwaelleh (5'11", 170): 19 tackles, 29 assists, 6 interceptions.
Hamidi (5'09", 208): 34 tackles, 7.5 sacks. 

Cumberland Panthers 

Brunet (5'10", 190): 16 carries for 49 yards, six receptions for 20 yards and a score.
Funai (6'04", 225): 31 tackles, six sacks.
Beckford (5'08", 153): Eight receptions for 116 yards and a score.

It'll be interesting to see who shines.  Keep these names in the back of your mind; there's a very good chance that several of the them will be playing CIS ball soon, hopefully close to home.

The game will be played at McMaster next Saturday. Kickoff is at 2PM.

Michael O'Connor re-opens recruitement

How is the news of the Houston Texans hiring (now) former Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien relevent to Ottawa football?  It means that a local quarterback that had previously committed to Penn State is now reconsidering his decision, according to NJ.com, by way of pennlive.com.

NJ.com is reporting that heralded quarterback prospect Michael O'Connor, thought to be a key piece of Penn State's 2014 recruiting class, is delaying his official decision until June, which essentially means he is re-opening his recruitment.

...

O'Connor was expected to enroll at Penn State in January (Jan. 13) but Bill O'Brien's decision to leave Penn State for the Houston Texans has obviously affected his thought process.

Todderick Hunt of NJ.com spoke with Victor Tedondo, who Hunt writes is a mentor of O'Connor's. Tedondo is the founder and director of the Gridiron Academy in Ottawa, according to Hunt.

Rutgers, Michigan State and UCLA are all interested in O'Connor, according to Tedondo.

...

"It's been a terrible week for (O'Connor), to be honest with you,'' Tedondo told NJ.com.

"There have been a lot of distractions. He's a kid who left home at 15 years old and he's been a lot of different places with different coaching staffs. He pushed himself and took extra classes last summer to graduate early because his intention was to go to Penn State in January. And obviously, it once again didn't work out. So it is frustrating for him and his parents.''

Tedondo added: "One thing I know for sure, (O'Connor) told me (Wednesday) that he will not be going to school (at Penn State) in January because he's not sure what he's getting himself into. So he is going to delay his decision until June. I think after tonight he's gonna start planning some stuff out (as far as visits).

The interview being referred to can be found in its entirety here.

Want to know more about O'Connor?  About a year ago, IMG Academy had the following to say about him when he joined them.

“Michael is a great young man who possesses all the qualities we are looking for in our student-athletes that we want leading our team in its first season,” remarked Chris Weinke, Director of Football, IMG Academy. “I believe he has the ability and makeup to be one of the premier high school quarterbacks in the country.”
A native of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, O’Connor began playing football at the age of seven. He started his high school football career with Ashbury College in Canada, where he threw 51 touchdowns to only seven interceptions in his sophomore season. Seeking a bigger challenge to develop his game, O’Connor opted to play in the United States at Baylor School (Chattanooga, Tenn.) for the 2012 season, helping lead the team to a 7-3 regular season record and a berth in the Tennessee D-II-AA playoffs. O’Connor enrolls at IMG Academy as a junior this spring, and will be a member of the class of 2014.
- See more at: http://www.imgacademy.com/latest-headlines/2013-01-04/standout-canadian-born-quarterback-michael-o%E2%80%99connor-joins-img-academy#sthash.uePo8Esc.dpuf

“Michael is a great young man who possesses all the qualities we are looking for in our student-athletes that we want leading our team in its first season,” remarked Chris Weinke, Director of Football, IMG Academy. “I believe he has the ability and makeup to be one of the premier high school quarterbacks in the country.”

A native of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, O’Connor began playing football at the age of seven. He started his high school football career with Ashbury College in Canada, where he threw 51 touchdowns to only seven interceptions in his sophomore season. Seeking a bigger challenge to develop his game, O’Connor opted to play in the United States at Baylor School (Chattanooga, Tenn.) for the 2012 season, helping lead the team to a 7-3 regular season record and a berth in the Tennessee D-II-AA playoffs. O’Connor enrolls at IMG Academy as a junior this spring, and will be a member of the class of 2014.

O'Connor also played for the Orleans Bengals in NCAFA.  In any event, he may or may not end up at Penn State, but he remains one to watch for fans of local football.