Marsch, Bisons perfect fit

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BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Quarterback Ryan Marsch will suit up with the University of Manitoba Bisons football team this season.

Ryan Marsch is taking his gun to the Bisons.

The 20-year-old quarterback, who was the 2011 Canadian Junior Football League offensive player of the year playing with the Winnipeg Rifles, has agreed to join the University of Manitoba football team for the upcoming season.

Marsch said he was contacted by 10 different Canadian schools, but decided the best fit and opportunity is to lead the offence at his hometown university.

"It's such a perfect fit for me. It's such a young team. If I go there right now, I'm going to grow with my team," said the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Marsch, who will have four years of eligibility with the Bisons. "The other part that really swayed me is I know almost everybody on the team already and I'm playing with my friends."

Meantime, another local star quarterback, Théo Deezar of St. Paul's High School, has committed to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees

"I loved the fact that it is bilingual there. French is my first language so leaving home was always an option on the table and going somewhere French is just even that much better and my parents are very supportive," said the 6-foot-5 Deezar, who led the Crusaders to the ANAVETS Bowl championship last season.

"I will be able to compete with the other quarterbacks there. They've shown a lot of confidence in me and that's why I definitely love seeing they're willing to take a chance with me."

Valuable

Marsch may turn out to be even more valuable to the Bisons than they were initially anticipating.

Quarterback Khaleal Williams, last year's starter who was expected to be in his fifth year this year, may not be eligible due to two games he played in 2006 with the Winnipeg Rifles before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Manitoba is in the process of launching an appeal.

"At this point, Khaleal's opportunity to play another year is in doubt, in question at this time and we're proceeding forward with an appeal on his behalf otherwise his CFL eligibility will be completed," said Bisons head coach Brian Dobie.

If the Williams appeal is not successful, Marsch will be a prime candidate for the starting job.

"There's no guarantees of anything (of being the starter) but the way it's set up and the way I've been training, I don't really see me being a backup there," said Marsch, who is training under Jeff Fisher, the former Winnipeg Blue Bombers trainer who is the president of Elite Performance. "I've been in the gym every day and Elite Performance is doing wonders for my training."

Ottawa head coach head coach Jean-Philippe Asselin described Deezar as "a very driven young man."

"He's a good student, he trains hard, and he has aspirations for a football career," Asselin said in a news release. "I'm excited that we'll get to work with him for the next four to five years."

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 8, 2012 D6