Bisons go local for next quarterback

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This article was published 09/11/2020 (2030 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba has produced a lot of great football talent over the years but if there’s one position where the province has struggled, it’s at quarterback.

Take a look at the last three times the University of Manitoba Bisons football team won the top prize in the Canada West conference: the Hardy Cup.

In 2001, the Herd was led by a signal-caller from Thunder Bay, Ont., in Shane Munson. In 2007, the Bisons won not only the Hardy Cup, but also the Vanier Cup national university championship with Regina’s John Makie leading the charge. Seven years later, the Bisons claimed the Hardy Cup again with a pivot from Regina, only this time it was Jordan Yantz. 

So, can head coach Brian Dobie and the Bisons be a national championship contender with a Manitoban under centre? Well, you’ll have to wait a while to find out. If there is a 2021 season, the team will roll with fifth-year player Des Catellier of Calgary.

But after that? A local product will likely get an opportunity to provide an answer.

Dobie has put a strong emphasis on finding a quarterback in his own backyard in the past year. The 2019 recruiting class featured two-sport athlete Jackson Tachinski out of Vincent Massey Collegiate. Tachinski also plays point guard on the Bisons basketball team.

As impressive of an athlete as Tachinski is — he led Vincent Massey to provincial titles in football and basketball in 2018-19 — he’ll have his work cut out for him. In late September, the program announced Tachinski will be joined in the quarterback room by Sawyer Thiessen, a four-year starter at Steinbach Regional Secondary School.

It didn’t end there, as on Saturday, the Bisons revealed that Jordan Hanslip, another Vincent Massey standout, will also be in the mix as he has decided to attend the U of M next year.

Last season in Grade 11, Hanslip threw for 941 yards and nine touchdowns while completing 64 per cent of his passes with the Trojans.

“I see it as ‘Let the games begin.’ I honestly do. I swear to you this isn’t some politcal line,” Dobie said.

“I really think one of those three guys will probably be the starter in 2022… I don’t know which one it’ll be. They are going to push each other so hard because they have no choice. If you step off the train to take some time off, you’re going to fall behind. They’re all going to have to do what it takes to prove that they should be the guy. That’s a great position for our team and program to be in.”

Dobie’s been coaching the Herd since 1996. It’s safe to say he’s seen a lot of quarterbacks in the Keystone Province. But he really does the think the future looks bright for the Bisons at QB.

Dobie said Thiessen has already proven he can get it done at the national level, as he represented U18 Team Manitoba at the 2019 Canada Cup in Kingston, Ont., where he helped the black and gold to a victory over Team B.C. in the consolation final.

The veteran coach believes Hanslip, who led the Vincent Massey Trojans to the provincial final last year, is the most well-rounded athletically out of the group.

“They just come across as winners and they’re not afraid to compete,” said Dobie.

“Time will tell. But I’ll tell you what, if you look around Western Canada, truth be told, those two young kids that just got signed, they’re literally two of the very, very best guys in Western Canada.”

Dobie was up front with Thiessen and Hanslip that he was recruiting both of them and that there will be an intense competition for the job post-Catellier.

Hanslip had other offers on the table, including at the University of Windsor, but he wasn’t going to back down.

“I’ve always been really open to competition and I feel like I play better when I’m in competition,” said Hanslip, who won’t get to play his Grade 12 season as the Winnipeg High School Football League cancelled the 2020 campaign owing to COVID-19 concerns.

“Sawyer and Jackson are both really, really good quarterbacks and I feel we’re all going to push each other to be the best quarterback we can be. Whoever comes out of that as a starter or a backup, that’s just the way it goes. You have to be the best teammate you can whether you’re starting or not.”

By no means does the addition of Thiessen and Hanslip mean the Bisons don’t think Tachinski can be their starter. In fact, Dobie made it clear to both recruits that Tachinski currently has a leg up in the race. Trying to juggle playing basketball and being a starting quarterback at the U Sports level is no easy task. 

“In this era, to play two sports at the university level is incredibly demanding, challenging and unique. It really is. Let’s not forget that he’s also a very good student… But to do that as a quarterback, he’s so compounded in his challenges and demands and I certainly won’t stand in his way of continuing down that path,” Dobie said.

“But I do think he needs to take stock because it will be a really serious competition to emerge as the guy replacing Catellier a year later. I think you’ll have to put all your cards on the table to do it.”

Obviously, it’ll be a while before the competition really heats up, but that doesn’t mean those involved aren’t already thinking about it. While winning the job is the top priority, changing the narrative surrounding Manitoba quarterbacks would be an added bonus.

“Players from Manitoba have always been a little bit underrated. I feel like we have a lot of talent here,” Hanslip said. “At the quarterback position, I guess it just so happens to be that no one’s came out in a while to produce for them, but yeah, people here definitely have the potential to do really good things at the university.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31