VANCOUVER — Last spring, coming off the team’s first Canada West title and Vanier Cup appearance since 2015, Blake Nill’s cel phone began to elicit some interesting activity from the 403 area code.“When the University of Calgary decided not to bring in Wayne for this season, it was funny because I got calls from three […]
Tag: Blake Nill
UBC Football ’24: QB Garrett Rooker made Thunderbird Stadium his own ‘Home, Sweet Home’… Texas pivot soaked up Vancouver’s summer sun, now preps ‘Birds for Hardy Cup rematch Friday vs. Alberta!
VANCOUVER — Garrett Rooker has spent so much time on UBC’s Point Grey campus the past few months that the suburban Houston, TX neighbourhood of his youth may have, for the time being, defaulted in its status to that of his ‘second’ home.“I spent most of my summer here,” admitted the Thunderbirds’ fourth-year quarterback and […]
The story of Gio and Theo: UBC’s book-end offensive tackles bring rare size and athleticism to the party! NFL teams and major pundits can’t help but be impressed ahead of 2024 draft!
By Howard TsumuraVANCOUVER — The story of Gio and Theo is the story of two ‘Made-in-B.C.’ high school football products who not only made the decision to play for their home university team, but along that journey turned themselves into the kinds of players with a chance to play in the National Football League.UBC offensive lineman […]
Vanier Cup 2023: UBC’s national title bid falls short at the hands of Montreal’s historic post-season defence! Carabins keep Thunderbirds’ offence out of the end zone to hoist U SPORTS gridiron spoils!
KINGSTON, ONT. — They came east to play the biggest game of their season, but to win it they had overcome a defence whose numbers told a tale of invincibility.And in Saturday’s Vanier Cup national championship final, it was a heavy dose of those historic credentials which not only kept the UBC Thunderbirds out of […]
UBC at Vanier Cup 2023: Through Soriano, Kennedy and a kid named Chez, how three blank football canvases now paint Thunderbirds’ title-contending DNA!
VANCOUVER — How do you define the image of a Vanier Cup national title contender?How about through the actions of three UBC defenders, who over the early stages of the second half of Saturday’s Mitchell Bowl national championship semifinal game at Thunderbird Stadium, made the kinds of back-to-back-to-back plays which not only reversed the momentum […]
A SUNDAY READ: It’s a Hardy Cup instant classic quiz: What’s 95 yards long and 52 seconds long? For UBC Thunderbirds, it’s the measure of a most historic moment! Comeback win over Alberta keeps Vanier Cup dreams alive!
VANCOUVER — It is already being talked about as one of the greatest single minutes in the history of UBC Thunderbirds football.And if you were one of the 1,966 who gathered Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium for the 86th edition of the Hardy Cup championship game, then you can count yourself among the fortunate few able […]
UBC Football: First Canada West crown of the century comes in gritty defensive win at Alberta as Leonard, Townsend, Soriano help hold Golden Bears out of the end zone! Bisons next as Hardy Cup playoffs open at home!
Even if they had been trying, the football gods could not have placed the UBC Thunderbirds within the margins of a more character-defining script than the one which the Blue-&-Gold found themselves writing Saturday on the road and on the final day of the Canada West regular season.It was one of those regular-season ending, winner-take-all […]
Switch to slotback imbues UBC’s power-train running back Dane Kapler with a double-dose of on-field danger! McCaffrey-like moments vindicate coaching staff’s gutsy off-season switch!
VANCOUVER — If you spent any amount of time sniffing around UBC’s fall camp in August, it didn’t take any time at all to realize just how deep and talented the 2023 ‘Birds looked on paper.That, of course, is the net effect of ringing the bell from top to bottom for what looks like four […]
UBC football 2023: As Rooker’s return & Sudden Sam’s arrival spark impressive 25-10 road win over Rams, Thunderbirds’ young linebacking core takes giant step forward in Regina!
On a night when lofty preseason prognostication had put them in a place to answer the most elemental question of all, the UBC Thunderbirds provided a resounding response.So, was the latest edition of Point Grey’s gridiron Blue-and-Gold worthy of their co-No. 1 ranking to begin the Canada West football wars this season, right alongside the […]
Its Friday rise from mothballs complete, Shrum Bowl’s 34th performance seizes the magic right back, its charm defined by both its ferocity and its foibles! UBC tops SFU in an icy 18-17 classic!
BURNABY MOUNTAIN — As B.C.’s football gods looked down from above at the frozen tundra of Terry Fox Field on Friday night, the actions of their collective super-powers made it readily apparent that they were an immortal group of gridiron fans scorned.Who dare deny them the pleasure that would have come from watching the past […]