VANCOUVER— Blake Nill has never pulled punches, and the UBC Thunderbirds head coach wasn’t about to start a new trend Friday.“You can call it what you want but it was an ass-kicking,” Nill said following his team’s 31-17 loss to the Calgary Dinos at Thunderbird Stadium. “When we had momentum, we were stopping the run […]
Tag: Canada west football
Will Maxwell: A year ago, UBC cornerback had never made a tackle… now he leads the team
VANCOUVER — The leading tackler on the best defensive team in the Canada West has a confession to make. “Up until the end of last season, I had never played a down of defence in my life,” says Will Maxwell. “Until last year, I had never even made a tackle.”
UBC’s Nill on Friday foes from Calgary: “They are the ones we have to measure ourselves against.”
VANCOUVER — The last time the UBC Thunderbirds won four straight Canada West conference football games was back in 2015 when Blake Nill was the team’s first-year head coach. History tells us, of course, that the ‘Birds parlayed that quartet of regular season-ending games into an eventual seven-game win streak that culminated with a Vanier Cup […]
The Man of Steele: UBC running back Glenn Steele picked No. 1 on list of ‘Birds all-time 100 players
VANCOUVER — The greatest player in the history of UBC Thunderbirds football is asked to remember his favourite moment from the game which propelled his team into the 1982 Vanier Cup national final.All these years later, Glenn Steele remains the ever-humble ‘Bird, yet even his best attempt at a simple recollection winds up sounding a […]
TSUMURA: My ‘Top 5 takeaways’ from ‘Birds preseason football opener as UBC tops Alberta 33-30
The UBC Thunderbirds’ youthful ways led to some anxious moments on Wednesday.Yet its first-unit players, in all three phases, looked as devastating as they ever have as the Blake Nill-era entered its third season in the Southern Interior.With quarterback Michael O’Connor and a healthy UBC offence, bolstered by a deep core of running backs and […]
‘Sugar Shane’ brings sweet feet to Thunderbird Stadium, ex-STMC back ready to take flight with ‘Birds
VANCOUVER — If the reports from training camp carry over into the regular season, then a popular touchdown anthem at Thunderbird Stadium this fall is going to be a sound bite of the line ‘Sugar, Sugar’ from that infectious 1969 bubble-gum pop smash by The Archies.
Michael O’Connor: UBC’s QB-1 on how his humbled ‘Birds prep for redemption in 2017
VANCOUVER — In those on-field moments, when he breaks contain and puts his feet to work, UBC Thunderbirds’ quarterback Michael O’Connor is a guy that can make you miss.
UBC Thunderbirds receiver Alex Morrison answers call to duty at New York Giants rookie mini-camp
VANCOUVER — While gaining an invitation to the New York Giants rookie mini-camp offers UBC Thunderbirds’ receiver Alex Morrison no guarantee of an NFL future, recent history has shown that his particular destination packs a ton of karma in the pursuit of a professional football career.
Mean, nasty and huge! Global recruit effort lands UBC football mammoth Mexican OL Montoya
VANCOUVER — Paul Orazietti came back with a lot of memories from his stint in China this past summer as an assistant coach for Canada at the World Under-19 football championships.
UBC football: Headed for 20th season, Nill calls Class of 2017 ‘Top three in my career’
VANCOUVER — The visits, both those to living rooms across the country and around the sprawling Point Grey campus, are complete.