After coming up just short of a postseason berth in 2015, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues are looking to become a dark horse contender this season. Head coach Greg Gary is entering his sixth season at the helm of the Varsity Blues and has a career record of 14-26 over five seasons. Under Gary, the Varsity Blues have narrowly missed the playoffs several times in a tight OUA conference. Their best regular season under Gary came in 2013, when they went 4-4. But the Blues lost the playoff berth tiebreaker to Windsor, who were also 4-4 in 2013 and had beaten Toronto head to head 26-11 that year.
U of T Varsity Blues a Dark Horse Contender in 2016
This year the Blues are shaping up to make a run at the traditional powers of the OUA and earn their first winning season under Gary. It’s no secret what needs to get done according to the head coach and he laid it out with simple eloquence.
“We’ve got to play football. Get first downs, stop big plays, play well on special teams and limit penalties. It sounds simple but if we do it all that we’ll be in the mix for the playoffs this season.”
A Jack of All Trades at QB
Simon Nassar served as the team’s passer previous seasons. This year there will be a new face dishing the ball out on the field at Varsity Stadium. Marcus Hobbs will run the offence for the Blues in 2016. Hobbs didn’t just sit on the bench in years previous, though. He started at receiver last year and has served as one of the team’s punters since joining the Blues. On his versatility, he said “I can move probably better than the average guy.” Over his career Hobbs has rushed for seven touchdowns (three in 2015) and threw his only touchdown in 2014.
His coach is certainly a believer in his team’s Swiss army knife. “I’m really excited about him. I think the time he’s been in the program, the adversity he’s faced has all prepared him well for this season” Gary said.
Solid Athletic Defence
Toronto plays an aggressive style of defence and that is only possible because of the athletes they have in their system. When talking to coach Gary and players, one player’s name consistently came up. Richard Gillespie is the team’s safety and according to his coach has been really impressive especially after participating in the East West Bowl. His teammate Corey Williams who also attended the University All-Star game offered up the reason. “He’s very vocal back there and he’s the glue for our entire defence,” Williams said. Gillespie had two interceptions in 2015.
The other ball hawk to watch out for on defense is linebacker Adrian Bernard, according to Williams. “He holds down the middle and without him it really does show.” Bernard was second on the team in tackles (48) in 2015, and third in sacks (2.5).
#10 Corey Williams/LB/4th Year/6-1/235lbs = Outta his mind#VarsityBlues #TrainingCamp2016#BLEEDBLUE #WeAreTO pic.twitter.com/NhrUs7wV9I
— U of T Varsity Blues (@Varsity_Blues) August 19, 2016
Trench Players Full of Experience
On the defensive line, Carter Gladman is expected to grow into a bigger role going into his third year after sharing the team lead in sacks (3.0) in 2015 with Williams. “He’s an effort guy. I expect him to be a strong football player for us,” Gary said. “He’s not the biggest or strongest guy but he’s got a motor to compete.”
The players on the line of scrimmage set the tone and Toronto thinks they’ve got a group that’s more than capable of doing that. The man who the offensive line is charged with protecting, Hobbs, has nothing but confidence in his big men. “Having a good veteran group on o-line is going to be a big part of what we do, I’m very confident with those guys.”
“There’s a bump in the guys who go to East West after being around the best players in the country and Danny Sprukulis saw a big jump,” according to Gary. Durability is key to playing in the trenches, Sprukulis has started a total of 24 games for the Blues, every single game since his freshman year. So durability isn’t so much a question as it is a statement for the Oakville native.
#VarsityBlues Football diggin' deep in the trenches!
WE ALL #BLEEDBLUE #WeAreTO pic.twitter.com/EuKvhCMPnE— U of T Varsity Blues (@Varsity_Blues) August 22, 2016
Five’s the Magic Number
Five wins is the magic number that will seemingly guarantee Toronto a playoff berth for the first time under Gary and the team feels that this is the year that they can accomplish that feat. The Blues have not made it to the OUA post season in over ten years and they are craving post season play.
In 2015 the Blues lost two tight games early on in the season, an 8-7 heartbreaker against Windsor and a 19-15 nail biter against Carleton. Had the Blues won those games they would have been in the playoffs mix. Toronto’s coach recalled those games vividly and provided some insight on how this team learned from playing in those tight games.
“Those games prepare you for every year, when you go through that adversity and get closer and closer every year, every good team goes through that before they get really good,” Gary said. “So I think we’ve been through just about enough of that and we’re hoping that the next round brings us some success.”
No Cake Walk Games Early
The Varsity Blues will hit the road early, playing their first two games away. That may be nothing new for teams, but the Blues will be going out of town to take on the last two Yates Cup champs in consecutive weeks.
The Varsity Blues will open their 2016 season on the road against the defending Yates Cup Champion Guelph Gryphons. The Gryphons season came to an end last year against the eventual Vanier Cup finalists Université de Montreal Carabins 26-10 in the Mitchell Bowl. Guelph is under new leadership in interim head coach Kevin MacNeill. MacNeill spent the six previous seasons as the Gryphons defensive coordinator before being named the interim head coach back in January.
The Varsity Blues have been a team on the rise for some time. After a painful history the previous decade as the league’s doormat. Toronto is certainly capable of opening some eyes around the league. The work that has been undertaken by the coaching staff and will make teams around the league notice from the get go this time around.
“We’ve been building to play football games that matter since I got here. This is now just another game that matters and we welcome the opportunity to play against opponents who have had success,” Gary said.
The quarterback, Hobbs echoed the coach’s excitement. “We’re excited to get out there and go play these guys. Just watching all their tape, we’re really fired up and ready to go.”
The way Toronto handles playing Guelph on the road in Week 1 will serve as a great measuring stick for where the team is at in the 2016 pecking order before the Blues travel to Hamilton to take on the McMaster Marauders at the home of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Tim Hortons Field.
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