Head coach Gerry McGrath and his staff held a luncheon to welcome 18 new players to the Concordia Stingers football program this afternoon.
The players were introduced to several accomplished alumni who have proudly represented the program over the years. Speaking on behalf of the alumni was Sylvain Girard, a standout receiver for the Stingers and the Montreal Alouettes. He congratulated the players and spoke warmly of his experience coming to Concordia as a unilingual francophone from Chicoutimi.
Also on hand to greet the players were: receiver Liam Mahoney of the Hamilton Tiger Cats, kicker Rene Paredes of the Calgary Stampeders, receiver Cory Watson of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and offensive linemen Kristian Matte and Anthony Barrette of the Montreal Alouettes.
The new Stingers are all from Quebec, including 17 who played in the Quebec CEGEP football system. They are:
Receiver Nicolas Abelhauser-Gosselin (Champlain-St. Lambert), receiver Jeff Alexandre (Thetford), DB Jourdain Alexis (Édouard Montpetit), DL Jonathan Borsellino (Édouard Montpetit), LB Mikael Charland (Outaouais), DL Scott Charles (Montmorency), QB/P François Dessureault (Drummondville), DL Francis Durand-Aird (Lionel Groulx), receiver Maxime Gagnon (Chicoutimi), receiver Alexandre Hebert (Drummondville), OL Francis Leonard (St. Leonard Junior Football), OL Justin Malo (Lionel Groulx), OL Jean Desir Fils Milfort (John Abbott), OL Yannik Morin (André Grasset/St. Leonard Jr.), DB Jonathan Noiseux (Édouard Montpetit), OL Vinoth Rajadurai (Champlain-St. Lambert), LB Dane Steele (Champlain-St. Lambert) and DB Pierre-Alexandre Taché (Chicoutimi).
Most of the new players are currently taking classes at Concordia and will take part in conditioning and football workouts throughout the semester.
