Back to the gridiron for coach Nill’s Dinos

The University of Calgary’s spring football camp gets underway today, with veterans and highly sought-after prospects rubbing shoulder pads in an effort to impress the coaches and provide a glimpse of what they will see when the 2012 training camp takes place in earnest in August.

Dinos head coach Blake Nill, busy shuffling names on the white board in his office at Mcmahon Stadium, took a few minutes to discuss the camp and what Calgary is doing to improve to once again be a force in Canada West football.

Q: It seems like the season just ended. Does it feel that way for you?

Nill: Definitely the off-seasons go by a lot quicker than they have in the past. I think that’s because of the increased structure. We just finished our off-season conditioning program, which was 15 or 16 weeks of 6 a.m. workouts. When you have structure — whether it’s conditioning or academic supervision — you’ve always got stuff to deal with and makes it go by fairly quick.

Q: From your standpoint, the season may be short, but it truly is a year-round sport, isn’t it?

Nill: Absolutely. The thing I forgot to mention is recruiting. Recruiting has changed drastically in the last five years. It used to go right until Aug. 15; you’d be hustling, trying to convince kids. Now, a lot of your recruiting is done by February, March at the latest; the kids make their decisions sooner. So from December until March, it is without doubt the priority of any program, or should be.

Q: Speaking of recruitment, how has that gone in the past few months? Are you pleased with the calibre of kids who are committed to the U of C?

Nill: Yes. You know, I can honestly say we’ve had one of the top recruiting classes in the country. unusual because in the past we’ve been able to get Woodson, Walter, Lumbala. We didn’t feel there were kids like that. Our focus for that position was more across the country. Also, with the junior program . . . we were able to get some Calgary Colts who have represented that team very well.

Q: A word about the upcoming CFL draft. It’s a bittersweet thing, in a sense, because you want these players to excel and take the next step,but on the other hand you’d like to have them for another year.

Nill: In regards to the draft in 2012, we have four guys who are highly touted by the CFL: Sam Hurl, Jordan Verdone and our two tackles, Kirby Fabien and Carson Rockhill. I believe that all or most of them will be drafted. The two tackles have had a lot of interest from the U.S. It’s tough on the kids as well because their loyalties generally rest with the university team. But they’re looking at the opportunity to go pro and it’s a great opportunity. A lot of them struggle with the decision. The academic component comes into play. As a coach, I try to put everything out on the table for them. If you turn pro now, these are the pluses. If you stay back a year, these are the benefits. But ultimately, it’s their decision. Last year, we lost four of the six that were drafted; I wouldn’t be surprised if we lost four more this year. Our philosophical approach when it comes to recruiting is we want to identify and commit to the top 12 to 14 Calgary players right off the start. Expand out to involve a few Alberta kids and then hand-pick a few who we feel are significant contributors throughout the country and into the U.S. We had most of our Calgary commitments done before Christmas and then during the winter months we were able to focus on guys who are bluechip kids that we can spend time and resources to convince to come to the U of C. Q: And were you fairly successful in that?

Nill: I believe so. If you look at the quality of local talent we were able to obtain, outstanding. We were able to pull in a few kids from Alberta who will be very good football players. And I think we’ve got a half-dozen blue-chip kids coming in from the Maritimes to Vancouver, and as far down as Texas. That’s the way it has to be. The thing I’ve always said — and I know I’ve said it to you in the past — is what makes U of C a great contender year in and year out is the efforts that are made years previous; the minor football coaches, the midget and high school coaches have just raised the bar so much in Calgary and the talent they are producing is incredible. We’re going to be a program in the future that is 75 per cent Calgary-area based.

Q: You have holes to fill this year due to graduation, upcoming draft, etc. How big a part of recruiting is focused on filling those holes?

Nill: My hope is if we lose an athlete to graduation or the CFL, there’s someone in the development stages who will move up. But I’m also a believer that the best guy plays. A good example was last year (OL) Sean Mcewen came in, who we thought was a very good recruit, but we did not figure he would play last year and he played right away. This year, for instance, we didn’t feel the tailback position was particularly strong in Calgary, which is