Canadian QBS ‘non-existent’
Rare exception, ex-eskimo Frank Cosentino, sees continuing bias
VANCOUVER —The Canadian Football League, bless its soul, offers a reassuring narrative that homegrown players can compete on a level playing field. One has only to look at the sweep of history to know it is true.
From Lionel Conacher to Joe Krol, from Russ Jackson, Jim Young, Terry Evanshen and Ray Elgaard to Andy Fantuz, Jon Cornish and Andrew Harris, the CFL offers ennobling examples of Canadian players fulfilling their potential once given the chance.
And yet, as one of the rare Canadians to take regular snaps as a quarterback in the CFL, Frank Cosentino still rails against the bleak reality for the secondclass citizen that is the Canadian QB.
Cosentino turned 76 on May 22, but the notorious foot-dragging in trusting Canadians at football’s greatest position of responsibility still grates on him.
A backup quarterback and sometimes starter in the CFL during the 1960s with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts, he retired in 1969, the same year Jackson, the great star of the Ottawa Rough Riders, thinned the ranks of Canadian quarterbacks by going into teaching fulltime.
Five decades later, Cosentino has seen few redemptive examples where the bias against Canadian quarterbacks is changing, save for the all-American wall that was breached temporarily by Gerry Dattilio (Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders) and Greg Vavra (Stamps) in the 1980s.
“Hard to believe, but since the 1970 season, a ‘non-import,’ i.e. Canadian quarterback, has been a rarity, if not a non-existent part of the Canadian Football League,” Cosentino said, from his home in Eganville, Ont. “‘Non-import’ in this case is short form for ‘not important.’”
Whatever the reason — and there are various explanations — the cause of the Canadian quarterback took a step back this week when Hec Crighton Trophy winner Kyle Quinlan decided to pack in a pro career, at its beginning, abandoning the Alouettes to accept a part-time coaching position at his alma mater, McMaster University.
The more he thought about standing on the sidelines as a third-string QB, a glorified clipboard holder waiting for a chance that may never come, the less the idea appealed to him, Quinlan told Scott Radley, of The Hamilton Spectator.
In Regina, Marc Mueller, grandson of the late Ron Lancaster, a two-time winner as the CFL’s most outstanding player, has packed in his pro aspirations and is also turning to coaching with his former college team, the University of Regina Rams.
In Calgary, Brad Sinopoli, another Hec Crighton Trophy winner, is being converted to a receiver by the Stampeders. He was the team’s third-string quarterback for all 18 regular season games in the 2011 season and served as the Stamps’ holder for place kicks. With four import quarterbacks at this year’s training camp, however, the Stamps are full at the inn.
“An American quarterback is allowed to make mistakes and learn from them,” Cosentino said. “Coaches look at a Canadian kid and think, ‘I don’t want to waste my time.’ But the only way to gain experience at the position is through making mistakes.”
Cosentino points to the example of Anthony Calvillo to prove his point.
In his first four CFL seasons, Calvillo threw more interceptions (60) than touchdown passes (57).
Yet, due in large part to Calvillo’s college background at Utah State — an NCAA Division I school — coaches were more inclined to stick with him.
They ended up looking like geniuses. Calvillo morphed into pro football’s all-time leading passer with the Als.
Cosentino does laud the league for its affirmative-action sounding Non-import Quarterback Development Program, now into its second year, as a step in the right direction.
Eight CIS quarterbacks, all undergrads, are being placed in CFL training camps this month to observe and be mentored in a professional environment.
Whatever is done to address the paucity of Canadians behind centre, Jordan Yantz hopes it comes soon.
Canadian junior player of the year with the Vancouver Island Raiders, he is back at the camp of the B.C. Lions for the second straight year before he leaves to play for the University of Manitoba Bisons this fall. Yantz’s CFL draft year is 2015.
“I started playing quarterback (in Regina) when I was seven years old,” Yantz said. “I’m still chasing that dream. Hopefully, I’ll catch it.”
While the CFL’s history offers small comfort, this aspiring Canadian passer would like to believe that some change is in the air.