Between the two of them they have
a year of experience at post-secondary football when the season started. Now
they are mainstays on the defensive line, playing in a rotation for the
University of Calgary Dinos. Both are graduates of the strong football programs
in cities outside of Calgary.
Sophomore defensive end Connor McGough and freshman defensive end Joel Van Pelt
hail from Medicine Hat and Lethbridge respectively.
McGough saw limited action last
year on the offensive side of the football and special teams as the Dinos
advanced to the Vanier Cup championship. In the offseason he was moved to the
defensive side of the football at the start of spring camp, a position he
played in High School.
Van Pelt, a freshman has dressed
for all but one Conference game as an 18 year old. One of the prized recruits
coming out of High School in Western Canada, Joel gained a wealth of experience
playing for Team Canada.
“I asked to play defence and show
the coaches what I could do,” states McGough. “I am thankful that I am getting
more playing time and have adjusted quickly,” stated the Crescent Heights
graduate. Statistics show that. Connor finished second in the Conference with
four quarterback sacks, while collecting16 solo tackles, six assisted tackles
including a pair of tackles for losses and one pass breakup.
“He more than held is own in that
game against experienced players from Laval,” recalled defensive line Coach
Kent Warnock, when speaking about the performance of rookie Joel Van Pelt.
“I am so fortunate to go up
against great offensive linemen like Sukh (Chung) and our tackles (Braden
Schram and Jordan Fillipelli) in practice. They are awesome and make me
better,” states Van Pelt, who was the team’s nominee for the Peter Gorman
Trophy as the top freshman in Canada West.
“The more games I play the more
experience I get,” Van Pelt states who recorded six solo tackles, four assisted
tackles and one pass breakup. He also had two tackles for losses.
Kent Warnock has been impressed
with his two young defensive ends, “Joel has great size and length for a young
player and has a great upside. He has taken a regular turn in our rotation. You
can tell he has had good coaching when he came here.” In speaking about McGough,
Kent think, “Connor has excellent speed
for a player with his size, and is highly motivated to succeed.”
Both Van Pelt are McGough are
grateful to have someone as knowledgeable Kent Warnock coaching them. “It’s
awesome to have someone with his knowledge, coaching me and trying to improve
my technique,” acknowledges McGough. Van Pelt states, “Kent helps me so much
with my technique and helps me get better daily.” The pair will be a key to the
defensive success for many years to come.
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