London, Ont. – After the 2011 campaign ended in the Yates Cup final, the Western Mustangs are back and ready to begin their quest for a seventh Vanier Cup.
The 2012 Mustangs Training Camp begins this Monday at TD Waterhouse Stadium where the team will look to continue their run of five straight trips to the Yates Cup final and get back to the Vanier Cup for the first time since 2008.
Greg Marshall returns for his sixth season as head coach with a solid core of returning players who will be joined by a number of impressive recruits. Marshall is looking forward to the new season saying “we’re optimistic [about 2012], we’ve got a good group of returning players and recruits with quality and depth.”
Three of the team’s nine 2011 all-stars are returning for the coming season: OUA All-Stars Mike Van Praet and Mike Spence, and CIS First Team All-Canadian Beau Landry. Quarterback Donnie Marshall is back for his final season in Mustang colours and will once again be throwing to his brother Brian and Andrew Thibaudeau in the receiving corps. Pawel Kruba and Jamie Symianick return to anchor the defence alongside Van Praet, Spence, and Landry.
New to this year’s team are quarterback Will Finch, the nation’s top quarterback recruit, running back Yannick Harou, offensive lineman Kadeem Adams, and defensive lineman Rory Connop who is transferring from Boise State. Finch and Adams enter camp fresh off of helping Canada win its first ever IFAF Under-19 World Championship in July.
Four members from last season’s roster have moved on from the team and onto CFL rosters. Offensive lineman Matt Norman was selected in the third round of the CFL Draft and joined the BC Lions, defensive end David Lee signed with the Toronto Argonauts, while running back Nathan Riva and offensive lineman Brendan Dunn signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. This brings the number of former Mustangs currently on CFL rosters to 12, tied for the most in the CIS, along with Vaughn Martin who is returning to the San Diego Chargers for a fourth season.
The two-week training camp begins Monday, August 20 at TD Waterhouse Stadium with practices at 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The two-a-days continue on Tuesday and Wednesday before the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks arrive Thursday morning for an integrated practice. See below for a full camp schedule.
Regular season action kicks off September 3 when the team travels to Waterloo to take on the Warriors. Game time is 1:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on NewsTalk 1290 CJBK radio with Tom McConnell and Larry Haylor in the booth.
Be sure to follow westernmustangs.ca throughout training camp as we debut the Mustangs Football Blog. Helmed by former Mustang and 2011 All-Canadian punter Darryl Wheeler, the Mustangs Football Blog will feature daily updates and will be fans' best source for training camp news. Fans can also follow the Mustangs Twitter and Facebook accounts for updates.
