SACKVILLE, N.B. — The Mount Allison Mounties have landed one of the top football players in the country and he came from just a short cross-town jaunt.
Lucas Cormier agreed late last month to keep his game in town after visiting a number of schools in Canada and having discussion with at least one Division 2 school in the United States.
And why did he decide to play with the Mounties?
“First, I really liked what Mount Allison is doing with its program and I wanted to be part of that rebuild process,” said the two-time Team Canada safety.
“And then the opportunity to continue to play in front of my friends and family was so important for me.”
He says he is really impressed with the direction in which coach Peter Fraser is taking the program and has only respect for fitness coach Zak Conangelo, who is properly preparing the players for the coming campaign.
So why was Lucas Cormier such a hot item?
Well, he was by far the most outstanding player in New Brunswick high school football on a team loaded with talent. He easily landed a starting role with U18 Team Canada, and in 2018 he helped defeat the U.S. team at the AT&T Centre in Arlington, Tx. They lost to the U.S. this year but Cormier played every minute at safety and turned in a solid and noticeable performance.
Like most Titan players, Lucas was multi-talented. During his rookie season he played corner with the Titans but shifted to receiver and became No. 1 at that position. Since then, his versatility has been demonstrated at linebacker, safety, halfback and as a slotback on offense.
His defensive skills were quickly recognized by the opposition, as he had the ability to cover the entire field and his hits could be felt as far away as the press box.
And when pressed to come in on offense to take some load off the shoulders of Oliver Longpre, opposing teams were left flat-footed and he ran through the lines roughshod to score multiple touchdowns.
There is no question that Cormier has been the most sought-after Titan ever. He visited schools like Calgary, Western and Carleton and was impressed by all three, but the pull to remain at home continued to dog him and he believes the real decision was made before he ever hit the road.
While his older brother Dylan is a starting linebacker with the Mounties, Lucas said he never let that affect his decision of where to play. However, it is obvious he is looking forward to working beside him in the years to come. Dylan has three seasons remaining.
But he quickly points out that every position on the Mounties is wide open with the coaches having the final say.
“I plan to work hard for the rest of the year and be ready to hit camp in August in the best shape of my career. I would love to draw a starting assignment but I will be just another rookie in the eyes of the coaches and so must prove I belong on the field.”
Perhaps Lucas may have a slight edge. The Titans and Mounties have been working closely and using similar schemes and occasionally using the same field (Alumni), so this might provide him with an edge over other young men coming from outside the province.
And his initial skill sets were worked on by his father who has guided the peewee Titans for ages, and then Scott O’Neal took over and helped refine them to the point where he is today – a young man coveted by almost every university football team in this country.
It would seem the position he has patrolled for years, including two with Team Canada, will see a battle since Nate Rostek – an All-Conference player in 2018 – will be graduating and leaving the spot to the man best prepared.
It would seem the Mounties are on the right track, having signed an experienced quarterback, a knowledgeable offensive coordinator and former quarterback and now the highly sought after Lucas Cormier.
Mountie fans are already beginning to talk championships – at least their hope is that Fraser may have success in creating a truly competitive team that each season retains hope of advancing toward the Vanier Cup.
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