Spring camp officially ended on May 3, and head coach Glen Constantin was very positive about what he saw in the team’s four practices.
“Our players responded well and we saw a lot of good things on both sides of the ball. We have healthy competition at the quarterback position and Arnaud Desjardins has returned in great shape. We are demonstrating great things with the terrestrial dimension which is not a bad thing in Canadian football.”
The Rouge et Or coaching staff has been busy preparing for the team’s next campaign for quite some time. (Caroline Grégoire/The Sun)
Mobility and speed
Regarding the defense, the pilot likes the progression of the unit which will see new faces in the tertiary.
“I don’t usually say this, but we move the ball phenomenally. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen our defense move this quickly. We have a lot of speed in our secondary as well as with our linebackers. “It’s not just Justin Cloutier, but Étienne Delisle and Christopher St-Hilaire are doing some great things as well.”
The defensive line which was singled out last year also shows good progress according to Constantin.
“A guy like William Quenneville is starting to assert himself and we have a lot of our young guys who are growing well as well. This group will be better than last year.”
Arnaud Desjardins showed some great things this winter. (The Sun, Erick Labbé /The Sun, Erick Labbé)
Arnaud Desjardins in great shape
On the offensive side, offensive coordinator Justin Éthier is also satisfied with what he saw, starting with the play of Arnaud Desjardins.
“It’s been a while since we had four pivots at the same time in Laval. The battle is on and I am very satisfied with how Arnaud behaved during the winter. Victor Charland is pushing behind him and I am happy with what I see from our two recruits.
Very aware that he is losing large pieces within his unit, Éthier works a lot on the cohesion of his group.
“We are losing stars, but I believe we can replace them collectively with better cohesion. We won’t be able to replace them individually anyway. Two years ago we had very good chemistry and last year for a lot of reasons it was more difficult with cohesion. We’re working on that and I like what I see so far.”
Éthier ends the interview by mentioning that he really likes the progression of young players like Olivier Cool and Émerick Boutin in the receiver position while ensuring that the play of the offensive line is gaining momentum.
