By George Johnson,
Calgary Herald
Blake Nill’s first game in charge of St. Mary’s should’ve been a tipoff.
The Huskies, perennial doormats, were trailing, predictably, 21-0 to Acadia before scoring 10 unanswered points to close the second quarter.
“In the dressing room at halftime,” recalls Nill, eight years later, “all the kids are jumping around as if they’d won the Vanier Cup, going, ‘Yeah!’ and ‘All right!’ I could not believe what I was seeing or hearing.
“So I kind of . . . lost it. I started shaking lockers. I’d shake a locker and yell, ‘What exactly have we proven or won, here?!’ Then, I’d go down to the next one and shake another locker and yell, ‘Is that all you guys ask of yourself?! To be close?!’
“The poor trainer, he’d been there 20 years, he looked at me as if I was crazy. I thought he might cry.”
Be aware, Blake Nill is a large man.
The Huskies, by the way, went on to win 28-21 that afternoon and put a cork in an eight-game losing streak.
Four Vanier appearances, two victories, a 49-14 Atlantic University regular-season record, 12-5 playoff tally and a Frank Tindall Trophy as CIS Coach of the Year later, he’s returned to his home province with a fresh challenge to face in typical fashion — head on.
A new, uncompromising era of Calgary Dinosaurs football begins Saturday with the opening of the 2006 training camp. Nill says he’s mellowed a bit from his locker-rattling days — age and perspective can do wonders to heighten diplomatic skills — but still gives his opinion straight up, without a chaser. His intensity level, his love of the competition, remains well over the Caution! Beware of Overload! level.
How it goes down does not concern him.
“Is it right? Is it wrong? I couldn’t say. But it’s the only way I know. I’m open and honest and fair. I’m sure I’ve lost some recruits being the way I am, and I’ve been wrong about some guys, certainly, but if I think your son is going to be a third-string tailback on our team, I won’t tell you he’s bucking for the No. 1 job just because that’s what the player and his parents want to hear.”
Already, a number of high-end Dinos veterans have walked away.
“They didn’t like what I was saying,” says Nill. “And I’m sure there will be more casualties along the way. But those guys would’ve eventually been weeded out, anyway.
“Look, I know this is a university and academics come first. I have three degrees. No one can tell me, ‘But coach, you don’t understand about school.’ But I also know football is this” — he holds a thumb and index finger perhaps an inch apart — “close. I want responsibility and commitment and your attention.”
The six-year CFL vet took over a 1-7 SFX team and in four years had it in the Vanier Cup. He took over a similarly slipshod 1-7 St. Mary’s team and built a dynasty. Now, he returns to his alma mater to try and whip into shape a 2-6 squad that hasn’t won a playoff game since claiming Vanier glory in 1995.
His presence, the trail of success and championships he brings to the program can only help but entice more of the best high school prospects –“I only wear my (championship) rings when I recruit,” Nill says — to choose the U of C. And he’s started off with a bang, landing highly regarded, extensively recruited quarterback Dalian Tollestrup from Lethbridge.
The Blake Nill blueprint for putting together a contender is: Make sure the best 20 eligible football players from Alberta are in the U of C lineup, and supplement from the outside.
He fully understands that in Halifax, Huskie sports, particularly football, is the big dog. In Calgary, with pro teams dominating the landscape, making college ball an exciting alternative for the sports dollar and the front page is a lot tougher.
“I’m all fired up about it. Why? Because the talent within a three-hour radius of here is the best in the country. The high school football here in Alberta is second to none. And because the alumni will put money where its mouth is. We do, after all, live in an age of scholarships. The goal is to bring the best student-athletes available here.
“The school wants to win again. The alumni wants to win again. The community wants to win again.”
And how close, or how far, are the new-look, new-era Dinos from being a winning entity?
“I have a quarterback who hasn’t taken a snap in the CIS,” replies Nill. “I have a tailback who hasn’t taken a snap in the CIS. I expect to win every game we play, but I’m also a realist. What I do demand is that every time you put on pads, you play with pride.
“Nobody plays at this level to lose.
“If I’d wanted to ride out my career, I could’ve done it in Halifax and probably gone to a couple more Vanier Cups. But I’m convinced — absolutely convinced — we can build something great at the University of Calgary. If I didn’t, believe me, I wouldn’t be here.”
