The season may be over for the St. Paul Lions, but a career in football may only be beginning for Lions, and Wheatland Football League MVPs, Jason Jubinville and Zach Smith, who will both be suiting up for the Edmonton Huskies in the Canadian Junior Football League this upcoming season.
“I’m absolutely grateful. I look at a lot of my other teammates and feel like they could have made the team too if they would have tried out. I feel lucky to get to play a couple more years,” Smith said, adding that having Jubinville transition to the CJFL alongside him is an added bonus. “It’s pretty sweet, since we’ve been friends our whole lives,”
Jubinville said that he is very grateful to carry on the success he had with the Lions this season, and will embrace the chance to further that success as a member of the Huskies.
“Lots of people, after they’re done with high school sports they kind of just let go sometimes. So it’s nice to keep on playing sports for a few more years,” said Jubinville.
Both Jubinville and Smith will relocate to Edmonton to become part of the Huskies, and both say they hope to follow it up with a university education and a roster spot on a university team.
Both Smith and Jubinville have traveled to watch the Huskies play in recent seasons, and Jubinville pointed out that it will be a whole new level of competition in Edmonton.
“From a running back’s perspective I’d say the defense is faster, more aggressive, bigger, stronger, smarter, just everything is better and the holes close faster,” he said. “But at the same time you’re playing with better guys, too.”
Smith echoed Jubinville’s thoughts on the increased level of competition from a defensive standpoint.
“There’s definitely a lot more responsibility involved than in high school on run games and in calls, making reads on tackles. You’ve got to be a lot more creative on pass rushing, because we’re against way bigger offensive linemen,” he said.
Jubinville also pointed out that he and Smith will have to face going from being the league’s most valuable players in the Wheatland, to being underestimated newcomers in the CJFL.
“You go from being one of the top guys, and then when you go to the city no one knows you. I was talking with people and they don’t even know where St. Paul is. They thought I was from downtown or something,” Jubinville said with a laugh. “Being from a small town, you’re a lot more of an underdog.”
The pair will hit the gridiron with the Huskies on Aug. 1, and both plan to spend the majority of their July bulking up in the gym with the plan of making an immediate impact.
Lions coach Todd Tanasichuk pointed out that former St. Paul Lions Nathan Gardiner and Mark Proskiw currently hold spots on the Edmonton Wildcats roster, and that he and coach John Lumby will be circling the days that the Huskies and Wildcats square off on their calendars.
“Now when we go to watch, we can watch all four of them play at the same time,” Tanasichuk said, adding he is confident Jubinville and Smith will prove themselves to the Huskies coaching staff just as they did to him and Lumby.
“It’s just like when they were Bengals coming up to the Lions. They’re at the bottom of the pole now and they’ve got to work their way back up, but just like that, if they stick with it they’ll get used to the pace of the game and what it takes to compete at that level, and then they’ll be fine.”
Lumby added that he is very proud of his players and their ability to pursue their goals, which he hopes will rub off on the future Lions talent.
“We’re proud of our four boys. That’s one of the things we’ve felt has been missing, we’ve been working towards it,” he said. “There have been a good handful of guys over the years who could have been successful and didn’t follow through, and it’s really great to see some follow through. I think they’re all going to be successful, and we’re proud.”
