It seems all the time spent travelling around Canada was put to good use for Carleton Ravens football head coach Steve Sumarah, as the team secured commitments from their first two potential recruits, he announced Feb. 23 during a press conference in Barrhaven.
Former high school teammates Jesse Mills and Dechaun Beals have committed to play with the Ravens for their first season in the fall of 2013. Both are Halifax natives, and Sumarah is familiar with the two individuals.
Mills, a 6’4”, 230 lbs. quarterback, played under Sumarah for the Saint Mary’s Huskies in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) last year. Mills played in eight games for the Huskies, accumulating four wins in his five starts.
Sumarah told the Charlatan earlier in the month that a star quarterback was essential to the rebirth of Carleton’s football program. With the acquisition of Mills, Sumarah has stayed true to his priorities.
“First, it’s such a pivotal position, especially in the Canadian game,” Sumarah said. “They dictate a lot of how the play is. But second, they’re the face of your program. To get a top-notch guy like [Mills], that’s huge.”
Both Mills and Beals will play with the Ottawa Sooners of the Canadian Junior Football League while they await the start of the Ravens’ first season in 2013.
Rob Raistrick, president of the Sooners organization, said he was just as happy as Sumarah about the signing.
“Quarterbacks like [Mills] don’t come along every day,” Raistrick said. “He’s going to be a great asset for us for a year and then for Carleton for three years after. He’s just a great all-around quarterback, great leader and a proven winner. He’s won at every level.”
Mills was a superstar high school quarterback, going undefeated in all of his starts at Citadel High School in Halifax.
Raistrick pointed to Mills’ pedigree, citing his three unbeaten years, his participation in the world junior championship and his one-loss rookie season with Saint Mary’s as reasons to get excited.
Needless to say, Sumarah and the Ravens agree.
“He’s a hard-working guy,” Sumarah said. “He’s dedicated, he works hard, and he gets it . . . he understands the pressures of the position, he understands that he’s going to get more credit when you win and take more abuse when you lose than any other guy on the field.”
Beals, a highly touted running back, played alongside Mills with the Citadel Phoenix to help make the high school team the first three-time repeat champions in Nova Scotia since the 1980s.
Beals, who was also a Saint Mary’s recruit, put up an impressive 24.4 yards per run and 14 rushing touchdowns in his last year with the Phoenix. He was also a very successful track runner.
“The one thing he brings is speed,” Sumarah said. “He was one of the top track guys in the province. You don’t need 100-yard drives when a guy like [Beals] gets the ball in his hands. He can make it happen right away.”
The combination of Mills and Beals was unstoppable in high school, and Sumarah and Raistrick are hopeful that will translate to the next level.
“I’ve only seen the tape of the two of them,” Raistrick said. “Coach Sumarah has seen them play almost every high school game, and he was in love with these kids from when he was at Saint Mary’s and now that he’s the new head coach of Carleton, he couldn’t talk enough about these kids.”
With the two fundamental pieces in place, Sumarah will be busy in the coming weeks filling out the rest of the team. For now, he said he wants to focus on the offensive line.
“As much as the [backs] and receivers may get a lot of the glory, it’s up front that makes the difference,” Sumarah said. “If you have a good offensive line you have a chance to win every game.”
With the Sooners — who even play at Carleton’s Keith Harris Stadium and have their clubhouse located across the road — helping with player development in the meantime, Raistrick said it’s a perfect partnership.
“It’s a match made in heaven right now,” he said.
