By Dylan Monico – Contributor

It was a tough pill to swallow for the Bishop’s football team after a hail mary knocked the Gaiters out of the 2022 Atlantic University Sport Playoff.

With hopes of redemption, the Gaiters took the field for their first practices of the 2023 season. The Gaiters held a three-day mini camp from March 10 to March 12 at Centre Multisport Roland Dussault. This camp was a vital first step of the season for a team hoping to win their first conference championship since 1994, when the team still competed in Quebec.

Back for his seventh year at the helm of the Bishop’s football program is none other than Cherif Nicolas. Nicolas is coming off of his first winning season as the head coach for Bishop’s, posting a 4-3 record in the 2022 campaign.

Furthermore, this is going to be the first full off-season with the newly appointed offensive coordinator Samuel Gendreau. Gendreau arrived in the Eastern Townships nearing the end of the 2022 off-season. His fast paced RPO-based offense sparked life into the Gaiters, as they finished second in the conference in yards and points per game.

On the defensive side of the ball, Coach Fred Mercier will be making the jump to the defensive coordinator position. Mercier, who spent the last three seasons as the Gaiters’ defensive line coach, takes the reins of one of the best defenses in all of Canada, who in 2022, were second in the country in points allowed and third in yards allowed.

On offense, key returners for the Gaiters are All-Star running back David Chaloux, All-Star offensive lineman Mitchell Martell, and last but not least breakout young quarterback Justin Quirion. As far as defensive players, the team has none other than reigning defensive player of the year and All-Star Gabriel Royer, defensive backfield threat Jake Matheson, and a dominant interior force Brandon Marques.

The Gaiters will have one more mini-camp from March 31 to April 2 and then a full eight day spring camp from April 28 until May 5 before taking a break for the summer. The energy is high within the Gaiters locker room this off-season. The last three seasons have all ended in the playoffs, and this might finally be the year the Gaiters break through and capture their maiden Loney Bowl.