International Bowl is Canadian homecoming for UB pair
TORONTO — Ronald Hilaire gets to play his final game as a collegian close to home.
Hilaire, one of two University at Buffalo players from Canada, grew up in Laval, Quebec, while junior Bruno Lapointe, a backup defensive end, is from Lennoxville, Quebec.
“It’s a good feeling because I’m going to be allowed to have a lot of my family here see me play,” said Hilaire, a defensive tackle and co-captain who will lead the UB defense against Connecticut (7-5) in Saturday’s International Bowl at the Rogers Centre. “Also, I got drafted by the Calgary Stampeders so it might not be the last time I play in this stadium.”
The 6-foot-1, 298-pound Hilaire, a fifth-year senior, was drafted in the fourth-round by Calgary following his junior year. Because he earned his degree in International Business, Hilaire could have left for Calgary with a season of eligibility remaining, but he wanted to win a championship.
“It’s good to know you have options,” he said. “After the season we had last year I thought we had something special and I wanted to experience that with the team. I really wanted to come back and have a great season under coach [Turner] Gill and open up some doors maybe to the NFL but I knew I at least had the CFL to fall back on.”
••• The International Bowl is a homecoming for Danny Barrett.
Barrett, UB’s assistant head coach who also handles the quarterbacks, enjoyed a long career in the CFL. Barrett was traded to the Toronto Argonauts in 1985 before signing with the New Jersey Generals of the USFL in 1986. When the USFL went under, Barrett re-joined the Argos in 1987 and lost the Grey Cup to Edmonton on a last-second field goal. Barrett was with Calgary in 1991 when the Stampeders lost the Grey Cup to an Argos team that featured former Notre Dame All-American Raghib “Rocket” Ismail.
“Eight percent of those guys were my teammates from before,” said Barrett, who set a CFL record with 34 completions in the 1991 Grey Cup. “When I walk into a building like this, it brings back a lot of memories, a lot of fun memories.”
Barrett spent 24 seasons playing and coaching in the CFL and his career totals include 23,419 yards passing and 133 touchdowns.
“I spent half my life up here,” he said. “I really matured as a man and as a player and as a coach. It gave me the grounding and the foundation of where I’m at today.”
Recently, the Argos approached Barrett about becoming their next coach but Barrett said the timing wasn’t right.
“If you’re talking about being part of one of the cities in the CFL, this is it because of the national exposure it has and being the top media market in Canada,” he said. “I just felt after two years at UB to come back was too soon. I would like the opportunity to pursue one of the head coaching jobs at the Division I-A level in the next two-three years if it comes up.”
•••
Continued success at UB could lead to bigger opportunities for Gill, who wouldn’t rule out coaching in the NFL.
“I would be open to that, I’m not going to shutout anything,” said Gill, who recently agreed to a one-year extension at UB. “I’ve learned from my past not to close doors. I did that earlier in my career. I said, ‘I’m not leaving, I’m not going anywhere.’ I’m not saying I would or wouldn’t but I have to evaluate it at that particular time in my life.”
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