Vert & Or coaches difference maker for commits

Sherbrooke adds two Québec commits to their 2018 class.

Julien Matte-Lajoie, a linebacker from Cégep Limoilou, and Dylan Côté, a defensive lineman from Cégep de Rimouski, have goals they wish to achieve and they have the utmost confidence that their new coaching staff, and the Sherbrooke Vert & Or, will help them make their goals reality.

Julien Matte-Lajoie

When Julien Matte-Lajoie joined Les Titans Cégep Limoilou (RSEQ Division 1), he felt as if he was home. “It’s a second family. It’s a brotherhood and everyone is pushing in the same direction,” he said.

Fast-forward three years and not much has changed with his future team. “I felt the same way visiting Sherbrooke and it was one of my main criteria for my U Sports choice. Basically, I wanted to get as close as I could to what I felt the first time I put on a Titans jersey and I can’t wait to feel it again with Sherbrooke,” he said.

While Matte-Lajoie received interest from other schools, he ultimately decided that Sherbrooke was the better option for him both as a player and an individual. “Sherbrooke’s coaches had a better ‘football plan’ for me than any other team. They believe in my talent and I believe in them too,” he said.

“Head Coach Mathieu Lecompte is someone that wants to win at all cost. That’s what I like from him. I see a head coach who is extremely dedicated towards his team and his players. He is putting in the effort, so it gives us a push to give a little more,” he added.

As for the other coaches, Matte-Lajoie said that Guillaume Boucher, the defensive coordinator, has a great football mind. “He is someone who’s able to do the right call at the right moment to put his players in the best position to perform,” he said.

For his positional coach, Kevin Reginbald, Matte-Lajoie feels that he will be able to help elevate his game to the next level. He said that, “Reginbald is a very competent linebacker coach and will certainly help me achieve my goal of playing at the pro level.”

For six years, Matte-Lajoie played with Les Centaures de la Courvilloise (RSEQ) in high school. He was a four-time defensive player of the year from 2009 to 2013. In 2010, he was named as an MVP. He is a two-time juvenile division 2 all-star in 2012 and 2013. Last season, he was named as Les Titans’ MVP. He currently holds the team record for most tackles in a season (2017) with 55 and most in a career with 124 (2015-2017). He finished sixth in the RSEQ Division 1 collegial league in tackles.

The product of Beauport, Québec, (RSEQ Division 1) is 6’0, 230lbs and is interested in taking kinesiology.

Dylan Côté

When Dylan Côté looked at Sherbrooke, he found a school that he said is an “excellent university (with a) good reputation.”

On top of that, he said the school has a “good coaching staff who spends a lot of time with us to (help us) get better.”

Côté, who is from Rivière-du-Loup, Québec, is interested in business with the chance at doing a co-op.

Côté spent five years playing high school ball at École secondaire du Mistral before spending three years with Les Pionniers du Cégep de Rimouski (RSEQ Division 3). The 6’4, 250lbs lineman was a MVP in 2017 and was an all-star in 2016 and 2017.