Vulkin DB commits to St. FX

X-Men welcome an out-of-province commit to their Class of 2017.

Alexis Verville, a defensive back from Cégep de Victoriaville, sees something with the Saint Francis Xavier X-Men that has peaked his interest.

Opportunity is the word of the day for Verville, shedding light onto why he chose to move out east to study and play at St. FX. “With their fifth-year boundary corner leaving and the fact that I am older than most recruits, both the coaching staff and I believed that I could possibly start as a freshman if I put the work in,” Verville said. “(Also,) the fact that I can go ahead with two of the best receivers in the country, day after day in practice, was one of the most important factors.”

Towering at 6’5, 180lbs, Verville sees improvement in the X-Men camp every year. “They have built a great winning culture over there for the last few years and I feel like each year, they take a step towards the Vanier Cup with their coaching and recruiting classes,” he said.

“I like the stability with Head Coach Waterman. I believe it’s his eight or ninth season as the head coach. Coach Waterman and Coach Van Den Heuvel have spoke with (me) a lot through the recruiting process and they were always very honest with me,” Verville added.

A football team’s coaching staff consists of many moving parts, so it can be hard to meet everyone on the first visit. “I haven’t met Coach Daly, but not many coaches can offer a pedigree like his,” he said.

Verville can already identify with the coaches he has met, however. He said that everyone he had talked to said he and Coach Bob Mullen, the team’s defensive coordinator and defensive back coach, were a great fit. “We both love the analytics part of the game and we might even be a little bit crazy about it to be honest! When I spoke with him, I felt instantly his passion for the game,” Verville added.

The new X-Men is interested in taking a liberal arts program. He is a French Canadian and is looking to improve his English during his time in Nova Scotia.

Verville hails from Victoriaville, Québec, which is south-west of Québec City. He spent two years in the RSEQ Cadet AA Division with Les Vicas du Victoriaville before playing three years in the Québec Midget Football League with Les Vicas in 2011. He spent his three cégep years with Les Vulkins du Cégep de Victoriaville (RSEQ Division 3). “I’ve never won any awards of champions. I’m sure that will change at St.FX,” Verville said.

2017 Commit DB – Alexis Verville (Victoriaville, Quebec)#WhiteandBlue17 #StFX #HailandHealth #LoyaltotheWhiteandBlue pic.twitter.com/SFspjSsBPI

— StFX X-Men Football (@StFXFootball) January 23, 2017