It didn’t take Nick Cessford long to find football success at the university level and he didn’t have to go very far to find it either.
For Cessford, the former Ballenas Whaler, there were a few choices for where he could call home for his university football career. Ultimately, Cessford chose to head to the Lower Mainland and play for coach Blake Nill and the UBC Thunderbirds.
That choice turned out to be a good one, as the Thunderbirds went all the way to the Vanier Cup final, beating the Montreal Carabins 26-23 in a thrilling football game.
“It was a great feeling,” Cessford said. “Once we got into the playoffs, we just had that mentality of taking it one game at a time, just doing what we could to get better and keep working as hard as we could.”
“Winning the Canada West title was great, and then going on to win the Vanier Cup, that was special. There’s no better feeling in sport than winning a championship. I’m just glad that I was able to be a part of that.”
Coming out of high school, Cessford, an offensive lineman who stands 6’3” and tips the scales at 260 pounds, was coach Nill’s first CFC Top 100 recruit in the 2015 recruiting class.
Cessford enjoyed his first year as a Thunderbird, learning to adapt to his busy schedule along the way. Enrolled in the arts program, Cessford has been taking courses in political science and First Nations studies.
“School was pretty tough,” Cessford said. “There are lots of time constraints with practices, meetings and all the travel that’s involved too. But you learn as you go along to balance it out.”
Learning to balance out his workload in the classroom with his work on and off the field for the T-Birds football team was one thing, but the on-field portion of the game was a bit of a transition for the offensive lineman.
“It’s an entirely different level of play,” Cessford said. “Getting used to playing against bigger, stronger and faster players was tough. But it really showed me not only what to expect when I’m out there on the field but where I have to have my game to be able to be better than the competition. Overall though, it was a great first season and I’m excited for next year.”
For now, Cessford will finish his studies in his first full year at UBC and then look to continue to work hard in the gym and on the football field to prepare himself for his sophomore season at UBC, with the hopes of another run at the Vanier Cup.
“That would be nice,” Cessford said. “It’s a tough road to get there but we know what it takes. Personally, there’s going to be lots of studying, weight lifting and running to get prepared for next season.”
“I’m just going to be looking to earn a spot on that field like everyone else, so we’ll see where I can take it.”
