BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
When the University of Ottawa went looking for help to bolster their football team, they came to Sudbury and found the Kirkwood brothers, Ryan and Kyle, all 482 pounds of them.
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Kyle Kirkwood (left) and brother Ryan are off to the University of Ottawa and its successful football program. |
The brothers have played football together before in high school, but now they will be playing at the elite level in Canada for amateurs.
Ryan, 20 transferred to the University of Ottawa from the University of Guelph to get the unique opportunity to play with his sibling.
?Playing with my brother was the main reason I transferred over,? said Ryan. ?Ottawa is one of the top teams in Ontario and you get a better chance to be seen by scouts.?
Kyle, 17 knows it?s going to be a heck of an expereince playing ball with his older brother.
?At the very least I know I will have someone around to push me further,? said Kyle. ?We?ve played before in high school, but this will be something else.?
The chance for the brothers to play together came at a recent recruiting tour that came to Sudbury. Ottawa?s head football coach was in town and saw the monstrous Kyle displaying his skills and power.
?The first time I saw Kyle I was extremely impressed with his size and ability,? said University of Ottawa head coach Denis Piche. ?As a player I thought he was very mature for his age.?
While at the recruitment camp, Piche had a chance to talk to the brother?s father, local police constable Scott Kirkwood, and found out Ryan, who was at the University of Guelph, was interested in transferring to Ottawa.
Ryan had already played a full year of university football at Guelph. Once Ryan had declared his intentions to transfer from Guelph to Ottawa, Piche was cleared to talk to him.
?I talked to Ryan?s former coaches and found out he was a very good player and would fit well with the scheme of our defense because of his ability and experience.?
While Ottawa wasn?t Kyle?s first choice, it didn?t take him long to warm up to the historic university.
?I went and saw the facilities and toured the city,? said Kyle. ?With the way this team looks I just couldn?t pass this up.?
Kyle was heavily coveted by schools across Canada. Queen?s, Waterloo and Guelph were among the universities interested in the hulking, 270-pound lineman.
The brothers have sacrificed a lot of time and effort to get where they are today, but wouldn?t change it for the world.
?Football is a big part of my life,? said Ryan. ?It has to mean a lot to you if you hope to make it far.?
Kyle echoed his brother?s passion.
?Football is the reason I get up in the morning,? said Kyle. ?I don?t know what I would be doing if I wasn?t
playing football.?
Piche knows he has secured two outstanding players for his club.
Piche hopes the six-foot-two, 215 pound Ryan can step in right away and contribute.
?We?ve graduated two of our rush ends on defense and we?re looking at Ryan to fill in,? said Piche. ?Ryan?s going to better than any high school kid we would bring at that position because of his experience at this level.?
Piche knows what he?s getting in the six-foot-five, 267-pound Kyle.
?Kyle is one of those rare freshmen who could be looking at a starting spot or dressing spot due to his size and maturity,? said Piche. ?He?s definitely one of our biggest catches of the year.?
The brothers believe they will get a chance to compete for a national championship.
?There?s a 122 years of football history at this university,? said Piche. ?We?ve won many national championships and I think Ryan and Kyle are the type of players we want on and off the field - they will help continue the long, successful tradition here.?
Kyle will take communications and media studies while attending Ottawa.
?I want to get into broadcasting,? said Kyle. ?I love watching ESPN and I know if someday I can?t play football, I
would like to talk about it on television.?
Ryan will be taking a Bachelar of Arts, with a major in mathematics.
?I?m strong in math and that?s what I?ll probably be doing in the future.?
