“When he was playing for me he was on the short end of the field. So I knew that on this side where they put the best receiver, I was in business. I didn’t have too many worries, I knew he would do the job. ”
Denis Touchette was the defensive coordinator of the Spartans during the three seasons of Benjamin St-Juste in Old Montreal, from 2014 to 2016.
“Athletically, he had what it took. Big, fast. Athletes like that, not much is spent here, especially in this position. And it is a position in which it is not easy to break through the level where it is now, ”he said about his ex-cornerback, drafted at 74e row last Friday night.
Touchette now occupies the same functions with the Carabins of the University of Montreal, although he has not yet been able to participate in any exercise. His appointment to the group of head coach Marco Iadeluca took effect on March 12, 2020. Just days before you know what.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, ARCHIVES THE PRESS
Denis Touchette, defensive coordinator of the Carabins of the University of Montreal
Of his ex-protégé, the defensive coordinator does not remember athletic qualities above the scrum. But of its ethics too. A characteristic of the student-athlete that has improved gradually from year to year.
“Benjamin, this is an example I can cite of a guy who had the discipline to get to his goals. And it’s not everyone who has it, says Chérif Nicolas, head coach of Old Montreal during the passage of St-Juste. Some have the talent, but not the discipline. Others have the discipline, but not the talent. Benjamin is lucky, but he worked to have both. That’s how I remember Benjy. More than tackles and interceptions. ”
Nicolas left the Spartans at the end of the 2016 season, the same year as St-Juste. The latter left for the University of Michigan and its coach, for Bishop’s University, with the Gaiters, where he is still the head coach.
PHOTO MAXIME PICARD, LA TRIBUNE ARCHIVES
Chérif Nicolas, Head Coach of the Bishop’s University Gaiters
It was Chérif Nicolas who had spotted and then recruited the defensive back, now 23, in high school.
Nevertheless, arriving from the Wolves of the Curé-Antoine-Labelle school, Benjamin St-Juste had to make his way of the cross like the other recruits. In his first campaign, in 2014, in which the Spartans won the Bol d’Or in Division 1, he was essentially a role player.
The following summer, he crossed the border to take part in camps.
“So I knew it was his dream to go play in the NCAA and make the NFL,” says Nicolas. It’s something he spoke openly about even when he was younger. ”
Quickly, however, the teenager realized that he had a lot of work to do to achieve his goals.
When the University of Michigan offered him a scholarship, he understood that, among other things, he would have to seek certain courses to be eligible for studies in the United States.
“And there I saw a teenager grow into a young man. A lot of young people talk about their goal, but few manage to really make all the necessary sacrifices, in addition to having the talent to get there, ”notes Chérif Nicolas, who has compiled a record of 56-26 during his seven seasons. at the helm of the Spartans.
After his second season at Old Montreal, Benjamin St-Juste participated in the United States in Nike The Opening, a form of academy, summer camp, both educational and competitive.
I think the decisions he made [étaient prises] as a function of being seen, of making oneself known. He made it happen the way he wanted it to.
Denis Touchette, former defensive coordinator of the Cégep du Vieux Montréal Spartans
On his return, St-Juste went to see Nicolas in his office, undecided about a third year with the Spartans.
“Then, when he announced his return to me, you saw that he was a guy who had grown even more mature, who knew what he had to do and that whatever the obstacles, he was going to try to overcome them” , relates Chérif Nicolas, who practiced law for six years before returning to football.
In the end, will St-Juste have been dominant during these three college seasons?
“The word ‘dominant’, I don’t use it easily, drops Nicolas. But he was one of the very good players. In his age group, he was one of the best in his position, that’s for sure. ”
“Throwing against him was not easy. When the receivers found themselves in front of him, it was not easy for them, ”summarizes Denis Touchette.
A young “very discreet”
After three seasons of dating, we are entitled to believe that coaches have exercised a certain ascendancy over their players.
“I didn’t give him his talent, his greatness, his athleticism. I hope I said two, three things that prompted him to have this discipline. Because there is a phrase I used to repeat often when I was at Le Vieux: “Make the right choices.” But certainly, he went there on his own merit, says Nicolas. For me, it’s more of a privilege to have had the chance to meet him. ”
Denis Touchette, director of Collège Notre-Dame, remembers a young man who had the tools and the attitude to make his way on his own. Also of a “guy who was about his own business, who worked hard, but very discreet”.
So he liked to read that in addition to his degree in sociology from the University of Michigan and his Masters in Sports Administration from the University of Minnesota, the 6’3 ”, 202lb Montrealer was one founding members of the College Athlete Unity group, an association that represents Big Ten student-athletes.
“I’m glad he came out of his shell, that at this level, his personality took him elsewhere. At the end of the day, we also want to make good citizens with these guys. So, I find it funny that it came out. That, for me, has a lot of value too. ”
