Montreal Carabins’ quarterback Jonathan Senecal has won the Hec Crighton Trophy as Canada’s top university football player.
Senecal beat out Wilfrid Laurier quarterback Taylor Elgersma, St. FX quarterback Silas Fagnan, and Alberta running back Matthew Peterson to become the first player in school history to win the award. He is the second consecutive winner from the RSEQ, following Laval receiver Kevin Mital who won in 2022.
The 24-year-old completed 69.6 percent of his passes for 2,215 yards with 15 touchdowns against four interceptions this season and ran the ball 34 times for 394 yards (11.6 per carry) with six majors. The six-foot, 200-pounder led the Quebec conference in every passing category and set a new school single-season record for passing touchdowns.
Senecal led the Université de Montreal to a 29-3 win over the No. 1-ranked Western Mustangs at CEPSUM Stadium in the Uteck Bowl last week. The victory allowed the Carabins to advance to the U Sports football championship game where they’ll look to win a second national title in program history.
Ahead of that game, Mustangs’ head coach Greg Marshall compared Senecal’s dual-threat ability to that of Edmonton Elks’ quarterback Tre Ford, who won the Hec Crighton in 2021. Montreal Alouettes’ general manager Danny Maciocia believes that the transfer from UConn could follow the same path to becoming a CFL signal-caller.
The Montreal Carabins will face off against the UBC Thunderbirds in the 58th Vanier Cup on Saturday, November 25 at 1:00 p.m. EST in Richardson Memorial Stadium in Kingston, Ont.
