Massey’s Sharp joins Moore with Bisons football

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This article was published 29/03/2023 (1015 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Justin Sharp wondered for a while if his championship-winning touchdown, a quarterback sneak behind star offensive lineman Carter Moore, would be his final play.

The Vincent Massey Vikings duo capped seven years of sharing gridirons with a Winnipeg High School Football League Division 2 final thriller, beating Sturgeon Heights in double overtime at IG Field.

Sharp and Moore didn’t realize they would return to the scene of the shining moment together. Moore signed his letter of intent with the University of Manitoba Bisons during the season and Sharp followed suit on Tuesday, committing for the 2023 Canada West season.

“Feels like I’m always behind that guy, man,” Sharp said. “Championship touchdown, QB sneaks all season long, I grew up playing behind that guy and it’s just another few years of that now. I’m excited.”

“I’m excited for him. We’ve been playing football for seven years and I’m just excited to take it to the next experience,” Moore added.

“His arm is crazy. It’s accurate, his accuracy is unreal. I’ve never seen a QB have the talent that Justin Sharp has.”

While Sharp started for Team Manitoba at the Football Canada Cup last summer, his five-foot-nine, 180-pound stature understandably limited how much attention post-secondary programs paid.

He eventually drew interest from Manitoba and the Saskatchewan Huskies, who wanted him to attend spring camp, Sharp said, but wouldn’t initially offer a spot.

The Brandon product verbally committed to U of M, and then Huskies coach Scott Flory texted asking him to hold off on his decision since a spot had opened up.

“At that point, I felt it was too late to go back on my word, even if I wanted to. I felt comfortable at U of M. I know people there. It’s home,” Sharp said.

Sharp comes by his ability honestly. He won’t blow anyone away with his size or speed but has shown he can outwork just about anyone. He weighed 240 pounds in Grade 10, during the COVID-19 pandemic before pushing himself to shed 60 pounds and hasn’t stopped training to better himself.

That caught Bisons coach Brian Dobie’s attention. He and recruiting co-ordinator Sean Oleksewycz reached out to Sharp throughout this off-season and Dobie chuckles that Sharp was usually in the weight room or on his way there.

“He’s willing to do what it takes to be the best he can be,” Dobie said.

The five-time Canada West coach of the year, who has led the Bisons since 1996, admits Sharp’s height isn’t ideal — the three ahead of Sharp on next year’s depth chart are all six-foot-two to six-foot-four. But Dobie is quick to point out that a bunch of shorter signal-callers have been successful in U Sports, including six-foot former Calgary Dino Eric Dzwilewski, the 2010 Canada West rookie of the year.

Dobie feels Sharp’s athleticism and rushing ability give him a chance to succeed without changing positions as other sub-six-foot high school QBs have done.

“We don’t have a hidden agenda for Justin. He’s coming in as a quarterback and he’s coming in at the bottom of the quarterback pile, for sure,” Dobie said.

“We have we think three really good quarterbacks in Jackson Tachinski, Jordan Hanslip and Sawyer Thiessen.

“(Sharp’s) the starting quarterback for Team Manitoba. His accomplishments speak for themselves. He’s certainly deserving of this recognition and deserving of this opportunity.”

Sharp credits his parents, Leanne and Jason, for helping him get here, along with Mike Steeves and the Vikings’ coaching staff.

In many ways, these Massey guys are just getting started. Dobie stresses how tough the grind of U Sports football is. It’s 48 weeks a year with camps, the season and regular year-round workouts.

The Bisons are more than four months removed from finishing 4-4 and losing in the Canada West semifinals to the eventual Vanier Cup finalist Huskies. They don’t play a game for another five months but are still hard at work. Moore’s seeing that first-hand this week.

Since he’s off school for spring break, Moore has been training with the team and attending offensive meetings for three days.

“We love him,” Dobie said. “He’s in here in the one opportunity he can get and there he is taking advantage of it.”

Dobie has been high on Moore for a while and has only grown more impressed since he signed. He wanted the six-foot-four, 320-pound lineman based on those numbers alone, then saw his ability to dominate the line of scrimmage and compete with the best players in the country at the Canada Football Chat prospects game last year in Ottawa.

“At the end of the day, there’s X number of high-end football players in the country and in the province. Generally, what separates them, in the end, is who they are, not what they are,” Dobie said. “Those two guys were guys that we wanted.

“Carter in particular, we went after him very hard, very early. Guys with that kind of size and that kind of attitude don’t grow on trees. They just don’t. Both those young guys have been really well coached through their high school careers and it’s shown up.

“I’m not saying they’re going to come in here and be first-team all-Canadian on Day 1 or something but their transition will be smooth.”

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