Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald, U3 Education (Physical & Health), has been a standout on the Redbirds football team from the moment he stepped on campus. After winning the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ)’s Most Outstanding Player award and being selected for Vanier College’s CEGEP Division 1 All-Star Team, Latendresse-Regimbald continued his success at McGill, becoming the university’s third football player to win the Peter Gorman Trophy, awarded to the U SPORTS Rookie of the Year.
The lefty quarterback is a Montreal native whose football origins trace back to his time as a youngster in Saint-Laurent.
“I started at seven, eight years old […] in small community ball,” Latendresse-Regimbald said in an interview with The Tribune. “I [played] many positions, tried different things, especially […] in city ball, [where] you need to play offence and defence, and it’s only in high school where [quarterback] became my main focus.”
This experience playing multiple positions helped Latendresse-Regimbald excel when he eventually played quarterback full-time, as he is now a dual-threat quarterback who can make plays both running and throwing the football.
Following Latendresse-Regimbald’s last season at Vanier, he was faced with the daunting decision of choosing where his university football future would lie. Being able to play weekly in his hometown, in front of friends and family, ended up being a major factor in his decision to join the up-and-coming Redbirds.
“When I did my recruiting process […] I thought about leaving, but then I was like, ‘Why leave when I can play with some guys from Montreal, some people I’ve met before, and my family’s always there?’” Latendresse-Regimbald said.
Since starting with the Redbirds, Latendresse-Regimbald has thrown for almost 5,700 yards, ran for nearly 2,000, and posted 44 total touchdowns. He broke Thomas Barbeau’s 46-year-old school record for rushing touchdowns in a 38-22 victory over Sherbrooke Vert & Or on Aug. 22. This came as news to Latendresse-Regimbald.
“I actually didn’t know I broke [the] record till after the game […] but it’s a huge milestone,” he shared. “It’s been a couple of decades back, which is pretty cool [to be able to] break this and bring it back to the present.”
Latendresse-Regimbald also emphasized that this accomplishment would not have been possible without the people around him.
“Every touchdown is a team effort,” Latendresse-Regimbald stated. “My teammates were there to block, […] coaches were there to make a small play [in the] play calling, and at the end of the day, it’s all about the execution. So it’s a huge personal milestone, but [there’s] also a good team aspect to it.”
In a few short years, Latendresse-Regimbald has risen from Rookie of the Year to an unforgettable player in Redbirds program history. He has grown both in his on-field role as quarterback, and in his role as a team leader off the field.
“You need to build a strong connection as a quarterback, because there’s only one quarterback on the field […] you want to get to know everyone,” Latendresse-Regimbald told The Tribune. “[My teammates] know that [my] door is always open for them to come up and to chat about anything and everything [they] want. You want your teammates to feel supported.”
The Redbirds face a challenging slate of games this season, and are looking to improve on their fortunes from the past few years. Despite Latendresse-Regimbald’s individual success, the team is a combined 5–20 in his time at McGill. He is confident that this year, the tide of the program can turn.
“Coach [Alex] Surprenant is really, really [pulling] some strings out there and […] it’s really coming together,” Latendresse-Regimbald reported. “It’s really amazing to see what it’s like, to be part of [building a program], and really having the chance to see and witness everything and be a pillar in it.”
