Athletics - Cegep Vanier College

By Denis Lafontaine

FOOTBALL ALUMNI IN THE NEWS
JÉRÉMI ROCH SIGNS TO PLAY WITH SHERBROOKE VERT & OR
December 2, 2010

Jérémi Roch

In a way, it feels odd to write a story about Jérémi Roch for our football alumni section. He has been such an important fixture of Vanier's dominating offence over his three years here, right up to our Bol d'Or victory of November 13th, it really is hard to think of him as a Cheetah whose time as a player has ended.

However, his stay here with the Cheetahs is indeed finished, as we were reminded with the recent announcement of his signing by the Vert & Or of Sherbrooke.

Those of us fortunate enough to have witnessed Jérémi's remarkable performances over these past three seasons can attest to the true depth of his offensive dominance. Jérémi basically re-wrote the record book for Vanier quarterbacks.

But more on his many records later. The news emerged that the Vert & Or from the Université de Sherbrooke had held a Press Conference on November 23rd confirming the signing of a letter of intent with our star quarterback from the Vanier College Cheetahs, Jérémi Roch. It was announced that he will play for Sherbrooke next year… that is, unless an NCAA College team doesn't’t give him a call before February 2011.

Roch confirmed his intention to play with the Vert & Or, but he hasn’t closed the door on the possibility of a trip to the U.S. if the opportunity arises. "It's not easy when you're a Canadian quarterback and you receive an interesting offer from a renowned US collegial program. However, I have an understanding with the Vert & Or that if I receive an NCAA offer between now and February, I'll be able to leave their team.” Jérémi had several reasons for choosing Sherbrooke among his offers.

Click for a larger version of this photo of Jérémi signing with Sherbrooke Vert & Or

Former Sherbrooke QB J.P. Shoiry
hands over his #12 jersey to Jérémi.
Click for a larger version

“I picked Sherbrooke as the ideal place for me at this stage of my development”, he said. “For one, they have André Bolduc, an ex-CFL player, plus I also had a very positive experience with their offensive coordinator David Lessard, with whom I worked during the Under-17 Canada Cup football competition of 2008."

Jérémi Roch continued a longtime tradition of league-leading Cheetah quarterbacks which includes stars such as Myles Gibbon, Liam Mahoney, Jabari Arthur, Kristin Pipe and Marco Brouillette to name just a few.

At the end of the 2010 season, he suffered a fractured collarbone in the semi-finals. Certainly before this injury, there was already a great deal of buzz about his playing for an American College team.

Looking at the chart below, you can see that during his career at Vanier, Jérémi set all-time records in no fewer than 5 of the 8 categories for pass receptions including most touchdowns, most total yards, highest completion average and fewest interceptions. As a final honour for his contributions to CÉGEP football, Jérémi was picked as the league's Player of the Year at their Awards Banquet of December 11, 2010.

It is clear to everyone that he shows a tremendous amount of promise for a career in professional football. We wish Jérémi all the success in the world in his future endeavors.

Cheetah Quarterback Records

EARLY PHOTOS OF JÉRÉMI BEFORE COMING TO VANIER

Jérémi first played as quarterback on the U-19 Québec Team.

He went on to later play with Team Canada.

Prior to becoming a football star, Jérémi was a top baseball player as well.

MORE RECENT PHOTOS OF JÉRÉMI AT VANIER

Jérémi snaps the ball Jérémi passes the ball

From 2009, Jérémi gets ready to pass.

Jérémi Roch with Team Canada
Jérémi Roch played for Team Canada while playing at Vanier

Jérémi and Byron Archambault pose with Als president Larry Smith.
Byron Archambault and Jérémi receive scholarships from Als' President Larry Smith and Marc Desjardins of RDS.

Jérémi accepts award for top offensive player in football.
Jérémi won for top offensive player in football and also won Male Athlete of the Year at the 2010 Awards Banquet.

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