Jacob Plamondon is intimidating only in stature.
The the six-foot-three, 220-pound defensive end was nervous at Notre Dame High School on Thursday afternoon, where he committed to play football for the next five years with the University of Calgary Dinos.
“I started football four years ago and it’s awesome to see where it’s come. I’m excited about this,” he said.
“They were the first school to come to me so that was really appealing to see a team so invested in me. So I think biggest attraction for me.”
His football coach since Grade 10, Gino Castellan said he’s seen plenty of growth since those early football days and added his character both on and off the field definitely standout.
“He’s quiet. He leads by example, he doesn’t say a whole lot,” Castellan said. “He’s a great kid, a great student.”
Castellan added a lot of the skill on the field just happened naturally for Plamondon.
“Jacob is a good athlete,” he said.
“He picks up things very well. So it was a easy transition for him coming into grade 10 to play football. It was almost natural and he got better every year … he’s going to get bigger and he’s going to get smarter.”
In his socks and Birkenstocks and sporting a Notre Dame hoody, the high-school senior said his journey in football was really just something he slipped into.
“Mostly just a bunch of coaches saw that I was a little taller than most people so they said play football and I tried it and I was hooked. Loved it,” said Plamondon.
And the draw to the sport for Plamondon speaks volumes about his character.
“Definitely the people,” he said about what kept him interested in football.
“You build a really great bond with the people you meet. Just the culture of the sport and the aggression.”
Boy, did he find the right fit according to Dinos head football coach Wayne Harris.
“When I watched him playing midget ball this past spring you could just see what a quick football player he is. He gets off the ball so well as a defensive end. Puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback,” Harris said.
“He’s got the quickness of one of our All-Canadians. Connor McGough, from Medicine Hat that’s in the CFL draft. He’s got kind of the size of Cory Robinson one of our defensive ends who is in the CFL draft this year. So he’s got a nice blend between those two players and he’s a nice fit for the system we run.”
The Dinos have had long CIS football playoff runs over the last several seasons, another appeal for Plamondon.
“Just the atmosphere and the culture they’ve built there,” he said. “They’re really good and they seem to go really far into the playoffs. So, excited to see what will happen.”
The Red Deer teen will major in psychology before focusing on obtaining a masters.