Peyton’s new place is Laurier
February 21 was an extra special day for Notre Dame football player Peyton Stegner.
The Welland native celebrated his 19th birthday and committed to play post secondary football with the Ontario University Athletics champion Laurier Golden Hawks on that day. He had attempted to sign two or three times previously but they were cancelled because of inclement weather.
“It’s awesome. It is a pretty good birthday present,” the 19-year-old Welland native said.
The 6-foot-4, 300-pound lineman also received an offer from Guelph and had interest from several other schools, including Toronto, Waterloo and McMaster
“Laurier and Guelph were the first to make offers to me and I started shutting out other schools.”
Laurier ended up being his top choice for a number of reasons.
“It was mostly about the team. When I went on a visit, they allowed me to be on the field during practice and I loved the environment, how they played and how they conducted their practices. I didn’t have that experience at Guelph or that feel so Laurier was the choice. There wasn’t one point where it all clicked.”
He’s not sure what he is going to major in but he applied for a general arts degree.
“Once I get closer to August I will know for sure.”
Stegner started playing football at Notre Dame in Grade 10 once the sport returned from the COVID-19 hiatus. He has also played travel football with the Niagara Spears and Niagara Generals and will return to the Niagara Spears again this summer.
Compared to last season, Stegner feels his technique has improved dramatically.
“I have worked on it a lot and I have worked with my coaches during the off-season. I am up in the weight room and I am helping other football players grow,” he said. “Strength is one thing but technique is the hardest for my position. If you take one wrong step and you are losing that rep then your quarterback is getting hit. It is a lot of stress if you don’t do the right steps or movements. You’re losing.”
The next step in his progression is working on his pass sets.
He is excited about the next step in his football journey
“It will be the new environment of university and it’s going to be exciting.”
He has two goals in mind.
“Hopefully I’ll see some playing time. That’s the biggest goal and we will see how it goes. And developing as a player is also a big one.”
He is going to work hard to make that a reality.
“I will be in the weight room as much as possible, working on the technique and going to Spears practices to get those reps in.”
He loves the sport.
“It is family. It’s getting out with your friends and going at it for the 48 minutes that we have out there. It’s putting it all out there.”
Laurier scout Dave Morrissey is a big fan of Stegner’s.
“Peyton is a rugged, bulldozer type of linemen. I liked him from the very first time I saw him a couple of years ago and I was under the wrong impression initially. Someone told me he was taking applied courses and was going to go to college and I didn’t talk to him the first time I saw him. But then I found out he was going to university so I watched him more and he is definitely a solid, solid player who really can push the defensive linemen around. We are really excited to have him especially because we are graduating two or three starting offensive linemen and a couple of our top backups too. It is really an area of need for us and we’re hoping Peyton has a long career with us.”
Playing lineman at the university level in one’s freshman season is a tall order.
“I would say offensive line is probably the position where it is the hardest for a rookie to play simply because they’re probably not strong enough and they haven’t been lifting like some of the 21- and 22-year-old men that they are going to face. There are rare exceptions,” Morrissey said. “Two years ago, we did have a rookie step in and became our starting centre. It is possible but it is rare. I know Peyton is a big guy and he is strong and anything is possible. We always play the best players and nothing is guaranteed to anyone. I would never tell Peyton he is going to step in and start but I would also never say that he doesn’t have a chance of starting either. If he comes in and he is the best player, he will play.”
Laurier offensive line coach Zach Scotto is looking forward to working with Stegner.
“He is big, athletic and a hard worker and you can see that from where he came from as a Grade 12 to where he is now as a fifth-year player. His experience playing for the Niagara Spears and Notre Dame Welland and coming from that very good system with a very good coaching staff has made him well supported. He has been training a long time and he is going to come in, work hard and elevate the culture of our group.”
