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Antoine Pruneau Photo by Tony Caldwell/Postmedia
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Former Ottawa Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell once said of Antoine Pruneau, “You could cut off his right arm and he’d be like, ‘Let’s go, I’m ready.’ “
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In a word, it was at the Pruneau football field. The Rouge et Noir announced on Thursday that the 33-year-old is retiring, following an eight-year CFL career that included three Gray Cup appearances, a Gray Cup victory and plenty of body-throwing daredevils. in everything that happened on the ground.
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It was Pruneau’s tenacity that always stood out, his desire to be good and to be good for his team. It was his wall ball style of play that also beat him for most of 2018-21. Injuries like a broken fibula, torn labrum, a small neck fracture, broken hands – the list went on. Sometimes he played injured, there were no complaints. No self-pity. He just went out and did his job. He was the heart and soul of the team. When the team won, he celebrated. When the team lost, he was angry and frustrated. There was no blame, he looked in the mirror and said, “What could I have done better? A real team guy.
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“Not only did he give it his all at all times, but he played with extreme discipline and intelligence,” said Bob Dyce, head coach of the Rougenoirs, who became the Rougenoir’s special teams coordinator in 2016. “His strength was really his discipline and he took it as a personal struggle to always win his 1v1 matches and he continued to do so until last year.
Pruneau was an OG, an original Redblack who was selected fourth overall in the 2014 CFL Draft. His style on and off the field endeared the team’s ‘French mafia’ leader to football fans, the community, teammates and coaches in Ottawa.
“I try to positively use the memories we’ve built together over the seven years that I’ve coached him,” Dyce said. “Then you get to a point where it’s kind of selfish; That’s when I’m sad that I don’t see him every day. He brought such passion to the building and the pitch – it’s very hard to replace. He really bled the Rougenoirs. We cannot have a good career like Antoine if we are not invested in all aspects. That’s why he was such a great professional.
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Pruneau ended his CFL career as the Redblacks’ all-time leader in games played (122) and 448 total tackles (374 on defense and 74 on special teams), plus 10 interceptions, four sacks and four forced fumbles. After losing his starting safety role and in a lesser role in the 2022 season, playing mostly special teams, Pruneau played in all 18 games. He had 18 defensive tackles and 13 more on special teams.
“Antoine was what you would call a standard bearer,” Dyce said. “It would be very difficult for a starter to say he is too tired to play against special teams when he sees the level that Antoine played in free safety and then became one of the most dominant players on our teams. of cover. These types are rare and far between. We certainly have a challenge to replace it.
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MARK: Nick Arbuckle, QB of the Redblacks, wanted to learn how to play “garden football”.
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Source: ottawasun.com
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