U SPORTS all-Canadian honours for a pair of Ajax footballers

Ajax football players Deionte Knight and Rasheed Tucker, who went head-to-head in a championship game two weeks ago, have both been selected first-team all-Canadians in university football.

Knight, a six-foot-four, 275-pound defensive end, was one of seven selections from the Western Mustangs. Tucker, a star with the Queen’s Gaels, was selected as a running back.

The 22-year-old Knight, who struggled with injuries in 2018 and ’19 before the 2020 season was lost to COVID-19, rebounded to become a linchpin for Western this season. Knight led all of of Canadian university football with 7½ quarterback sacks, while helping Western allow the second-fewest yards per game of any team in the nation.

Knight is also a finalist for the J.P. Metras Trophy, which goes to the top lineman in U SPORTS. That honour is to be announced later on Thursday (Dec. 2).

One of Knight’s defensive-line mates, defensive tackle Malcolm Hinds of Brampton, was also a first-team honouree.

Tucker lent a certain dynamism to Queen’s attack this season. He finished as the No. 2 overall rusher in the nation and averaged more than one touchdown per game. Tucker’s contributions helped Queen’s win its first eight games before a defeat against Western in the Yates Cup on Nov. 20.

Western, whose core contributors also include fifth-year running back Trey Humes, who is also from Ajax, is playing in the Vanier Cup on Saturday (Dec. 4). The Mustangs, who last won the national title in 2017, take on the Saskatchewan Huskies in Quebec City at 1 p.m. (CBC, CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca).