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JOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
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Gio Vaccaro celebrates with family and friends during a party at Caboto Centre after he was picked first overall in the CFL draft Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ready to be a Redblack?\u201d asked Ottawa head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie over FaceTime.<\/p>\n
\u201cHell yeah I am,\u201d Vaccaro quickly replied, sittng between his parents Lisa and Angelo. \u201cWe\u2019ve got 250 Redblacks right here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room was no longer quiet. It was official: Vaccaro had just become the first Manitoba Bison in history to be selected first overall in the CFL Draft.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I look back on my 18-year-old self going to the Bisons and playing left tackle, I wouldn\u2019t believe I\u2019d be here right now, for sure,\u201d Vaccaro, now 22, told a scrum of reporters on hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing\u2019s guaranteed, nothing\u2019s given to you right away, and when I got that phone call, I sure was happy that it was Ottawa. I had no clue, it was a total surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 6-foot-2, 308-pound offensive lineman transferred to Purdue for his senior season and wasn\u2019t supposed to be home this week owing to a math exam. He managed to get his test bumped up a few days so he could drive home late last week to surprise his loved ones.<\/p>\n
There was no way he was going to spend Tuesday night without the people that had supported him since the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething that started off as a 60-person party grew to 260 and I\u2019m grateful whether it was 60 or 260, because ultimately everyone in this room matters to me and played a big role in my life,\u201d said Vaccaro.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know every single person in this room.\u201d<\/p>\n
The walls were lined with pictures and newspaper clippings highlighting his journey to the CFL. All of his jerseys, dating to his minor football days with the Corydon Comets, all the way up to his No. 62 uniform with the Boilermakers, were also on display.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I look back on my 18-year-old self going to the Bisons and playing left tackle, I wouldn\u2019t believe I\u2019d be here right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
None of this comes to fruition if Vaccaro would\u2019ve stuck with his original sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first time I met Gio, he essentially told me, \u2018I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to play football sir, I\u2019m a hockey player,\u2019\u201d said St. Paul\u2019s High School football coach Stacy Dainard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said \u2018Heck no, you\u2019re going to play O-line whether you like it or not.\u2019 You never see this, right? He\u2019s worked incredibly hard, and with some good luck, and some hard work, he\u2019s gotten to where he is and I\u2019m sure that will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Bisons head coach Brian Dobie recruited Vaccaro to the U of M. Unlike your average freshman, he was thrust into the spotlight right away, starting at left tackle. He would eventually be moved to his natural position on the interior, where he became a two-time first-team All-Canadian selection and the 2024 winner of the J.P. Metras Trophy which goes to the nation\u2019s best lineman.<\/p>\n
Before Tuesday, the highest a Bison had been drafted was Randy Ambrosie at No. 2 in 1985.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am so proud and excited for what\u2019s happened this evening. I am so happy for Gio, and his amazing family \u2014 I mean, look what they\u2019ve put together tonight, who does that? This is a moment he\u2019ll never forget,\u201d said Dobie.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you to our colleagues at Purdue for progressing him that much further, but this kid is a Manitoban. He was born and raised here and has been developed here.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he elevated himself beyond (former CFL commissioner) Randy, an ex-Bison, so, who knows, we might be looking at the next commisioner in 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
While his son was on the call with the Redblacks, Angelo reminded him to reach under the table to grab the trio of Ottawa hats that they had stashed away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know every single person in this room.\u201d<\/p>\n
One for Vaccaro, and one for both parents.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cI gotta tell ya, I think it\u2019s just his dedication and his drive,\u201d said Angelo on what he\u2019s most proud of. \u201cHe got something tattooed on his leg that says \u2018Trust the process\u2019 and the last four years, he\u2019s truly, truly proven to us exactly what that phrase means. You trust in the process, and here we are today.\u201d<\/p>\n Vaccaro also has full trust in the organization he\u2019s now a part of.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re going to build something special,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m super excited to be a Redblack and we\u2019re going to bring home a Grey Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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