Golden Bears football players make Canada West All-Star lineup

Despite a less than stellar performance by the Golden Bears football team this year, the season was not a total wash. In fact several players were named Canada West all-stars.

What can’t Ty Anderson do on the defensive line?

The 6’3, 290-pound defensive lineman is an absolute beast on the field. With a career high of 15 solos and 12 assists, Ty Anderson generated a total of 27 tackles over eight games during the 2024-25 season.

What sends him over the edge is that he consistently works to make contact off the line of scrimmage. Making it un-surprising that Anderson is one of three University of Alberta players to represent Canada West in the 2024 East-West Bowl.

Anderson is eligible to enter the 2025 Canadian Football League (CFL) draft in the spring. Despite his team’s performance this year, Anderson’s abilities have made him a desirable selection for any team.

Mack Bannatyne brings an IQ to the sport

When watching Mack Bennatyne’s game tape, you might wonder, “how does he always know where to be?” Well, it’s certainly a skill that can’t be looked past.

Bennatyne’s football IQ is clearly seen through his ability to not only track one player, but predict the next play. As a result, he’s a key player in limiting the yards gained by any opposing team.

The fourth-year halfback brought in an insane 33 solos over 41 tackles and one touchdown this season. Bannatyne is eligible to enter the 2025 CFL draft with a career high stats page.

Jonathan Giustini is a luxury the Bears need

A good punter is a luxury on the special team, one the Bears will be sad to lose. The sixth round CFL draft pick wrapped up his U Sports career as a Canada West punting all-star.

Jonathan Giustini generated 43 attempts to gain 1852 yards this season and a career best of a 43.1 average.

As a defensive back, Giustini plays in the farthest row from the line of scrimmage and saw 43 total tackles this past season. Seven less than his career high of 50 tackles in 2022.

Guistini since represented the U of A at the 2023 East-West bowl.

Why the Bears’ offence needed Daniel Shin

The 285-pound offensive line man certainly makes a statement after the snap. His positional awareness of other players made him an asset during this past season and a useful tool for any team.

Daniel Shin’s consistent ability to track the players most dangerous to the play was a crucial aspect to the Bears’ offensive presence. This style of play kept the ball in motion while being controlled by the Bears.

Shin was drafted 75th overall in the 2024 CFL draft after an insane performance in 2023. While being named a 2023 Canada West all-star and a U Sports All-Canadian, Shin led the team to the best rushing offence in the conference.

Shin wrapped up his U Sports career with the Bears this past season before joining Toronto in the CFL.

Alan Xiang is just touching the tip of the iceberg

Second-year Alan Xiang has absolutely dominated on the special teams. Over six games and 15 attempts, Xiang gained 430 yards on the return and a 71.7 average per game.

Xiang is able to consistently maintain speed and identify open areas to gain yards. On October 19 with two kickoff returns, this skill earned Xiang the title of Canada West football player of the week.

But what makes him so special? Well, unlike the rest of the all-star lineup, Xiang is only in his second year. Su much for a sophomore slump I guess.

More interesting is that Xaing did this while playing two less games than the rest of the all-stars. Why he missed the games is unknown, but to climb that high in so few games is undoubtedly impressive.