Renegades add veteran defensive lineman
Published on February 18, 2004 under Canadian Football League (CFL)
Ottawa Renegades News Release
OTTAWA â The Ottawa Renegades are pleased to announce that defensive tackle Pene Talamaivao (first name is pronounced PEN) and defensive tackle Michael Boireau have agreed to one-year contracts with a club option for a second season.
Both players did not play for the Renegades during the 2003 season after playing for Ottawa during the team's inaugural 2002 campaign.
"Now that these two guys are healthy, we expect them to have a very favourable impact on our defensive front seven," said Renegades general manager Eric Tillman. "Michael and Pene are both outstanding football players."
Talamaivao, 28, from Western Samoa rejoins the Renegades after missing the entire 2003 season due to illness. The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Talamaivao played nine games for Ottawa during the club's inaugural 2002 campaign.
Talamaivao, a standout player in college for the University of Utah, became a Renegades fan-favourite in 2002 for his tenacious and exuberant playing style.
On June 28, 2002 during the first game in franchise history, Talamaivao stopped Sedrick Shaw of the Saskatchewan Roughriders to record the first Renegades tackle on a play from scrimmage.
A broken hand sidelined him for most of the second half of the season, but Talamaivao made the most of the time he spent in the Ottawa lineup, recording eight defensive tackles and one pass knockdown in nine games.
He returned to the Renegades line-up for the final game of the season in Montreal and recorded his only CFL sack, against quarterback Matt Lytle on November 3, 2002.
At the University of Utah, Talamaivao played four outstanding seasons for the Utes, making an astounding 130 defensive tackles in 32 games. He was named as a two-time Western Athletic Conference (WAC) First All-Star and, in 1998, was named the top defensive lineman in the conference.
Boireau, 24, a native of Miami Beach, Florida, played for the Renegades during the 2002 season, and returned to Ottawa in September of 2003 but did not play due to recurring injuries.
The 6-foot-4, 265-pound graduate of the University of Miami attended training camp of the NFL's Cleveland Browns last summer.
Boireau was drafted in the second round (56th overall) in the 2000 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings but did not play in 2000 and 2001 due to a relapse of ocular myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular condition that causes muscle fatigue around the eyes.
During the 2002 season for the Renegades, Boireau recorded three sacks in 14 games, including a pair during a game July 4 in Edmonton against the Eskimos.
Boireau, an outstanding player at Northeast Mississippi Junior College, transferred to the University of Miami in 1998. During the 1999 season, he received the Hard Hitter Award from coaches and teammates during a year in which he had 62 tackles, seven tackles for losses and 3.5 sacks.
Canadian Football League Stories from February 18, 2004
- Renegades add veteran defensive lineman - Ottawa Renegades
- The Alouettes in Tuques Bleues race - Montreal Alouettes
- Eskimo defense stays Young - Edmonton Elks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
