Brandon Deschamps (right) holds the Vanier Cup – photo courtesy Rich Lam/UBC Athletics

Prince George, B.C. – Fresh from the glow of helping lead UBC to its first Vanier Cup championship since 1997 and Brandon Deschamps isn’t sure it’s all sunk in yet.

“I mean you’re trying to let it sink in but you kind a feel like at any point somebody’s going to come up and say that it was a mistake,” says the fifth year Kelly Road graduate.

“But it’s been an amazing time. To spend time with my teammates and do this is just incredible. Something I’ll have for the rest of my life for sure.”

Brandon Deschamps runs for a touchdown against the University of Montreal Montreal Carabins during the 51st Annual Vanier Cup football action at Laval University in Quebec, QC, November, 28, 2015. (Rich Lam/UBC Athletics Photo)

Deschamps of course was a huge part of the 26-23 last second victory over the Montreal Carabins, running for 79 yards, including a 44 yard touchdown romp in the second half.

“We kind of lulled them to sleep a little bit with how much we were throwing the ball,” he says. “We knew they were good against the run but we wanted to sprinkle in a run every now and then, keep them honest and it ended up paying off.”

He says a big part of his success was growing up and learning the game in Prince George.

“I had coaches that put in the time. The thing about Prince George is that it’s physical, it’s almost old-school style football where there’s a lot of power, a lot of sweeps so I played with a pretty high level of physicality,” says Deschamps.

“I just carried that over when I started playing tailback and it’s worked out for me and it’s been a lot of fun, it gives my offence a lot of energy. It definitely developed in Prince George and I was able to continue it on at UBC.”

Brandon’s father Kerry agrees that a big part of his son’s success was due to strong coaching during his formative years.

“He was encouraged by his coaches throughout his time in the Prince George Minor Football League and then as he got into Kelly Road football, the coaches were just awesome,” he says.

“And just continued to work with him, encourage him and he would come home and it was his game, it was his team sport that he really wanted to go for and he just continued to get better every year.”

So what does the future hold for the fifth year student who was the final cut of the BC Lions at training camp last year?

“You know what, this year I just wanted to focus on my season as a Thunderbird,” says Brandon.

“In previous years I was kind of looking past it a little bit and thinking about what’s next and I didn’t really know what was coming but I’ve been focusing on this season and I have no idea what’s going to happen. If there’s an opportunity that comes along in the CFL I’m going to train as hard as I can for that and prepare for that but you never know.”

Either way Kerry is one proud papa.

“Yeah, both Cindy (his wife) and I are very grateful and thankful and blessed to have a son that’s really worked hard and had coaches that have helped Brandon develop,” he says.

“It’s been just great to see the opportunities that he’s had and who knows where this will lead. It’s just exciting right now in the moment to be part of the Vanier Cup.”