Vanier Cup-winning QB to join Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp under internship program

Quarterback Arnaud Desjardins ended last season celebrating a Vanier Cup championship with the Laval Rouge et Or. He will start the 2023 campaign at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' training camp.

Desjardins, of Montreal, will be one of nine participants in the CFL's quarterback internship program. The initiative, which began in 2010, gives quarterbacks playing in Canada the chance to further develop through attending a CFL team's training camp.

Arnaud, who led U Sports last season in touchdown passes (20) and completion percentage (73.0), will report to Winnipeg's rookie camp Wednesday. CFL training camps are slated to open Sunday.

Arnaud threw for 300 or more yards in a game six times last year and was second in Canadian university football passing yards (2,555). He was named a first-team All-Canadian and participated in the '23 CFL combine as an underclassman.

The other U Sports participants are: Eli Hetlinger of the University of Alberta (Edmonton Elks); Silas Fagnan of St. Francis Xavier (Calgary Stampeders); Noah Pelletier of the University of Regina (Saskatchewan Roughriders); Alex Vreeken of Queen's University (Hamilton Tiger-Cats); Wilfrid Laurier's Taylor Elgersma (Toronto Argonauts); Ben Maracle of the University of Ottawa (Ottawa Redblacks); and Jack Zergiotis of the University of British Columbia (Montreal Alouettes).

Te Jessie, of the Canadian Junior Football League's Westshore Rebels, will attend the B.C. Lions camp. Jessie's father, Tim Jessie, won a Super Bowl with Washington (1987) and two Grey Cups with Winnipeg (1988, '90).

The Bombers have signed five of the eight players they took in this year's CFL draft, including first-rounder Anthony Bennett.

Winnipeg took Bennett, a defensive lineman from the