Saskatchewan Huskies uses tune-up game to eye roster depth

After a 27-17 victory over the University of Alberta Golden Bears in a controlled scrimmage this past weekend, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team is in evaluation mode.

It was the first chance for the Dogs to see how they measure up against another squad at home. For third-string quarterback Mason Nyhus, it was an opportunity to prove himself.

“Obviously, the more you play, the better you get …  so that’s huge and it’s nice just to hit other people, play against other defences, so it’s nice,” Nyhus said.

READ MORE: Former Hilltops bring championship pedigree to Saskatchewan Huskies

All efforts were under the evaluating eye of Huskies head coach Brian Towriss.

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“Both their kids and our kids, they made some throws and they made some mistakes, but I think the future’s pretty bright for both programs,” Towriss said.

But not just in the back field, as evidenced by fourth-year Chad Braun’s touchdown reception that moved Saskatchewan ahead in the second quarter.

“It was good to get it going, get a little bit of momentum in us … still have things to work on and we’ll target those in practice and hopefully come back better next week,” Braun said.

READ MORE: Saskatchewan Huskies football defence on quest for consistency

There were some spare minutes for starters to get a few reps in, but the Huskies coaching staff knows a regular season match-up would look quite different.

“We had some kids kind of tiptoeing around because they hadn’t been involved with college football and may have been a little tentative. We didn’t see starters on starters for very long,” Towriss said.

The team will now watch some video and evaluate the winning performance as it prepares for a new Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) season.

“I know in two weeks when we kick it off for good there will be a lot more bodies flying around,” Towriss said.

The Huskies’ first game of the regular season is against the University of Regina Rams on Sept. 2 at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon.

Ryan Kessler contributed to this story