The Saskatchewan Huskies football team has opened training camp for the upcoming U Sports season.
Like every year there are roster changes but the expectations stay the same.
“I tell those guys all the time that we’re not going to lessen our standard or lessen it because you’re a new guy or you’re a rookie,” Huskies head coach Scott Flory said on Tuesday.
“We’re putting in plays that we expect to run. These new guys, you got to catch up. We are not going to slow down that process and what we’re doing, how we develop, and how we train. That is not going to change. We’re going to find the guys that are going to fill those roles.”
After claiming the 2018 Canada West title, the Huskies’ season ended against the Western Mustangs in the Mitchell Bowl. The Dogs returned to the turf at Saskatoon’s Griffiths Stadium ready to build on last season.
“The Hardy Cup was awesome but everybody this off-season came in and still kind of had that chip on their shoulder like, ‘OK, we got close but we did not get there, we’re not done yet,’” Huskies running back Colton Klassen said.
“It’s really nice to see everybody came in locked-in, just ready to train and ready to improve so we can take the Vanier (Cup) home this year.”
It is also the start of a new era — the Mason Nyhus era.
The third-year quarterback from Regina takes over the reins of the Huskies offence from Kyle Siemens, who graduated from the program last season.
“Honestly, just very excited. I learned a lot from Kyle. I am going to apply a lot of that in games, just the way he prepares. No one out-prepares Kyle Siemens, honestly,” Nyhus said.
“(Nyhus’s) ready for this and we expect great things from him and I know he expects that from himself. I’m really excited for him to take over and to lead this football team,” Flory said.
Saskatchewan opens their season on Aug. 30 in Winnipeg against the Manitoba Bisons.