Source: Ben Matchett and James Stevenson, University of Calgary / Photo credit David Moll
Name: Eric Dzwilewski
University: Calgary
Hometown: Boise, Idaho, USA
High school: Centennial HS
Position: Quarterback
Academic program: Arts
Year of eligibility: 2
Height: 6-0
Weight: 175
Key stats 2010: Passing: 55-103, 894 yards, 6
TDs. Rushing: 52-446
Awards & honours (since start of CIS career):
2010 Canada West and CIS Rookie of the Year
PROFILE
Eric Dzwilewski was unexpectedly pressed into service for the University of Calgary Dinos as an 18-year-old freshman quarterback in 2010, a test he passed with flying colours. As the 2011 season approaches, he faces a different challenge: lead the three-time defending Canada West champions from start to finish.
His achievements as a rookie are well-documented. When two-time national MVP Erik Glavic went down with a knee injury in the opening week of the season, Dzwilewski calmly took the controls and reeled off four straight victories in his first four CIS starts. Surrounded by a talented supporting cast, he spread the ball around effectively and set the Dinos up for another run at the Vanier Cup upon Glavic’s late-season return.
He finished seventh in the conference in rushing, averaging an impressive 8.6 yards per carry, and was unanimously selected as Canada West’s rookie of the year. Days before Calgary made a second straight Vanier Cup appearance, the Boise, Idaho-born Dzwilewski was awarded the Peter Gorman Trophy as the nation’s top freshman – days after his 19th birthday.
Not bad for the product of Boise’s Centennial High School, who had to learn the Canadian game on the fly after growing up in four-down, 11-man territory.
But it’s a revamped Dinos team this year, one that experienced a bittersweet day in early May when six players were selected in the CFL’s annual draft. For those players, it’s an opportunity to play football at the highest level; for the Dinos, it means big shoes to fill.
Despite the turnover, Dzwilewski’s confident – and eager to get back to the biggest stage after getting a taste of Vanier Cup action last year.
“Regardless of the guys who’ve left, I still think we’re going to have a tremendous season,” says the affable, understated Arts student. “We still have an outstanding core of very experienced guys, and the expectation I have is that we’ll be heading back to the Vanier for the third year in a row.”
Dinos head coach Blake Nill, who convinced the American pivot to come north for his education and his college career, feels Dzwilewski is a player he can build his team around.
“His strength is essentially the ability to run the football,” says Nill, who enters his sixth year patrolling the sidelines at McMahon Stadium this fall. “He has a tremendous arm and can throw the ball when he needs to. But we didn’t recruit him because we saw an American guy was available – we thought this was exactly the type of kid who fits perfectly into our style of play.”
“The Canadian game suits me better as a quarterback,” Dzwilewski says. “Everything’s so spread out compared to the American fields, and it really fits into my style of play and helps me see things better.”
Dzwilewski and the Dinos open camp on Saturday, Aug. 20, two weeks before they begin the defence of their conference title with the season-opener at Manitoba on Sept. 3. The home opener is set for Friday, Sept. 9 when the UBC Thunderbirds pay a visit to McMahon Stadium.