Source: Nicole Betker, Saskatchewan Sports Info / Photo credit Josh Schaefer
2013 regular season record: 5-3
2013 regular season standings: 3rd Canada West
2013 playoff record: 0-1
2013 playoff finish: Lost 37-36 to Manitoba Bisons
in Canada West semifinal
With the graduation of 11 fifth-year athletes in 2013, the University of Saskatchewan Huskie football team will have a different look at many positions in 2014.
The Huskies, who finished 5-3 and third in the Canada West standings in 2013, return seven starters on both offence and defence including third-year quarterback Drew Burko, 2012 All-Canadian receiver Kit Hillis and 2013 All-Canadian safety Mark Ingram.
Burko hopes to continue to rack up passing yards. Tallying 3,568 yards and 20 touchdowns in his first two seasons, Burko will look for Hillis and his younger brother, Mitch, to be the main targets on offence. The brothers duo combined for 765 yards in 2013. Shane Buchanan will take the ball at running back looking to repeat a strong 483 yards, five touchdown performance last year.
Ingram, along with fellow fifth-year Richard Zacharias will lead the Huskies’ defence. Traditionally a strength for the Huskies, Saskatchewan allowed opponents to average just 25.5 points per game in 2013 – the second least in the conference – and led the Canada West with 13 interceptions and an impressive 24 sacks. Veteran leadership will also come from defensive lineman Brayden Twarynski, linebackers Dane Bishop and Dylan Kemp.
Quote from head coach:
We have great potential. With a veteran presence, lots of
playmakers on offence and solid lines, we should be a contender in
the Canada West. We will strive to finish as one of the top two
teams in the conference and battle for the Hardy Cup. Our goal is
to return to national prominence.
-Brian Towriss, 31st Year
Head Coach:
- Number of seasons as head coach with team (including 2013):
31
- Number of seasons as head coach in CIS (including 2013): 31
- Career regular season record with team: 153-86-1
- Career regular season record in CIS: 153-86-1
- Career overall record with team (reg. season & playoffs
only): 181-105-1
- Career overall record in CIS (reg. season & playoffs only):
181-105-1 *
* broke CIS wins record in 2011
OFFENCE
Number of returning starters: 7
Key returning players:
Providing experience at wide receiver, Kit Hillis will once again be the main target on offence. The fifth-year Business student finished second on the team with 537 yards on 46 receptions in 2013. He was an All-Canadian in 2012.
Drew Burko will begin his third season as the Huskies starting quarterback. In 2013, the second generation Huskie completed 177-of-297 passes for 2,311 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Offensive lineman Mat Leung will provide stability on an otherwise young offence. Leung played in all eight of the Huskies’ regular season games at tackle in 2013 and was selected to play in the East-West Bowl.
Key recruits:
Touted as one of the top running backs in the country, Alberta’s Tyler Chow will join the green and white after winning an Albert provincial championship with the Notre Dame Pride in Calgary. Chow was also the starting running back for Team Canada’s U18 team at the International Bowl. Canadian Junior Player of the Year, Andre LaLonde, joins the Dogs after a record setting career with the Saskatoon Hilltops.
Former Canadian Junior Football champions with the Saskatoon Hilltops John Trumpy and Graham Unruh will look to give the Huskies experience on the receiving corps.
Key losses:
A pair of fifth-year receivers played their final CIS seasons for the green and white in 2013 – Garrett Burgess and Jeff Moore. Burgess led Saskatchewan with 596 yards, averaging 12.4 yards per catch, last year. Moore, who battled injuries throughout the season, averaged 20.3 yards per catch in 2013.
Steady bodies on the offensive line, Lane Bryksa and Michael Fuller each finished their final season of CIS eligibility in 2013.
DEFENCE
Number of returning starters: 7
Key returning players:
An All-Canadian in his first year of CIS eligibility, Mark Ingram continued the Huskies dominance at safety. He tallied 30 tackles and one interception in 2013.
Linebacker Richard Zacharias will play his final season of CIS eligibility in 2014. In 2013, Zacharias recorded 30 tackles, three sacks and one forces fumble.
Defensive lineman Brayden Twarynski will be looked at to fill one of the three gaps left on the front line by graduating players. In 2013, the second year tackle and Academic All-Canadian made 11.5 tackles in limited playing time.
Battling an injury in 2013, Geoff Hughes was impressive in three games at linebacker. The 2014 East-West Bowl participant recorded 10 tackles and three sacks in his three games before a season-ending injury.
Key recruits:
Local defensive lineman Evan Machibroda will look to make an impact in the CIS as a rookie. The two-time Saskatoon City Champion with Holy Cross High School was also a standout on Canada’s National Junior squad.
Saskatchewan will welcome three other newcomers to the defensive line from the Canadian Junior Football League. Tristian Koronkiewicz (Vancouver Island Raiders), Adam Morrison (Saskatoon Hilltops) and Brennan Thorpe (Saskatoon Hilltops) will all fill holes left from the graduating players.
Key losses:
A staple on the defensive line for five seasons, Joel Seutter had a career season in 2013. Named a CIS Second Team All-Canadian and a Canada West All-Star, Seutter tallied 23 tackles, 5.5 sacks and three fumble recoveries in six games last season.
Named a Canada West all-star in his final two seasons of eligibility, Braxton Lawrence’s stability in the secondary will be missed. He led Saskatchewan in both tackles and interceptions in 2013.
Defensive captain Zach Hart battled injuries in his final season in the CIS. Playing in just five games, the two-time conference all-star recorded 11.5 tackles and one sack.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Key returning players:
Kicker Denton Kolodzinski returns to punting duties in his final season for the Huskies after averaging 40.5 yards per punt in 2013. He went 18-for-25 on field goal attempts clearing the bars five times from 40-yards or further.