With 10 former Huskies in the CFL this season, nine who played under Flory, player development path continues at a steady rate<\/p>\n
SASKATOON — It\u2019s safe to say that University of Saskatchewan head coach Scott Flory has a pretty good idea of what it takes to crack a Canadian Football League roster.<\/p>\n
Not only did the Regina product have a legendary 15-year Hall of Fame career in the league, he\u2019s seen more than a few of his U Sports players move on to the professional ranks during his time with the Huskies.<\/p>\n
Nine of the 10 Huskies currently playing in the CFL took the field under Flory\u2019s tutelage including three current members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in defensive back Nelson Lokombo, linebacker Nick Wiebe and — perhaps most famous as of late — receiver Daniel Wiebe.<\/p>\n
Flory joined Teagan Witko on The SportsCage recently to talk about the Huskies program and players moving on to the pro ranks, with the latter Wiebe one of the first topics of conversation.<\/p>\n
That, of course, is because of his game-winning touchdown in the final moments of Saskatchewan\u2019s second preseason win over Winnipeg, with the major coming in front of thousands of fans in Saskatoon at Wiebe\u2019s old stomping grounds at Griffiths Stadium.<\/p>\n
It was a special moment not only for Wiebe but also Flory, who saw the Rosetown-via-Herschel Saskatchewan product develop into an ultra-elite pass catcher in his time in Saskatoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I remember recruiting that kid,\u201d Flory said. \u201cA small town kid that made his way into the city, that just relentless work ethic, desire, just everything about that kid is phenomenal.<\/p>\n
Notepad, pen and paper every day, taking notes, just wants to get better. It felt like it was kind of set up there, they had the big plan and to finish off with Daniel is just, I mean, I’m so happy and so proud of that kid. Just an awesome, awesome young man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lokombo is entering his fifth season with the Roughriders and, as Flory\u2019s first recruit when he joined the Huskies, joins the Wiebes as a model of what players need to do to improve and develop while in school.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the one thing is you got to know that you got to show up every day,\u201d Flory explained. \u201cSuccess today does not guarantee success tomorrow and you got to show up every day and ready to work and ready to get better.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe compete a ton up here, he continued. \u201cIt’s part of the DNA of our football culture here, of our football team and we just do it. We do it non-stop. And I think we do it in a positive way, but it gives a great opportunity for these young men to be able to show and perform\u2026 There’s many years left on those guys and I think they’ll make the Rider fans proud.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seeing as many Huskies grads make it to the next level is naturally a source of pride for Flory and his program.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur purpose is to win here, to win football games and to represent our program and all that kind of stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cBut any guy that has an opportunity to go beyond, we want to do our best to help them go beyond. We’re not in it for stats or for drafts and this and that. Any of our guys that get drafted or get the opportunity, they’ve earned it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want nothing but success for these guys, be it at the next level, be it after football as well because football will end\u2026 We try to do it all with every aspect and facilities and coaching and environment and obviously the fan base, everything that goes on with football here in this province.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, for every player that does make it to the pro game, there are dozens who move on with their lives after their university career comes to a close. And sometimes, just having a chance to experience a CFL camp can be a highlight, if even just to get a taste of what it\u2019s like at one of the highest levels of football.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven the guys that get to go and get to be a part of it, there’s nothing really like it,\u201d Flory said. \u201cThere’s always an adjustment going from high school to college and then from college to pro, and as much as it\u2019s the physical, it\u2019s the mental. They’re installing a ton of plays every day and you got to know what you’re doing and then you got some guy yelling at you and everything\u2019s filmed, everything you do. Being able to handle all of that and still be able to perform? It’s not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
And then there are players who simply decide that, in the end, football isn\u2019t the career they want to pursue, even if they have a chance to go pro. Linebacker Seth Hundeby made that tough decision this spring when after winning the President\u2019s Trophy as the top defensive player in all of U Sports in 2025, he informed the Roughriders that he planned to retire.<\/p>\n
Flory supports that decision, as he does any time a former player moves on with their lives from the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s got a bright future ahead of him,\u201d Flory said of Hundeby, who retired to focus on a professional opportunity through his engineering degree. \u201cWhen I was coming out, I graduated with an engineering degree here from the U of S, but I wanted to play football and that was my path. I just want what’s best for him and that’s his path and I love him and support him and that’s what he\u2019s chosen\u2026 I’m all in on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flory also touched on the Huskies upcoming season and schedule and how things are shaping up for the U Sports campaign in the fall, and you can catch the full interview in the video below:<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With 10 former Huskies in the CFL this season, nine who played under Flory, player development path continues…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":719931,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-719930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=719930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/719931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=719930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=719930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=719930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}