Former University of Saskatchewan star quarterback Mason Nyhus explained why he decided not to chase a CFL quarterback opportunity with the Roughriders.
"Timeline-wise, we played in the [2022] Vanier Cup and lost in a heartbreaker by six points. I was added to the negotiation list with the Riders the next day and I thought, 'Oh, sweet, maybe I'll still play football.' It was cool and then I didn't hear anything. As a player, I didn't have an agent either. I was totally content with moving on with my life. My fiancé is from the West coast, I knew I was moving out to Vancouver. I didn't have an agent, so I didn't hear anything from the team until January 6 or 7. At that point, I had already accepted a full-time job in Vancouver as a teacher, and I already had a coaching job at UBC," Nyhus explained on the SportsCage.
"It happened really fast for me. That being said, I love playing football and I grew up cheering for the Riders, but it was one of those things that I didn't want to prolong my life. I say it all the time, I was a weird kid. I asked for a hockey whiteboard for Christmas one year because I like drawing drills, power play breakouts, and stuff like that. I knew I wanted to be a coach, so it happened. I went into the world of football and I knew I wanted to be a football coach for the rest of my life. Not saying going to the CFL would have hindered that by any stretch, it helps your resume, but I had already moved out to Vancouver and I have my life started."
Nyhus spent two seasons with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds as the team's QB coach from 2023 through 2024. Then he returned to his alma mater, the University of Saskatchewan as the team's assistant head coach and passing game coordinator entering the 2025 season. The Regina native added offensive coordinator to his roles prior to the Canada West season kicking off.
"I love doing what I do every day and it's easy to come to work. It's a lot of hard work, but I enjoy it. I get to see all my best buddies every day at the office," Nyhus said. "I get my touches in practice for sure. I don't even know who says it in Dodgeball but White Goodman he's like, 'Ball me, blazer.' That's one of my go-to lines with the quarterbacks. Get a little pass here and there to keep the arm live, it's always fun to sling it with the guys."
Before Nyhus entered coaching, he was with the Huskies from 2016 through 2022. During his time at the U of S, the six-foot-two, 215-pound QB played 51 games and completed 64 percent of his passes for 9,649 yards with 66 touchdowns, and 27 interceptions. He led the Huskies to two straight Vanier Cup appearances in 2021 and 2022.
He has three Hardy Cup wins on his resume, one in 2018, the second one in 2021 and another in 2022. He won two Uteck Bowls, one 2021 and another in 2022. His individual awards include Canada West Player of the Year in 2022, as well as the Huskies Offensive Player of the Year award in 2019 and 2021.
Everett Iverson scores the first touchdown of the Vanier Cup off the pass from Mason Nyhus of @HuskieAthletics
Everett Iverson marque le premier touché de la Coupe Vanier sur une passe de Mason Nyhus des @HuskieAthletics.
3 LAV | 10 SSK#ChaseTheGlory | #ViserHaut pic.twitter.com/BXp3HZXJFM
— U SPORTS Football (@USPORTS_FB) November 26, 2022
Even though he wants to play, Nyhus will not be part of Canada's men's flag football team due to scheduling conflicts.
"I've talked a lot to [Paul] Lapolice throughout the process, talking about offences and whatnot. I see [Joel] Lipinski every day, so that's one of my guys. I love them and they're both great dudes. I know a few guys on the national team that I played with on last year's national team. It didn't work out for me this year strictly because they're in Panama, and we're mid-season right now," Nyhus said.
"Timeline-wise, it doesn't really work, but I'm always talking to Joel and Lapo about how they did. It's been really fun to keep up. I still throw all the time, I still know the game really well whether that's playing or coaching. [Michael] O'Connor's the quarterback right now, he's doing a great job. I know Mike from being out at UBC for the last two years. He does an awesome job, he's a great quarterback. I would love to be involved in any way possible and it helps knowing those two guys as well."
Nyhus and the 2-1 Huskies take on the 3-0 University of Regina on Friday night at Griffiths Stadium. The last time Saskatchewan played Regina was in the Hardy Cup last November, the Rams won 19-14 in Saskatoon.
“They're a good team, they're well coached. I know a lot of guys over there have a lot of good friends on their staff and you can tell they're disciplined,” Nyhus said. “They fly around, they don't miss many tackles. We're gonna have our work cut out for us on Friday, but I believe in our guys, I think we'll have a good game plan and be able to execute on Friday.”
You can listen to that game on 620 CKRM2 with Brendan McGuire who starts the broadcast with a pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. and game call at 7 p.m.
