REGINA — It’s safe to say University of Saskatchewan Huskies' linebacker Seth Hundeby didn’t rest on his laurels after being selected by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 2025 CFL Draft.
The Saskatoon product attended his first training camp with the eventual Grey Cup champions in May, and upon returning to the Huskies for the USports season, ended up having a career year for his Canada West squad.
Now, the Huskies take the field at Mosaic Stadium against the Montreal Carabins in the Vanier Cup. Hundeby continues to put to good use what he learned at Riders training camp and throughout the season when Saskatchewan plays in the U Sports national championship game at 1 p.m. from Mosaic Stadium.
It all began at the end of April, when the Roughriders selected Hundeby in the fourth round, 34th overall in the Canadian Football League draft. Days later, he was back in the Huskies stomping grounds at Griffiths Stadium, only this time it was for his first CFL training camp with the Riders.
“Getting to talk to Jameer Thurman — who has had more experience in the CFL than I have experience playing football — and going into that situation, acting like a sponge, taking up every bit of information that I could, then learning how to apply it to my game, it was super duper helpful,” Hundeby told Dave Thomas. “I'm so happy I got that opportunity.”
Hundeby was able to take some of what he learned with the Riders and put it to use with the Huskies directly, even cribbing a couple of practice drills for use in their own game preparation. And when the opportunity came to pass on some of the knowledge he’d picked up from the CFL vets, he was more than happy to do so.
“I wanted to do the same with the younger guys with the Huskies as the Riders did for me, give as much information, make them as good of linebackers as they can be,” Hundeby said. “Leave as positive a mark on this [organization] as I can.”
Hundeby had made it clear to the teams looking to draft him that he intended to return to University of Saskatchewan to finish his engineering degree. Loe and behold, the Roughriders would go on to win the Grey Cup in what would have been his rookie year, but he has no regrets.
“I thought about that, especially with them having that strong of a team, but I'm pretty happy with my decision," Hundeby said. "I think it's going to set me up really well in the future, being able to finish that off and have it in my back pocket. As much as I love football, football doesn't always love me. I know it will say no at some point, as it does for every single player, so having engineering will be good. And I'm still playing football, making great memories and having a lot of fun doing it.”
Winning is especially fun, and the Huskies have done plenty of it this season. The dogs finished with a 7-1 record at the top of the Canada West, then reeled off a three-game winning streak in the playoffs to advance to the Vanier Cup. That included a 26-7 win over the University of British Columbia in the Canada West semifinal, a 25-24 win over the University of Regina in the Hardy Cup, and a 22-11 victory over Queen’s University in the Mitchell Bowl.
Through it all, Hundeby put up gaudy numbers even while battling injury. He ended up playing 10 games and has recorded 57 tackles, 5.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions.
“Overall, I'm happy,” Hundeby said in assessing his season. “There's a couple of plays I wish I could have back, but overall I'm super grateful for the experiences that I've had with this team. It's a super special group and I'm enjoying everything for where my two feet are, having a great time, spending time with the guys. I love playing football, love this organization, love the program.”
It all comes down to the final game of the season, and the biggest game of them all. The Carabins offer a completely new challenge in that the teams haven’t faced one another this season.
“Honestly, it's a little exciting,” Hundeby said. “In Canada West, you play the same five teams over and over, and I don't know how many times I've played Manitoba, but it's been a lot, especially when you include the preseason game. So new teams, it's fun. Watching film, it's a little bit more exciting, you’re seeing new faces, you’re seeing new body types. I'm excited that I got this group of guys who I get to play one more game with.”
The goal, of course, is to get a win in that one final game. To that end, what Hundeby has had to say to his teammates this week will sound plenty familiar to those listening to the Roughriders words in the lead-up to the Grey Cup.
“Be yourself,” he said. “I think a lot of people get caught up in, ‘Oh man, this is a big game. I got to do a little bit more, I got to push a little bit harder.’ But it's another game of football. The calibre that we practice at is what we should be playing at. This isn't a time when you have to go above and beyond. You got to do your job and when plays come, you make them. And when in doubt, have fun, appreciate that we get to play as many games as we have.”
Kick-off for the 2025 Vanier Cup U Sports national football championship is Saturday at 1 p.m. from Mosaic Stadium.
